Effects of music listening on creative cognition and semantic memory retrieval (original) (raw)
Related papers
Frontiers in Psychology
This study examined the effect of music listening on creative thinking through the lens of the arousal-and-mood hypothesis, which posits that emotional reactions (i.e., arousal and valence) mediate the effect of music listening on cognitive functioning. Participants were randomly assigned to three groups: a positive music group (n = 198), a negative music group (n = 195), and a control group (n = 191). Creative thinking and emotional reactions were assessed with the Test for Creative Thinking-Drawing Production and the Affect Grid, respectively. The results showed that both positively and negatively arousing music enhanced creative thinking. The results further revealed that arousal, regardless of valence, significantly mediated the music-creativity relationship. This study enriches the research on the arousal-and-mood hypothesis by (1) providing direct empirical testing on the mediating roles of emotional reactions; (2) including both positively and negatively arousing music in the study design; and (3) identifying that only arousal, and not valence, was a significant mediator in the music-creativity link.
Lyrical Memory: Mnemonic Effects of Music for Musicians and Nonmusicians
Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research, 2017
The goal of this study was to examine the mnemonic effects of music on lyric recall, and to determine the role of musical expertise in the degree of memory benefit from information presented in a song. The experiment used a mixed-factor design to compare recall performance in music and nonmusic presentations, in addition to comparing performance of musicians and nonmusicians. Participants were presented with a set of lyrics in one of two encoding conditions: music (delivered as part of a song) or nonmusic (read aloud without music), followed by a free recall test. This process repeated 3 times, with a distractor task before the third recall test. One week later, participants were given an identical series of encoding and recall tasks in the other encoding condition, followed by a recall test for lyrics presented in the first session. Results showed significantly higher recall in the music condition during Session 1 as measured by words (verbatim), lines (gist), and clusters (chunking), ps < .05; for delayed recall, there was a music advantage as measured by words and clusters, ps < .05. Musicians showed significantly higher 1-week-delayed word and line recall, regardless of encoding condition, ps < .05. Several significant differences were found in relation to task load, suggesting that music-based learning may affect subjective experience, specifically task success and time pressure; further, musicians reported lower mental activity required when learning through music. Further applications of the study are discussed in an educational context.
Happy creativity: Listening to happy music facilitates divergent thinking
PLOS ONE
Creativity can be considered one of the key competencies for the twenty-first century. It provides us with the capacity to deal with the opportunities and challenges that are part of our complex and fast-changing world. The question as to what facilitates creative cognitionthe ability to come up with creative ideas, problem solutions and products-is as old as the human sciences, and various means to enhance creative cognition have been studied. Despite earlier scientific studies demonstrating a beneficial effect of music on cognition, the effect of music listening on creative cognition has remained largely unexplored. The current study experimentally tests whether listening to specific types of music (four classical music excerpts systematically varying on valance and arousal), as compared to a silence control condition, facilitates divergent and convergent creativity. Creativity was higher for participants who listened to 'happy music' (i.e., classical music high on arousal and positive mood) while performing the divergent creativity task, than for participants who performed the task in silence. No effect of music was found for convergent creativity. In addition to the scientific contribution, the current findings may have important practical implications. Music listening can be easily integrated into daily life and may provide an innovative means to facilitate creative cognition in an efficient way in various scientific, educational and organizational settings when creative thinking is needed.
Trends in Music Information Seeking, Behavior, and Retrieval for Creativity
Advances in Multimedia and Interactive Technologies, 2016
Evolution of music ability has been considered a mystery from Aristotle to Darwin and as no adaptive purpose has been identified yet, making music is still a puzzle for evolutionary biologists. This chapter considers a new theory of music origin and evolution, identifying a cognitive function of music which helps overcoming cognitive dissonance based on the unification of consciousness that is differentiated by language. According to this theory, music is fundamental for cultural evolution. The reason for music strongly affecting us is that it helps overcoming unpleasant emotions of cognitive contradictions, which are conditions of accumulating knowledge. The chapter considers experimental evidence supporting this theory and the joint evolution of music, culture, and consciousness.
EFFECT OF MUSIC AND PERSONALITY ON SEMANTIC MEMORY RETRIEVAL IN YOUNG ADULTS
Background -Listening to music while studying/working has been a commonly observed trait amongst youngsters. Effect of music and personality on short term memory and episodic memory has been studied but there is less evidence regarding the recall of semantic memory. Hence the purpose of the study was to explore the effect of different types of music and personality type on Semantic Memory Retrieval. Methods-In this cross-sectional study, asymptotic adults aged between 18-24yrs were administered a questionnaire to determine their personality type. Later, they were assessed on questions related to semantic memory recall in three different conditions namely; Silence, with Lyrical music and with Instrumental music. Total Time taken and the Total Score in all three conditions were analyzed. Conclusion- The mean of the Total Time and score was significantly more for Silence as compared to music condition. However they performed the fastest while instrumental music was played. There was no significant difference in Total Time as well as Total Score for both introverts and extroverts
Creative cognition in composing music
New Sound, 2019
In this paper we presented an overview of theoretical and empirical research in a domain of cognitive psychology of music, psychology of creativity and interdisciplinary studies concerning the creative cognitive processes in composing music, with an intention to bring them into connection and to raise questions about further research. We brought into focus the cognitive processes in composing music since the key role of cognitive mechanisms and processes, next to the emotional experience and imagery, was shown in our previous research. The wide scope of knowledge, within a time span of some 35 years, was introduced covering the following themes - generative models of creative cognition, metacognitive strategies in composing, the relation between creativity, knowledge and novelty, creativity in the social-economical context. We paid attention to the several crucial theoretical models, some of them developed on the basis of exploration of compositional practices, one of the first bein...
Mind your music: The effects of music-induced mood and arousal across different memory tasks
Psychomusicology: Music, Mind, and Brain, 2017
The current study examined the effect of background music on different types of memory. One hypothesis is that background music modulates the listener's internal mood and arousal, putting them at optimal levels to enhance memory performance. Another hypothesis is that background music establishes a "context" that, when reinstated, aids memory performance. To investigate the role of music-induced mood, arousal, and context on memory, we used background music that varied in mood and arousal to create different memory contexts: music present at study only, test only, and both study and test. We assessed how mood, arousal, and context affected performance on recall, recognition, and associative memory tasks. Participants recalled more words when they listened to low arousal music than high arousal music, regardless of mood or whether context was consistent between study and test. For recognition memory, participants also recognized more words when they listened to low arousal music than high arousal music, but only when the music was negative. For associative memory, no significant effects of mood, arousal, or context were found on recognition of previously studied word pairs. Finally, across all experiments, background music, compared with silence, did not significantly improve verbal memory performance. Thus, mood and arousal affected recall and recognition memory, but overall background music did not enhance memory.
An empirical investigation of creativity and musical experience
Psychology of Music, 2006
This preliminary investigation examined the relationship between creative personality traits and musical experience. Creative personality traits were hypothesized to be positively correlated with musical experience. Two selfreport measures, the Creative Personality Scale and the Scale of Musical Experience, were designed for this study. Initial analyses showed that both measures designed for this study were reliable and valid. Students (n = 150) from Introduction to Psychology and Music classes participated in the study. Results from correlational analyses showed that there was a positive correlation (r = .34, p < .01) between creative personality traits and musical experiences.
Current Directions in Psychological Science, 2005
Does music make you smarter? Music listening and music lessons have been claimed to confer intellectual advantages. Any association between music and intellectual functioning would be notable only if the benefits apply reliably to nonmusical abilities and if music is unique in producing the effects. The available evidence indicates that music listening leads to enhanced performance on a variety of cognitive tests, but that such effects are short-term and stem from the impact of music on arousal level and mood, which, in turn, affect cognitive performance; experiences other than music listening have similar effects. Music lessons in childhood tell a different story. They are associated with small but general and long-lasting intellectual benefits that cannot be attributed to obvious confounding variables such as family income and parents' education. The mechanisms underlying this association have yet to be determined.
Exposure to music and cognitive performance: tests of children and adults
Psychology of Music, 2007
This article reports on two experiments of exposure to music and cognitive performance. In Experiment 1, Canadian undergraduates performed better on an IQ subtest (Symbol Search) after listening to an up-tempo piece of music composed by Mozart in comparison to a slow piece by Albinoni. The effect was evident, however, only when the two pieces also induced reliable differences in arousal and mood. In Experiment 2, Japanese 5-year-olds drew for longer periods of time after singing or hearing familiar children's songs than after hearing Mozart or Albinoni, and their drawings were judged by adults to be more creative, energetic, and technically proficient. These results indicate that (1) exposure to different types of music can enhance performance on a variety of cognitive tests, (2) these effects are mediated by changes in emotional state, and (3) the effects generalize across cultures and age groups.