Music-dependent memory: The roles of tempo change and mood mediation

Author(s): Lewis, B. S.

Journal/Book: J Exp Psychol-Learn Mem Cogn. 1996; 22: 750 First St NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242. Amer Psychological Assoc. 1354-1363.

Abstract: Music-dependent memory was obtained in previous literature by changing from 1 musical piece to another. Here, the phenomenon was induced by changing only the tempo of the same musical selection. After being presented with a list of words, along with a piece of background music, listeners recalled more words when the selection was played at the same tempo than when it was played at a different tempo. However, no significant reduction in memory was produced by recall contexts with a changed timbre, a different musical selection, or no music (Experiments 1 and 2). Tempo was found to influence the arousal dimension of mood (Experiment 3), and recall was higher in a mood context consistent (as compared with inconsistent) with a given tempo (Experiment 4). The results support the mood-mediation hypothesis of music-dependent memory.

Note: Article WR Balch, Penn State Univ, Dept Psychol, 3000 Ivyside Pk, Altoona, PA 16601 USA

Keyword(s): ENVIRONMENTAL CONTEXT; RETRIEVAL; INTEGRATION; RECALL; MELODY; SONGS; TEXT

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