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Manuscript dated: 13th of March, 2011 Article in press, to appear in Psychology of Music Musical Activities Predispose to Involuntary Musical Imagery Lassi A. Liikkanen Helsinki Institute for Information Technology HIIT, Aalto University and University of Helsinki University of Helsinki, Department of Behavioral Sciences Stanford University, Department of Communication ABSTRACT Involuntary semantic memories are a new topic in psychology. Initial research has suggested that musical memories are a dominant type of involuntary memories. Interestingly, no comprehensive information exists on the commonality of “earworms”, or repeated involuntary imagery of music (INMI), and its relationship to the engagement with musical activities. Present study investigatedreview these using cross- sectional, retrospective reports from a questionnaire study that was conducted among Finnish Internet users (N=12,519). The analyses of the data revealed that 89.2 % of participants reported experiencing this phenomenon at least once a week. The amount of music practice and listening was positively related to the frequency of involuntary music. Women reported elevated levels of involuntaryPeer imagery episodes in contrast to men who reacted differently to it. In older age groups the frequency of the incidents decreased among both sexes. People with extensive musical practice history seemed to experience longer musical segments andfor more often instrumental ones. They were less agitated by involuntary music and reported it less often. The results are discussed in a relation to a memory-based hypothesis of involuntary musical imagery. In conclusion, INMI is viewed as an integral part of our musical mind. INTRODUCTION In music psychology, three forms of musical imagery prevalent in daytime Research investigating human musical consciousness have been studied: voluntary, abilities often focuses on the production and anticipatory and involuntary imagery. Voluntary perception of sound.Submitted But beyond the basilar imagery (Halpern & Zatorre, 1999; Zatorre & membrane, there exists a mental soundscape Halpern, 2005) is a universial ability to recall a audible for our “inner ear” that is accessible musical memory. Voluntary imagery can be using musical imagery. Recent studies show that honed into a skill, called audiation, which is auditory perception and imagery share many commonly utilized by professional musicians neural resources and have great resemblance in for training purposes (Brodsky, Kessler, terms of structural and temporal features Rubinstein, Ginsborg, & Henik, 2008; Lotze, (Hubbard, 2010). This highlights the role of Scheler, Tan, Braun, & Birbaumer, 2003). imagery as a central feature of music cognition and calls for deepening the understanding of the The second type is anticipatory function and characteristics of musical imagery. imagery. It occurs in parallel to perception when the features of an ephemeral incoming sound stream are predicted based on prior experience. Musical activities and involuntary musical imagery This ability can be revealed when expectations They are called musical hallucinations (or for a sound are violated; this effect has been hallucinosis; Cope & Baguley, 2009; Evers & reliably demonstrated in recent studies in Ellger, 2004; Hermesh et al., 2004) and musical cognitive neuroscience (Leaver, Van Lare, obsessions, a subtype of obsessive-compulsive Zielinski, Halpern, & Rauschecker, 2009; disorder (Dattatreya & Chittaranjan, 2009; Rauschecker, 2001). Terao & Ikemura, 2000; Zungu-Dirwayi, Hugo, van Heerden, & Stein, 1999). However, there The third type is involuntary musical are no published guidelines for clinical imagery. It is commonly known as “earworms” psychologists or psychiatrists as to how to or the “tune in the brain” phenomenon and discriminate between normal and excessive refers to a non-clinical condition of musical imagery. Second, there has been unintentionally reviving the auditory image of a progress on related topics in the field of general tune (Bailes, 2007; Brown, 2006; L. A. psychology recently. Researchers have Liikkanen, forthcoming; Sacks, 2007). successfully studied involuntary semantic Involuntary musical imagery intrudes memories (Kvavilashvili & Mandler, 2004) and consciousness without deliberate effort and induced autobiographical involuntary memories often in repetition. It is neither an automatic experimentally (Mace, 2005, 2007). There has response because can occur without an been considerable progress in investigating the immediately preceding musical stimulus, but nor similarly private phenomenon of synesthesia is it spontaneous because it can also be triggered (Kadosh & Henik, 2007). by external events. This involuntary musical review imagery, or INMI as it abbreviated here, is the Related work subject of this paper. Psychological interest in involuntary I claim that INMI is an under- music was likely first recorded by Freud (Freud, investigated topic. This far there have been no 1911,Peer p. 140). He had a more musically inclined extensive studies probing the nature of successor in the psychodynamic tradition: Reik unintentional musical imagery. The preliminary (1953), who discussed the phenomenology and results suggest that INMI is real and widespreadfor possible functions of INMI. The shared belief phenomenon, however, the influence of music between Freud and Reik was that involuntary listening or practice to the characteristics of music carried hidden meaning for one’s psychic INMI experiences are not understood. This lack life. Reik postulated the existence of a of scientific knowledge shows off in popular “mundane” type of involuntary music, but did literature. Beaman and Williams (2010) point not find it worthy of examination. Since then, out the wealth of popular discussion on the topic psychology has embraced behavioural and is full of unwarranted anecdotes and non- cognitive paradigms and more oriented toward referenced facts. The goal of this paper is to the study of “mundane” phenomena. clarify this situation.Submitted As a starting point, the A view of INMI as an everyday widely used label “earworm” is discarded in this phenomenon has emerged since 2001 through a paper in favour of a more explicit term. For a series of independent studies. The first two scientific discussion, a specific term is desired. studies that assessed INMI in retrospect were a Explanations in cognitive musicology refer to survey among 587 college students (Kellaris, the mind and the brain, and the terminology 2001) and another involving five hundred young should as well. Earworm hardly meets this Internet users worldwide (Bennett, 2003). These requirement and could be even considered studies were presented as conference talks and misleading. together, along with a longitudinal study (Bailes, There is motivation to study INMI. For 2007), suggest that a person living in a Western one, there exists a spectrum of clinical country experiences involuntary music almost conditions that show features akin to INMI. every day. The surveys (Bennett, 2003; Kellaris, Page numbers not for citation purposes, please obtain a copy from the publisher 2 Liikkanen, L.A. in press, Psychology of Music 2001) found that background characteristics CD was provided to 59 participants, who such as sex (being female), young age, and described their experiences in an interview after active musical hobbies predict more frequent 1-6 weeks of listening to the CD at their INMI episodes. The Kellaris’ study found that convenience (Hemming, 2009). The findings students employ three types of coping strategies indicated that emotionally distinctive pieces, to stop INMI: distraction, replacement, and regardless of the valence, were experienced miscellaneous tactics. A more recent survey more often than those without an emotional correlated personality traits with the INMI association. The INMI episodes occurred even characteristics(Kellaris, 2003; 559 students). It after a considerable time had passed. INMI showed that an increased level of neuroticism episodes did not differ significantly between the correlates positively with a high retrospectively musician and non-musician groups. In another reported frequency of INMI. The same relation study (Liikkanen, forthcoming), I used five holds for transliminality, a measure of stimulus songs to induce INMI through an susceptibility to self-generated mental events imagery-based recall task. I found that the song (Baruss & Wammes, 2009; N=67), which presented last had an elevated probability of predicts more distraction by INMI. producing an INMI, but only if the music was familiar. The results were interpreted as weak The nature of INMI episodes and evidence for a recency effect for INMI, but coping strategies were addressed in a recent strong evidence for long-term musical memory study (Beaman & Williams, 2010). Using activation as a mediating mechanism. survey and diary methods, the researchers found review that INMI is a recurrent and highly idiosyncratic Present investigation experience. Among twelve fortnightly diary The current study attempts to shed keepers, the average duration of an episode was more light on the characteristics and precursors just below half an hour. This was shorter than of INMI.Peer A large-scale, cross-sectional study the average time reported by 103 separate was designed to overcome several limitations of survey participants, suggesting a reporting bias. the previous investigations. The study aims to The two methods produced similar findings forminimize