"SIMPLE AS DO RE ME, ABC": LANGUAGE, MUSIC, AND WORKING MEMORY
File(s)
Date
2013-05Author
Atherton, Ryan P.
Advisor(s)
Quin, Chrobak
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The present study examines the underlying cognitive framework involved in the active
processing of information. Active processing takes place in working memory, popularly
associated with Baddeley and Hitch's (1974) multicomponent working memory model.
According to this model, incoming information from the environment is temporarily stored to
perform verbal and nonverbal tasks. Information is stored in one of two formats: visuospatial or
phonological. Important to the present experiment is phonological information. Phonological
information refers to the sounds of language (e.g., speech), that occur in a phonological store and
are maintained there by rehearsal via an articulatory loop. Yet, the storage of phonological
information in the multicomponent working memory model does not account for all auditory
information (e.g., music). Research investigating this discrepancy has produced inconclusive
findings. Whether or not phonological and non-linguistic auditory information share a structure
for storage in working memory is still unknown.
The current study benefits from the utilization of an auditory interference task to help rectify this
inconsistency.
Results indicate that linguistic and musical information do not completely share a storage
mechanism in the multicomponent working memory model, however, they are not completely
separate either. Also, musicians and non-musicians may exhibit different cognitive
underpinnings in the storage of linguistic and musical information.
Subject
Effect of music on cognition
Attention
Music
Performance
Working memory
Phonological loop
Language
Permanent Link
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1793/66217Description
Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Master of Science-Psychology -
Cognitive and Affective Science