Au, Agnes, Meng, W. J., Caltabiano, Nerina, Caltabiano, Marie, and Walker, Adam (2010) Do you have better verbal memory if you have better musical ability and musical intelligence? In: Abstracts of the 27th International Congress of Applied Psychology. p. 795. From: 27th International Congress of Applied Psychology, 11-16 July 2010 , Melbourne, VIC, Australia.

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Abstract

The current study investigated whether better musical ability and better musical intelligence were related to better verbal memory, based on the findings that musicians have larger left Planum Temporale that is also involved in one’s verbal memory.

Forty-one undergraduates participated in a musical ability test that examined pitch discrimination, rhythmic and melodic patterns identification and music reading. Musical intelligence of multiple intelligence and verbal memory were also examined. Participants were then divided into high- and low- ability groups based on their overall musical ability, their ability to discriminate pitch, to identify music pattern, to read music, and their musical IQ.

Results showed that participants with formal music training were better in pitch discrimination, music reading and musical IQ. However, they did not perform better than their counterparts who received no musical training in verbal memory. Further analysis illustrated that participants who had high ability in their overall musical ability, pitch discrimination, pattern identification, music reading and musical intelligence did not have better verbal memory than their low-ability counterparts. None of the musical abilities correlated significantly with verbal memory.

It was concluded that music training, though can improve individuals’ musical ability and musical IQ, does not necessarily result in better verbal memory. The sensitivity of the music test used might provide insights on the current findings. The relationship between musical ability and verbal memory requires further investigation. Practical implications of music in various cognitive tasks were discussed.

Item ID:	15082
Item Type:	Conference Item (Abstract / Summary)
ISBN:	978-0-909881-46-7
Keywords:	verbal memory; musical ability; musical ability
Related URLs:	http://icap2010.eproceedings.com.au/ http://www.icap2010.com/
Date Deposited:	06 Dec 2010 01:05
FoR Codes:	17 PSYCHOLOGY AND COGNITIVE SCIENCES > 1702 Cognitive Science > 170201 Computer Perception, Memory and Attention @ 100%
SEO Codes:	97 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 970117 Expanding Knowledge in Psychology and Cognitive Sciences @ 100%
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