The influence of music in daily life on working memory

Research has already shown that listening to music or having had musical training in your life has an effect on some of the executive functions of the brain, like working memory. The potential role of the degree of importance of music in a person’s life, however, has not been investigated. This study aimed to investigate the influence of the degree of importance of music in a person’s life on different types of working memory. Hypothesized was, that a larger degree to which music is importance in a person’s life will result in a better working memory, for both the overall working memory as the specific types of working memory. To investigate this, participants filled out an online test battery of approximately 45 minutes. To investigate the overall working memory capacity of the participants, they completed the Digit Span Backwards. The two other types of working memory – the rhythmic- and melodic working memory – were assessed with subtests of the Swedish Musical Discrimination...Show moreResearch has already shown that listening to music or having had musical training in your life has an effect on some of the executive functions of the brain, like working memory. The potential role of the degree of importance of music in a person’s life, however, has not been investigated. This study aimed to investigate the influence of the degree of importance of music in a person’s life on different types of working memory. Hypothesized was, that a larger degree to which music is importance in a person’s life will result in a better working memory, for both the overall working memory as the specific types of working memory. To investigate this, participants filled out an online test battery of approximately 45 minutes. To investigate the overall working memory capacity of the participants, they completed the Digit Span Backwards. The two other types of working memory – the rhythmic- and melodic working memory – were assessed with subtests of the Swedish Musical Discrimination Task (SMDT). The study was completed by 186 participants. Result showed that there is a significant influence of the degree of the importance music plays in a person’s life on their working memory. However, this is only seen on the overall working memory and not on the specific types of working memory – rhythmic and melodic memory. The implications of these findings will be discussed.Show less

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The influence of music in daily life on working memory