The Effect of Familiar Music on Long-Term Declarative Memory in College Students

Abstract

This study explored the effect of familiar music exposure on long-term declarative memory (LT-DM) was in college students. LT-DM stores facts or concepts that can be consciously recalled over a prolonged period. Twenty-one college students were equally randomized between two groups, Group A and Group B. The study was conducted over three sessions (7+/- 2 days between each). During the first session, both groups were given the same passages to study. Group A listened to familiar music of their choice while studying, and Group B studied in silence. In the second session, both groups were first given a multiple-choice test on the passages they had studied during session one. Subsequently, another set of passages were given to both groups to study. This time, Group B listened to familiar music of their choice while studying, and Group A studied in silence. In the third session, both groups were tested through multiple-choice questions over passages they had studied during the second session. Test responses were scored. The mean composite score of both groups with and without music were 15.4/20 (77%) and 14.9/20 (74.5%), respectively, indicating no significant change in LT-DM recall with familiar music exposure (p= 0.50). Group A displayed a trend towards increased LT-DM recall with music compared to silence and demonstrated a statistically significant lower mean score than Group B in the silent condition (p= 0.027). Overall, this study found that listening to familiar music had no significant effect on LT-DM recall in college students, however highly individualized variations may occur.