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During the year 2011 and 2012 Advanced in Cognitive Psychology was supported by Ministry of Science and Higher Education (Republic of Poland).
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Katrin Hille1, Kilian Gust1, Ulrich Bitz1, and Thomas Kammer2Associations between music education, intelligence, and spelling ability in elementary school
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volume 7 issue 7.1, pages 1-6 |
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Associations between music education, intelligence, and spelling ability in elementary school |
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Katrin Hille1, Kilian Gust1, Ulrich Bitz1, and Thomas Kammer2 |
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1 Transfercenter for Neuroscience and Learning, University of Ulm, Germany
2 Department of Psychiatry, University of Ulm, Germany
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Musical education has a beneficial effect on higher cognitive functions, but questions arise whether associations between music lessons and cognitive abilities are specific to a domain or general. We tested 194 boys in Grade 3 by measuring reading and spelling performance, non verbal intelligence and asked parents about musical activities since preschool. Questionnaire data showed that 53% of the boys had learned to play a musical instrument. Intelligence was higher for boys playing an instrument (p < .001). To control for unspecific effects we excluded families without instruments. The effect on intelligence remained (p < .05). Furthermore, boys playing an instrument showed better performance in spelling compared to the boys who were not playing, despite family members with instruments (p < .01). This effect was observed independently of IQ. Our findings suggest an association between music education and general cognitive ability as well as a specific language link.
Keywords: music education, intelligence, literacy, spelling, cognitive development
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volume 7 issue 7.1, pages 7-15 |
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School based working memory training: Preliminary finding of improvement in children's mathematical performance |
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1 School of Education, Bath Spa University, England
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Working memory is a complex cognitive system responsible for the concurrent storage and processing of information. Given that a complex cognitive task like mental arithmetic clearly places demands on working memory (e.g., in remembering partial results, monitoring progress through a multi-step calculation), there is surprisingly little research exploring the possibility of increasing young children?s working memory capacity through systematic school-based training. This study reports the preliminary results of a working memory training programme, targeting executive processes such as inhibiting unwanted information, monitoring processes, and the concurrent storage and processing of information. The findings suggest that children who received working memory training made significantly greater gains in the trained working memory task, and in a non-trained visual-spatial working memory task, than a matched control group. Moreover, the training group made significant improvements in their mathematical functioning as measured by the number of errors made in an addition task compared to the control group. These findings, although preliminary, suggest that school-based measures to train working memory could have benefits in terms of improved performance in mathematics.
Keywords: working memory, training, central executive, mathematics, children
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volume 7 issue 7.1, pages 16-30 |
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Neural representations of the sense of self |
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1 College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, Texas
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The brain constructs representations of what is sensed and thought about in the form of nerve impulses that propagate in circuits and network assemblies (Circuit Impulse Patterns, CI Ps). CI P representations of which humans are consciously aware occur in the context of a sense of self. Thus, research on mechanisms of consciousness might benefit from a focus on how a conscious sense of self is represented in brain. Like all senses, the sense of self must be contained in patterns of nerve impulses. Unlike the traditional senses that are registered by impulse flow in relatively simple, pauci-synaptic projection pathways, the sense of self is a system-level phenomenon that may be generated by impulse patterns in widely distributed complex and interacting circuits. The problem for researchers then is to identify the CICIPs that are unique to conscious experience. Also likely to be of great relevance to constructing the representation of self are the coherence shifts in activity timing relations among the circuits. Consider that an embodied sense of self is generated and contained as unique combinatorial temporal patterns across multiple neurons in each circuit that contributes to constructing the sense of self. As with other kinds of CI Ps, those representing the sense of self can be learned from experience, stored in memory, modified by subsequent experiences, and expressed in the form of decisions, choices, and commands. These CI Ps are proposed here to be the actual physical basis for conscious thought and the sense of self. When active in wakefulness or dream states, the CICIP representations of self act as an agent of the brain, metaphorically as an avatar. Because the selfhood CI P patterns may only have to represent the self and not directly represent the inner and outer worlds of embodied brain, the self representation should have more degrees of freedom than subconscious mind and may therefore have some capacity for a free-will mind of its own. Several lines of evidence for this theory are reviewed. Suggested new research includes identifying distinct combinatorially coded impulse patterns and their temporal coherence shifts in defined circuitry, such as neocortical microcolumns. This task might be facilitated by identifying the micro-topography of field-potential oscillatory coherences among various regions and between different frequencies associated with specific conscious mentation. Other approaches can include identifying the changes in discrete conscious operations produced by focal trans-cranial magnetic stimulation.
Keywords: consciousness, Avatar, theory of consciousness, nerve impulses, neural networks
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volume 7 issue 7.1, pages 31-38 |
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The role of response modalities in cognitive task representations |
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Andrea M. Philipp1,2 and Iring Koch1,2 |
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1 Department of Psychology, RWTHTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
2 Department of Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
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The execution of a task necessitates the use of a specific response modality. We examined the role of different response modalities by using a task-switching paradigm. In Experiment 1, subjects switched between two numerical judgments, whereas response modality (vocal vs. manual vs. foot responses) was manipulated between groups. We found judgment-shift costs in each group, that is irrespective of the response modality. In Experiment 2, subjects switched between response modalities (vocal vs. manual, vocal vs. foot, or manual vs. foot). We observed response-modality shift costs that were comparable in all groups. In sum, the experiments suggest that the response modality (combination) does not affect switching per se. Yet, modality-shift costs occur when subjects switch between response modalities. Thus, we suppose that modality-shift costs are not due to a purely motor-related mechanisms but rather emerge from a general switching process. Consequently, the response modality has to be considered as a cognitive component in models of task switching.
Keywords: response modalities, cognitive control, motor control, task switching, task representation
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volume 7 issue 7.1, pages 39-48 |
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The effect of target context and cue type in a postcue word pronunciation task |
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Karen Murphy1,2 and Lauren Green1,2 |
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1 Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Research Unit, Behavioural Basis of Health, Griffith Health Institute
2 School of Applied Psychology, Gold Coast campus, Griffith University, Australia 4222
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Dallas and Merikle (1976a, 1976 b) demonstrated that when participants were presented with a pair of words for over 1 s and subsequently cued to pronounce one of the words aloud (postcue task) semantic priming effects occurred. Humphreys, Lloyd-Jones, and Fias (1995) failed to replicate this postcue semantic priming effect using word pairs that were semantic category co-ordinates. The aim of Experiment 1 was to determine if the disparate postcue task results reported by these researchers could be accounted for by the prime-target contexts or cue types engaging different attentional processes or a combination of these factors. A postcue pronunciation task was used and word pairs presented were taken from an associate-semantic context and a semantic category context. In the Dallas and Merikle condition the line cue flanked the location in which the target word was previously shown. In the Humphreys et al. condition the cue word UPPER or lower was centrally presented and indicated the location in which the target word previously appeared. Results demonstrated that the occurrence of semantic and associate-semantic priming effects under postcue task conditions varied for the two cue types. Experiment 2 investigated if these results were attributable to a between subject manipulation of cue type. Using a fully repeated measures design priming effects were evident for top located targets in both the associate-semantic and semantic prime-target contexts. Experiment 3 used a between subjects design to rule out the possibility that carry over effects between cue and context conditions contributed to the postcue task priming effects. Priming was evident for top located targets in an associate-semantic and semantic context for the line cue. For the word cue there was priming for top located targets from an associate-semantic context and a reverse priming effect for top located targets from the semantic context. Possible explanations for the occurrence of priming effects under postcue task conditions are discussed.
Keywords: postcue task, semantic priming, associate-semantic priming, word pronunciation, word recognition
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volume 7 issue 7.1, pages 49-54 |
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Timelines of past events: Reconstructive retrieval of temporal patterns |
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1 Department of Psychology, Umeå University, Sweden
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Most naturalistic events are temporally and structurally complex in that they comprise a number of elements and that each element may have different onset and offset times within the event. This study examined temporal information processing of complex patterns of partially overlapping stimulus events by using 2 tasks of temporal processing. Specifically, participants observed a pantomime in which 5 actors appeared on the scene for different periods of time. At test, they estimated the duration each actor was present or reconstructed the temporal pattern of the pantomime by drawing a timeline for each actor. Participants made large errors in the time estimation task, but they provided relatively accurate responses by using the timeline as a retrieval support. These findings suggest that temporal processing of complex asynchronous events is a challenging cognitive task, but that reliance on visuo-spatial retrieval support, possibly in combination with other temporal heuristics, may produce functional approximations of complex temporal patterns.
Keywords: temporal processing, time estimation, event representation, timelines
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2011, volume 7, issue 2
Special issue: Neuro-cognitive mechanisms of conscious and unconscious visual perception, Part I and II
Editors: Markus Kiefer, Michael Niedeggen, John-Dylan Haynes
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Markus Kiefer1, Ulrich Ansorge2, John-Dylan Haynes3, Fred Hamker4, Uwe Mattler5, Rolf Verleger6, and Michael Niedeggen7
Neuro-cognitive mechanisms of conscious and unconscious visual perception: From a plethora of phenomena to general principles
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volume 7 issue 7.2, pages 55-67 |
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Neuro-cognitive mechanisms of conscious and unconscious visual perception: From a plethora of phenomena to general principles |
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Markus Kiefer1, Ulrich Ansorge2, John-Dylan Haynes3, Fred Hamker4, Uwe Mattler5, Rolf Verleger6, and Michael Niedeggen7 |
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1 Department of Psychiatry, University of Ulm, Germany
2 Department of Psychology, University of Vienna, Austria
3 Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Berlin, Germany
4 Department of Computer Science, Technical University Chemnitz, Germany
5 Department of Psychology, University of Göttingen, Germany
6 Department of Neurology, University of Lübeck, Germany
7 Department of Psychology, Free University of Berlin, Germany
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Psychological and neuroscience approaches have promoted much progress in elucidating the cognitive and neural mechanisms that underlie phenomenal visual awareness during the last decades. In this article, we provide an overview of the latest research investigating important phenomena in conscious and unconscious vision. We identify general principles to characterize conscious and unconscious visual perception, which may serve as important building blocks for a unified model to explain the plethora of findings. We argue that in particular the integration of principles from both conscious and unconscious vision is advantageous and provides critical constraints for developing adequate theoretical models. Based on the principles identified in our review, we outline essential components of a unified model of conscious and unconscious visual perception. We propose that awareness refers to consolidated visual representations, which are accessible to the entire brain and therefore globally available. However, visual awareness not only depends on consolidation within the visual system, but is additionally the result of a post-sensory gating process, which is mediated by higher-level cognitive control mechanisms. We further propose that amplification of visual representations by attentional sensitization is not exclusive to the domain of conscious perception, but also applies to visual stimuli, which remain unconscious. Conscious and unconscious processing modes are highly interdependent with influences in both directions. We therefore argue that exactly this interdependence renders a unified model of conscious and unconscious visual perception valuable. Computational modeling jointly with focused experimental research could lead to a better understanding of the plethora of empirical phenomena in consciousness research.
Keywords: consciousness, visual awareness, unconscious cognition, subliminal perception, attention
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Bruno G. Breitmeyer1,2 and Evelina Tapia2
Roles of contour and surface processing in microgenesis of object perception and visual consciousness
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volume 7 issue 7.2, pages 68-81 |
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Roles of contour and surface processing in microgenesis of object perception and visual consciousness |
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Bruno G. Breitmeyer1,2 and Evelina Tapia2 |
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1 Department of Psychology, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA
2 Center for Neuro-Engineering and Cognitive Science, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA
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Developments in visual neuroscience and neural-network modeling indicate the existence of separate pathways for the processing of form and surface attributes of a visual object. In line with prior theoretical proposals, it is assumed that the processing of form can be explicit or conscious only as or after the surface property such as color is filled in. In conjunction with extant psychophysical findings, these developments point to interesting distinctions between nonconscious and conscious processing of these attributes, specifically in relation to distinguishable temporal dynamics. At nonconscious levels form processing proceeds faster than surface processing, whereas in contrast, at conscious levels form processing proceeds slower than surface processing. Implications of separate form and surface processing for current and future psychophysical and neuroscientific research, particularly that relating cortical oscillations to conjunctions of surface and form features, and for cognitive science and philosophy of mind and consciousness are discussed.
Keywords: conscious visual processing, contour, nonconscious visual processing, surface color, surface contrast, temporal dynamics
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volume 7 issue 7.2, pages 82-91 |
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Follow the sign! Top-down contingent attentional capture of masked arrow cues |
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Heiko Reuss, Carsten Pohl, Andrea Kiesel, and Wilfried Kunde |
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Department of Psychology, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Germany
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Arrow cues and other overlearned spatial symbols automatically orient attention according to their spatial meaning. This renders them similar to exogenous cues that occur at stimulus location. Exogenous cues trigger shifts of attention even when they are presented subliminally. Here, we investigate to what extent the mechanisms underlying the orienting of attention by exogenous cues and by arrow cues are comparable by analyzing the effects of visible and masked arrow cues on attention. In Experiment 1, we presented arrow cues with overall 50% validity. Visible cues, but not masked cues, lead to shifts of attention. In Experiment 2, the arrow cues had an overall validity of 80%. Now both visible and masked arrows lead to shifts of attention. This is in line with findings that subliminal exogenous cues capture attention only in a top-down contingent manner, that is, when the cues fit the observer?s intentions.
Keywords: attention, arrow cues, spatial cuing, masked priming, contingent capture
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volume 7 issue 7.2, pages 92-107 |
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Good vibrations, bad vibrations: Oscillatory brain activity in the attentional blink |
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Jolanda Janson1 and Cornelia Kranczioch1,2 |
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1 Neuropsychology Lab, Department of Psychology, Carl von Ossietzky University, Oldenburg, Germany
2 Department of Neurology, Biomagnetic Center, University Hospital Jena, Jena, Germany
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The attentional blink (AB) is a deficit in reporting the second (T2) of two targets (T1, T2) when presented in close temporal succession and within a stream of distractor stimuli. The AB has received a great deal of attention in the past two decades because it allows to study the mechanisms that influence the rate and depth of information processing in various setups and therefore provides an elegant way to study correlates of conscious perception in supra-threshold stimuli. Recently evidence has accumulated suggesting that oscillatory signals play a significant role in temporally coordinating information between brain areas. This review focuses on studies looking into oscillatory brain activity in the AB. The results of these studies indicate that the AB is related to modulations in oscillatory brain activity in the theta, alpha, beta, and gamma frequency bands. These modulations are sometimes restricted to a circumscribed brain area but more frequently include several brain regions. They occur before targets are presented as well as after the presentation of the targets. We will argue that the complexity of the findings supports the idea that the AB is not the result of a processing impairment in one particular process or brain area, but the consequence of a dynamic interplay between several processes and/or parts of a neural network.
Keywords: oscillatory brain activity, attentional blink, EEG , review, visual attention
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Ulrich Ansorge1,2, Gernot Horstmann3, and Ingrid Scharlau4
Top-down contingent feature-specific orienting with and without awareness of the visual input
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volume 7 issue 7.2, pages 108-119 |
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Top-down contingent feature-specific orienting with and without awareness of the visual input |
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Ulrich Ansorge1,2, Gernot Horstmann3, and Ingrid Scharlau4 |
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1 Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Austria
2 Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Osnabrück, Germany
3 Department of Psychology, University of Bielefeld, Germany
4 Faculty of Cultural Sciences, University of Paderborn, Germany
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In the present article, the role of endogenous feature-specific orienting for conscious and unconscious vision is reviewed. We start with an overview of orienting. We proceed with a review of masking research, and the definition of the criteria of experimental protocols that demonstrate endogenous and exogenous orienting, respectively. Against this background of criteria, we assess studies of unconscious orienting and come to the conclusion that so far studies of unconscious orienting demonstrated endogenous feature-specific orienting. The review closes with a discussion of the role of unconscious orienting in action control.
Keywords: vision, masking, attention, top-down contingent capture
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volume 7 issue 7.2, pages 120-131 |
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Dos and don'ts in response priming research |
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Filipp Schmidt, Anke Haberkamp, and Thomas Schmidt |
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Faculty of Social Sciences, Psychology I, University of Kaiserslautern, Germany
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Response priming is a well-understood but sparsely employed paradigm in cognitive science. The method is powerful and well-suited for exploring early visuomotor processing in a wide range of tasks and research fields. Moreover, response priming can be dissociated from visual awareness, possibly because it is based on the first sweep of feedforward processing of primes and targets. This makes it a theoretically interesting device for separating conscious and unconscious vision. We discuss the major opportunities of the paradigm and give specific recommendations (e.g., tracing the time-course of priming in parametric experiments). Also, we point out typical confounds, design flaws, and data processing artifacts.
Keywords: response priming, unconscious perception, research methods
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volume 7 issue 7.2, pages 132-141 |
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The effects of spatial and temporal cueing on metacontrast masking |
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Maximilian Bruchmann, Philipp Hintze, and Simon Mota |
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Institute for Biomagnetism and Biosignalanalysis, University of Muenster, Germany
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We studied the effects of selective attention on metacontrast masking with 3 different cueing experiments. Experiments 1 and 2 compared central symbolic and peripheral spatial cues. For symbolic cues, we observed small attentional costs, that is, reduced visibility when the target appeared at an unexpected location, and attentional costs as well as benefits for peripheral cues. All these effects occurred exclusively at the late, ascending branch of the U-shaped metacontrast masking function, although the possibility exists that cueing effects at the early branch were obscured by a ceiling effect due to almost perfect visibility at short stimulus onset asynchronies (SO As). In Experiment 3, we presented temporal cues that indicated when the target was likely to appear, not where. Here, we also observed cueing effects in the form of higher visibility when the target appeared at the expected point in time compared to when it appeared too early. However, these effects were not restricted to the late branch of the masking function, but enhanced visibility over the complete range of the masking function. Given these results we discuss a common effect for different types of spatial selective attention on metacontrast masking involving neural subsystems that are different from those involved in temporal attention.
Keywords: visual masking, metacontrast, spatial cueing, temporal cueing
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Part II of this special issue is published in 2012 volume 8, issue 1
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volume 7 issue 7.2, pages 142-156 |
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Cognitive and affective judgements of syncopated musical themes |
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Peter E. Keller1 and Emery Schubert2 |
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1 Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Germany
2 School of English, Media and Performing Arts, University of New South Wales, Australia
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This study investigated cognitive and emotional effects of syncopation, a feature of musical rhythm that produces expectancy violations in the listener by emphasising weak temporal locations and de-emphasising strong locations in metric structure. Stimuli consisting of pairs of unsyncopated and syncopated musical phrases were rated by 35 musicians for perceived complexity, enjoyment, happiness, arousal, and tension. Overall, syncopated patterns were more enjoyed, and rated as happier, than unsyncopated patterns, while differences in perceived tension were unreliable. Complexity and arousal ratings were asymmetric by serial order, increasing when patterns moved from unsyncopated to syncopated, but not significantly changing when order was reversed. These results suggest that syncopation influences emotional valence (positively), and that while syncopated rhythms are objectively more complex than unsyncopated rhythms, this difference is more salient when complexity increases than when it decreases. It is proposed that composers and improvisers may exploit this asymmetry in perceived complexity by favoring formal structures that progress from rhythmically simple to complex, as can be observed in the initial sections of musical forms such as theme and variations.
Keywords: syncopation, serial asymmetry, affective response, cognition, rhythm, emotion, musical form
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