15 Aug 2008 - A new topic within the psychological discipline concerns involuntary semantic memories. Initial research has suggested that musical memories are the dominant type of memories that are remembered involuntarily. Interestingly, no reliable information exists on how common this phenomenon of ‘earworms’, mental replay of music, is among people living in a western culture. Present study intended to investigate this issue by examining the topic in retrospect. Study conducted among 12,420 Finnish Internet users showed that 91.7 % of people reported experiencing this phenomenon at least once a week. Several statistical procedures were used to relate the retrospectively reported frequency of the phenomenon to a set of background variables. This revealed a positive connection to increased music practice and listening, and sex (being a female). In contrast, with increasing aged, the frequency of the incidents decreased.
Watch Researcher Lassi Liikkanen's interview by Nelonen (Channel 4 Finland) »
Read more (in Finnish) »
Last updated on 22 Feb 2010 by WWW administrator - Page created on 15 Aug 2008 by Visa Noronen