Aspects of the Research Program

Aspects of the Research Program

Study One (Quantitative Study)

This part of the research program looks at how well song lyrics can be stored in, and then retrieved from, human memory. The aim of Study One is to compare memory performance for song lyrics (verbal information) that are presented with and without music.

Teachers should randomly allocate students to one of two groups, representing the ‘sung-lyric’ and ‘spoken-lyric’ experimental conditions. Participants will read through the lyric sheet of a Beatle song, “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”. Then they will listen to an excerpt of the song, which is called a ‘presentation’. After this, they will be given a free recall test of their memory of the lyrics. That is, students will write down as much of the song lyrics as they can recall or remember on a blank sheet of paper. Then there will be a second presentation, without a test.

There will be a third presentation and a second free recall test. Students will then be given a distraction task for ten minutes. After this, they will be given a cued recall test. This involves asking students specific questions to prompt them to recall appropriate lyrics. After this they will be given a recognition test, where students have to choose the correct lyric from a multiple-choice list. Finally, participants will be given a memory questionnaire, which allows them to assess their own performance during the recall tasks.

In the process of formulating questions for individual investigations, students will need to consider whether recall is influenced by music. Does the data suggest these differences? Are there differences between males and females on recall using the different measures? Are there age differences on the recall scores? What might be taking place psychologically that could account for these differences (if any)? What are the social implications of the psychological and neuro-psychological findings about music and memory? If the data fail to support the hypotheses, what other hypotheses could be formulated?

Study Two (Focus Group)

The findings from the various studies suggest that musical structure is a way of improving memory (e.g. Kilgour et al., 2000; Morrongiello & Roes, 1990). The file “How to Conduct a Focus Group” can be found on the SACE Board of SA website psychology minisite under ‘Stage 2’ > ‘Support Materials’ > ‘Research Program Information’. The following questions are to be discussed in the focus group:

i.  It is thought that music assists in the memory of lyrical material. How might music assist our memory for lyrical material (e.g. consider the differences between spoken and sung lyrics)?

ii.  Describe the way(s) in which learning might be inhibited or enhanced by the amount of information presented.

iii.  If “musically-trained” students have an advantage over “musically-untrained” students, describe ways in which programs of music training and/or intervention might be encouraged and introduced into schools?

6. RESEARCH PROGRAM PROCEDURE

It is recommended that teachers stick to the procedure given in this section. A table is provided at the end of each lesson, which summarises the steps involved in the procedure. Participants must record their anonymous ID number (not name), which has been randomly assigned by the teacher (p. 10), on all handouts.

The participants should be randomly allocated to either the ‘sung-lyric’ or ‘spoken-lyric’ experimental groups, trying to ensure that “musically-trained” students are represented in equal numbers in each group. Participants can be allocated to a group according to their random ID number (e.g. ‘odds’ = ‘sung-lyric group’, and ‘evens’ = ‘spoken-lyric group’). In small classes the teacher may need to intervene to balance the groups.

Teachers may test the participants as a group, as long as the two groups (‘sung-lyric’ or ‘spoken-lyric’) are tested at different times, or in separate rooms. Recordings played in each room must be out of earshot of participants in the other room. WARNING: If teachers choose to test the two groups over two sessions, they run the risk of the first group talking to, and contaminating the second group.

This research program has students marking their own work, but to avoid cheating, teachers have the option of randomizing the tests and getting each student to mark another student’s tests. There will be five in total (2 x Handout 4, 1 x Handout 7, 1 x Handout 9). Each student will also need a copy of Handout 5 to score Handout 4.

LESSON 1 (50 mins.)

Instructions for “sung-lyric” group:

1. Listen to the song—Presentation 1 (ABOUT 2 MINUTES).

2.  Immediately after this, do the Free Recall Test—Trial 1 (allow 5 minutes). When the 5 minutes is up hand up your sheet to the teacher.

3.  Listen to the song—Presentation 2 (about 2 minutes). There is no task after this presentation.

4.  Listen to the song—Presentation 3 (about 2 minutes).

5.  Immediately after this, do the Free Recall Test—Trial 2 (allow 5 minutes). When the 5 minutes is up hand up your sheet to the teacher.

6.  Circle every odd (or even) number of the Random Numbers Table (Handout 6) for 10 minutes. Note: The teacher might give you a different nonverbal task to ‘fill-in’ 10 minutes, such as cutting out pictures in a magazine.

7.  Do Cued Recall Test (Handout 7), which asks specific questions to prompt recall of appropriate lyrics (allow 5 minutes).

8.  Do Recognition Test (Handout 8), which involves selecting the correct lyric from a multiple-choice list (allow 5 minutes).

9.  Fill out the Memory Questionnaire (Handout 9), which asks you to assess your own memory during the experiment (allow 5 minutes).

LESSON 1 (50 mins.)

Instructions for “spoken-lyric” group:

Instructions are the same as for the “sung-lyric” expect the spoken-lyric version of the song is used.

LESSON 2 (45 mins.)