Investigating a self-reference effect in musical aesthetics

Anna Kasdan,Amy M Belfi,Massimo Grassi

doi:10.1017/exp.2020.6

Abstract

AbstractPrevious work on aesthetic experience suggests that aesthetic judgments are self-referential. The self-reference effect (SRE) is the tendency for individuals to show improved memory for items that are judged in relation to themselves. The current study sought to understand if the SRE exists for aesthetic judgments of music. Participants heard musical excerpts (classical, jazz, and electronic) and rated either a) how much they liked the music (Self condition), b) how much a close relative or friend would like the music (Other condition), or c) the genre of the music (Genre condition). After a retention interval, participants completed a recognition memory task for the musical excerpts. Participants did not show improved memory for musical excerpts encoded in the Self condition. These results extend the concept of the SRE into the domain of aesthetic judgments, but do not provide support for a memory advantage when making aesthetic judgments in relation to the self.

Highlights

Previous work suggests that aesthetic judgments (e.g., “This sculpture is beautiful”) are self-referential
This finding has been interpreted as evidence that individuals engage in self-reference when evaluating works of art – that is, if evaluating art activates brain regions involved in self reference, the assumption is that aesthetic judgments are self-referential
We predicted that music judged in an aesthetic manner (i.e., “I like that song”) would be remembered better than music judged in a non-aesthetic manner (i.e., “That is a classical piece of music”)

Summary

Introduction

Previous work suggests that aesthetic judgments (e.g., “This sculpture is beautiful”) are self-referential. Neuroimaging work has shown that aesthetic enjoyment is associated with activity in the default mode network (Belfi et al, 2019; Vessel, Starr, & Rubin, 2012), a system of brain regions implicated in self-referential processes, including autobiographical memory (Buckner, Andrews-Hanna, & Schacter, 2008). This finding has been interpreted as evidence that individuals engage in self-reference when evaluating works of art – that is, if evaluating art activates brain regions involved in self reference, the assumption is that aesthetic judgments are self-referential. We predicted that music judged in an aesthetic manner (i.e., “I like that song”) would be remembered better than music judged in a non-aesthetic manner (i.e., “That is a classical piece of music”)

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion