Abstract
The study of spontaneous and everyday cognitions is an area of rapidly growing interest. One of the most ubiquitous forms of spontaneous cognition is involuntary musical imagery (INMI), the involuntarily retrieved and repetitive mental replay of music. The present study introduced a novel method for capturing temporal features of INMI within a naturalistic setting. This method allowed for the investigation of two questions of interest to INMI researchers in a more objective way than previously possible, concerning (1) the precision of memory representations within INMI and (2) the interactions between INMI and concurrent affective state. Over the course of 4 days, INMI tempo was measured by asking participants to tap to the beat of their INMI with a wrist-worn accelerometer. Participants documented additional details regarding their INMI in a diary. Overall, the tempo of music within INMI was recalled from long-term memory in a highly veridical form, although with a regression to the mean for recalled tempo that parallels previous findings on voluntary musical imagery. A significant positive relationship was found between INMI tempo and subjective arousal, suggesting that INMI interacts with concurrent mood in a similar manner to perceived music. The results suggest several parallels between INMI and voluntary imagery, music perceptual processes, and other types of involuntary memories.
Highlights
The study of spontaneous and everyday cognitions is an area of rapidly growing interest
Of the 275 involuntary musical imagery (INMI) episodes reported in the diaries, the number of episodes reported per participant during the full 4-day period ranged from seven to 32 episodes; the number of INMI episodes reported during one day ranged from zero to ten
INMI is an example of a spontaneous cognition with several highly measurable features
Summary
The study of spontaneous and everyday cognitions is an area of rapidly growing interest. One of the most ubiquitous forms of spontaneous cognition is involuntary musical imagery (INMI), the involuntarily retrieved and repetitive mental replay of music. Empirical investigations of both non-volitional cognition and everyday thought processes have historically been neglected, due in part to the difficulty of harnessing these mental activities within a laboratory setting (Smallwood & Schooler, 2006, 2015). INMI is characterized by two primary features: (1) it is recalled via associative and unplanned retrieval mechanisms, and (2) it is involuntarily repetitive in nature These two characteristics serve to distinguish INMI from other related musical cognitions such as. INMI presents valuable opportunities to investigate everyday, spontaneous cognition
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