Thinking about the Past? Examining the Effects of Temporal Comparisons and Reminiscing on Cognitive Processing of Music and Radio Advertisements

Abstract

ABSTRACT Exposure to music has been found to evoke temporal comparisons and reminiscing processes. However, little yet is known about how temporal comparisons and reminiscing influence cognitive processing of music and subsequent radio advertisements. The current study expands this research by examining how young adults cognitively process familiar and unfamiliar songs and subsequently placed radio advertisements. Results indicated that familiar songs generated greater self-reported temporal comparisons and reminiscing compared to unfamiliar songs. Moreover, temporal comparisons and reminiscing processes reduced cognitive resources allocated to encoding familiar songs and subsequently placed radio advertisements. The theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.