Lecture 13

Question 1

what is an earworm?

Answer 1

inability to dislodge a song and prevent it from repeating itself in one’s head

Question 2

can earworms be objectively measured?

Answer 2

no sir
- all subjective making it difficult to study

Question 3

what kind of phenomenon is involved in earworms?

Answer 3

spontaneous
- involuntary

Question 4

Beaman and Williams

Answer 4

combined survey approach with diary approach

Question 5

what is the survey approach?

Answer 5

record a single point in time where you write down what you remember about the experience
- cheap, easy and quick

Question 6

what is the diary approach?

Answer 6

concurrent reports
- prep to log info down
- less potential memory biases
- larger time commitment

Question 7

what are surveys designed to measure?

Answer 7

• interference experienced: problems with earworms
• emotional responses: overlaps with interference
• what form it takes
• duration and frequency: how often and long
• perceptions of control: theoretical implications

Question 8

how long did most respondents say earworms last for?

Answer 8

several hours or long

Question 9

was there a relationship found between musical training and earworms?

Answer 9

no
- those who reported considering music to be important reported experiencing earworms that lasted longer

Question 10

what was most likely to be the earworm?

Answer 10

chorus or refrain

Question 11

was there a relationship found between level of interference reported and whether content was lyrical, melody-based or both?

Answer 11

no

Question 12

t or f: most respondents found earworms to be problematic

Answer 12

f- most were fine with them
10% had a problem

Question 13

was there a + or - correlation between how unpleasant and worrying earworms could be?

Answer 13

positive

Question 14

do more or less frequent earworms report greater interference?

Answer 14

less

Question 15

questionnaire study

Answer 15

• little overlap in earworms
• various mediums
• people have different earworms

Question 16

people who found problems with earworms reported what?

Answer 16

• music is important
• earworms of long duration
• more difficulty controlling them

Question 17

involuntary cognitions perceived to be important are more likely to be perceived as __________

Answer 17

problematic
- compared to neutral content

Question 18

if an earworm was reported as worrying then what was also reported with it?

Answer 18

unpleasantness

Question 19

diary approach study

Answer 19

• analysis of trends- compare consistencies
• reduce memory biases
• compliment data from survey study

Question 20

diary study results

Answer 20

• 33% said earworms were solely the chorus
• 28% was the entire song
• avg = 27.25 min
• much shorter than the estimate
• involves the LTM bc it is longer than the capacity of STM
• 33.1% unpleasant, 50.1% pleasant

Question 21

what was surprising about the diary study?

Answer 21

• very low rates of reoccurrence of specific earworms

Question 22

attempts to control diary study results

Answer 22

56% no attempt to stop
4% elaborated
21% displacement activities
12% generalized distraction

Question 23

comparing questionnaire and diary data

Answer 23

• earworms are frequent and idiosyncratic
• length estimated were shorter than survey
• attempts to displace earworm were associated with longer durations