Date of Award
2022
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Education
Abstract
Mnemonic devices, through song, spoken rhymes, or advertisements, have been shown to help people recall information. Good teachers seek out tools and strategies that will help their students to perform better on tests and to learn and retain information better. This study aims to provide further evidence that utilizing the creative teaching method of packaging important concepts and definitions into a longer, recognizable pop song can aid college students in short-term and long-term memory recall of certain pieces of information. The data for this study were collected from students in four Introduction to Business courses at a large Midwestern university. Participant either listened to a mnemonic-like song covering information on marketing or were read a summary of the same information. A researcher-created test was then administered to the participants after three exposures to the material and again two weeks following the initial administration. Results indicated that in this study the use of a pop song parody as a mnemonic rehearsal technique was not significantly effective in encoding information to long-term memory, as measured two weeks following the initial test, compared to no memory aid. Results of this study indicated that the pop song parody used as a mnemonic rehearsal technique did not appear to aid in recalling information two weeks after instruction versus at the point of instruction. Results of this study also indicated a significant difference in a subjects ability to recall information when presented as a single versus repeated exposure in the musical mnemonic.These results indicated that the repeated exposure material was more effectively recalled than the single exposure material. Finally, the results indicated that instrumental musical experience did not significantly affect a participants ability to recall information when a musical mnemonic was used in instruction. Songs used as mnemonic-like songs have the potential to aid students ability to recall information both in the short term and long term. However, the research would support that songs need to meet certain conditions in order to ensure that the cognitive load is not too high and that students have the opportunity to rehearse these songs actively. If these conditions are not met, it is very likely that the mnemonic-like song will likely not aid students in their ability to recall information, and it may hinder this ability, especially over time.
Recommended Citation
Williams, John Jennings, "The Use Of Musical Mnemonic Devices In The Aid Of Short-Term And Long-Term Memory Recall" (2022). All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2162.
https://scholars.indianastate.edu/etds/2162