Music perception and social context on the consolidation of emotional memory

Abstract

One of the main features of memory systems is their modulation capacity by biological and environmental factors. Music-based interventions are used as memory modulators: the musical perception of an emotionally activating piece during consolidation has improved the recall of information in the long term. On the other hand, the social context also influences emotionality by intensifying positive emotions induced by music. This study aims to understand the effect of musical perception and social context on emotional memory consolidation. Sixty-four participants aged between 20 and 50 years (M = 26.08, SD = 1.22) were evaluated. They viewed 36 emotional and neutral images and were then exposed for 3 minutes to one of four conditions: listening to an activating piece alone, silence alone, listening to an activating piece in company, and silence in company. Subsequently, memory was assessed in free recall and recognition tasks immediately and after a delay. Observational differences were noted in free recall and recognition tasks for positive images among individuals who listened to music alone and in company, compared to the control conditions of silence alone and silence in company. This is reinforced by a correlation between the degree of liking for the musical piece and the performance of positive word memory. However, no statistically significant differences were found between the conditions. This study provides a starting point for future research on the subject.