Research Online at MacEwan :: Browsing by Author "Corrigall, Kathleen"

Browsing by Author "Corrigall, Kathleen"

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Assessing young children’s musical enculturation: a novel method for testing sensitivity to key membership, harmony, and musical metre
(2012) Einarson, Kathleen M.; Corrigall, Kathleen; Trainor, Laurel J.
Western adults with no formal music training have implicit knowledge of the tonal and metrical structure of music within their culture (Hannon & Trehub, 2005; Tillmann, Bharucha, & Bigand, 2000; Trainor & Trehub, 1992), but little research has explored the developmental trajectory of these abilities. Here we test Western preschool children's knowledge of Western key membership and harmony. We also test their ability to perceive simple metrical structures typical of Western music and to complex meters common in some foreign, but not Western, musical systems (London, 1995).
Associations between length of music training and reading skills in children
(2011) Corrigall, Kathleen; Trainor, Laurel J.
Previous research has found that music training in childhood is associated with word decoding, a fundamental reading skill related to the ability to pronounce individual words. These findings have typically been explained by a near transfer mechanism because music lessons train auditory abilities associated with those needed for decoding words. Nevertheless, few studies have examined whether music training is associated with higher-level reading abilities such as reading comprehension, which would suggest far transfer. We tested whether the length of time children took music lessons was associated with word decoding and reading comprehension skills in 6- to 9-year-old normal-achieving readers. Our results revealed that length of music training was not associated with word decoding skills; however, length of music training predicted reading comprehension performance even after controlling for age, socioeconomic status, auditory perception, fullscale IQ, the number of hours that children spent reading per week, and word decoding skills. We suggest that if near transfer occurs, it is likely strongest in beginning readers or those experiencing reading difficulty. The strong association in our data—between length of music training and reading comprehension—is consistent with mechanisms involving far transfer.
Can singing help me relax? The effect of music preference on perceived stress levels
(2020) McCloy, Morgan; Corrigall, Kathleen
Previous research has suggested that listening to music can be a helpful strategy in promoting feelings of relaxation, especially when participants can select their own music. However, the role of singing in relaxation is less clear. Some studies have examined the effects of group singing on levels of stress hormones, or have used singing as a way to induce stress, but none have examined whether or not singing alone in the absence of social stressors can decrease stress. The purpose of the current research study is to examine the role of music preferences in singing vs. listening for stress relief. Participants will complete various questionnaires in relation to their demographics, personality, and music experience. A mathematical stress-provoking task will follow, where they will rate their levels of perceived stress. Next, they will be randomly assigned to a listening or singing condition, with a song selection that they either enjoy or dislike. We hypothesize that individuals who sing preferred songs under low social stress should have a higher overall decrease in stress than those who were assigned songs they disliked. This research is not only beneficial to the student population with managing stress, but it could also have many implications in real-world settings. Future research should continue to examine other ways that singing in the absence of social pressure can aid in various therapeutic techniques.
Changing the tune: listeners like music that expresses a contrasting emotion
(2012) Schellenberg, E. Glenn; Corrigall, Kathleen; Ladinig, Olivia; Huron, David
Theories of esthetic appreciation propose that (1) a stimulus is liked because it is expected or familiar, (2) a stimulus is liked most when it is neither too familiar nor too novel, or (3) a novel stimulus is liked because it elicits an intensified emotional response. We tested the third hypothesis by examining liking for music as a function of whether the emotion it expressed contrasted with the emotion expressed by music heard previously. Stimuli were 30-s happy- or sad-sounding excerpts from recordings of classical piano music. On each trial, listeners heard a different excerpt and made liking and emotion-intensity ratings. The emotional character of consecutive excerpts was repeated with varying frequencies, followed by an excerpt that expressed a contrasting emotion. As the number of presentations of the background emotion increased, liking and intensity ratings became lower compared to those for the contrasting emotion. Consequently, when the emotional character of the music was relatively novel, listeners’ responses intensified and their appreciation increased.
Effects of musical training on key and harmony perception
(2009) Corrigall, Kathleen; Trainor, Laurel J.
Even adults with no formal music lessons have implicit musical knowledge acquired through exposure to the music of their culture. Two of these abilities are knowledge of key membership (which notes belong in a key) and harmony (chord progressions). Studies to date suggest that perception of harmony emerges around 5–6 years of age. Using simple tasks, we found that formal music training influences key and harmony perception in 3- to 6-year-olds, and that even nonmusicians as young as 3 years have some knowledge of key membership and harmony.
Enculturation to musical pitch structure in young children: evidence from behavioral and electrophysiological methods
(2014) Corrigall, Kathleen; Trainor, Laurel J.
Children learn the structure of the music of their culture similarly to how they learn the language to which they are exposed in their daily environment. Furthermore, as with language, children acquire this musical knowledge without formal instruction. Two critical aspects of musical pitch structure in Western tonal music are key membership (understanding which notes belong in a key and which do not) and harmony (understanding which notes combine to form chords and which notes and chords tend to follow others). The early developmental trajectory of the acquisition of this knowledge remains unclear, in part because of the difficulty of testing young children. In two experiments, we investigated 4- and 5-year-olds' enculturation to Western musical pitch using a novel age-appropriate and engaging behavioral task (Experiment 1) and electroencephalography (EEG; Experiment 2). In Experiment 1 we found behavioral evidence that 5-year-olds were sensitive to key membership but not to harmony, and no evidence that 4-year-olds were sensitive to either. However, in Experiment 2 we found neurophysiological evidence that 4-year-olds were sensitive to both key membership and harmony. Our results suggest that musical enculturation has a long developmental trajectory, and that children may have some knowledge of key membership and harmony before that knowledge can be expressed through explicit behavioral judgments.
Examining the relationship between music training and early reading skills in children
(2018) Byfield, Elise; Corrigall, Kathleen
Past research has found a unique relationship between musical perceptual abilities and reading skills. The literature is highly inconclusive as to why that relationship may exist, with many researchers reporting contradictory results. There are two main theories of thought that overarch the research in this area. One is that the relationship is of a domain specific nature, the other, that it is more domain general. There is evidence to support each of the previously mentioned hypotheses, which has created a very contradictory and confusing explanation of the relationship. However, the inconsistent findings may be due to a lack of clearly defined musical perception measures. The present study attempts to clarify some of the inconsistencies in past research by using real musical stimuli and age appropriate tasks for children, elements that have at times been overlooked in previous studies. The children completed a standardized musical perception task and an abridged version of the Mini Profile of Music Perception Skills (Mini-PROMS). This task assesses perceptual ability to detect changes in speed, tuning, accent and melody. Participants were also tested using the Beat Alignment Task and asked to identify drummers who are on versus off the beat. Musical perception scores were then compared to reading scores on standardized tests. We hypothesize that by examining musical perception and reading in this way, we will find evidence of a domain general relationship between music perceptual abilities and amount of training and reading.
Examining the relationship between music training and early reading skills in children
(2014) Byfield, Elise; Corrigall, Kathleen
Past research has found evidence of a link between musical perception and performance on literacy related tests, such a reading tests and phonological awareness measures. Particular focus has been on the correlation between musical skills and phonemic understanding, with few studies examining reading specifically. Thus far in the literature, it is unclear if the relationship between perception and reading is dependent on specific perceptual abilities or is more domain general. Past investigation is also limited in the musical tasks that are available for children, and this had led to very mixed results as to why the relationship between music and reading might exist. The present study tested 120 6- to 10- year olds on a variety of musical perception measures and word reading tests to examine the association when controlling for general cognition and length of music training. Our results revealed that speed and tuning perceptual abilities were the only significant predictor of word reading scores, and that music training was uncorrelated with reading ability.
Group music training and children’s prosocial skills
(2015) Schellenberg, E. Glenn; Corrigall, Kathleen; Dys, Sebastian P.; Malti, Tina
We investigated if group music training in childhood is associated with prosocial skills. Children in 3rd or 4th grade who attended 10 months of music lessons taught in groups were compared to a control group of children matched for socio-economic status. All children were administered tests of prosocial skills near the beginning and end of the 10-month period. Compared to the control group, children in the music group had larger increases in sympathy and prosocial behavior, but this effect was limited to children who had poor prosocial skills before the lessons began. The effect was evident even when the lessons were compulsory, which minimized the role of self-selection. The results suggest that group music training facilitates the development of prosocial skills.
Infants' use of lexical-category-to-meaning links in object individuation
(2008) Hall, D. Geoffrey; Corrigall, Kathleen; Rhemtulla, Mijke; Donegan, Eleanro; Xu, Fei
Infants watched an experimenter retrieve a stuffed animal from an opaque box and then return it. This happened twice, consistent with either 1 animal appearing on 2 occasions or 2 identical-looking animals each appearing once. The experimenter labeled each object appearance with a different novel label. After infants retrieved 1 object from the box, their subsequent search behavior was recorded. Twenty-month-olds, but not 16-month-olds, searched significantly longer for a second object inside the box when the labels were both proper names than when they were 1 count noun followed by 1 proper name. The effect was not significant when proper names were replaced by adjectives. Twenty-month-olds' understanding of meaning distinctions among several word categories guided their object individuation.
Measuring children’s harmonic knowledge with implicit and explicit tests
(2022) Corrigall, Kathleen; Tillmann, Barbara; Schellenberg, E. Glenn
We used implicit and explicit tasks to measure knowledge of Western harmony in musically trained and untrained Canadian children. Younger children were 6-7 years of age; older children were 10-11. On each trial, participants heard a sequence of five piano chords. The first four chords established a major-key context. The final chord was the standard, expected tonic of the context or one of two deviant endings: the highly unexpected flat supertonic or the moderately unexpected subdominant. In the implicit task, children identified the timbre of the final chord (guitar or piano) as quickly as possible. Response times were faster for the tonic ending than for either deviant ending, but the magnitude of the priming effect was similar for the two deviants, and the effect did not vary as a function of age or music training. In the explicit task, children rated how good each chord sequence sounded. Ratings were highest for sequences with the tonic ending, intermediate for the subdominant, and lowest for the flat supertonic. Moreover, the difference between the tonic and deviant sequences was larger for older children with music training. Thus, the explicit task provided a more nuanced picture of musical knowledge than did the implicit task.
Music and dance training are not uniquely associated with memory skills
(2024) Sidhu, Riya K.; Ritchie, Kaitlin N.; Corrigall, Kathleen
Music training is robustly associated with cognitive skills, and with tonal and verbal memory more specifically. However, it is unclear whether these associations reflect near or far transfer and/or whether they indicate pre-existing differences between those who do or do not take music lessons for long durations. Dance training may similarly rely on or train visuospatial memory abilities and produce exercise-induced benefits for working memory, but there is far less research on its associations with cognition. In Study 1, women with varying durations of formal music and dance experience completed measures of visual and auditory memory, general intelligence, demographics, and personality. Music training was associated with auditory immediate and delayed memory, as well as visual working memory, but all associations disappeared when other variables were held constant. Furthermore, dance training was not associated with any memory measure. Study 2 was similar but focused on visual memory and included both men and women. We replicated the simple association between duration of music training and visual working memory, which once again ceased to remain significant when controlling for other variables. Similarly, dance training failed to correlate with any visual memory measure despite the use of more valid visual memory tasks. Our findings suggest that memory advantages among musicians most likely result from pre-existing differences rather than near transfer and provide no evidence of transfer from dance training to visual memory.
Music training, cognition, and personality
(2013) Corrigall, Kathleen; Schellenberg, E. Glenn; Misura, Nicole M.
Although most studies that examined associations between music training and cognitive abilities had correlational designs, the prevailing bias is that music training causes improvements in cognition. It is also possible, however, that high-functioning children are more likely than other children to take music lessons, and that they also differ in personality. We asked whether individual differences in cognition and personality predict who takes music lessons and for how long. The participants were 118 adults (Study 1) and 167 10- to 12-year-old children (Study 2). We collected demographic information and measured cognitive ability and the Big Five personality dimensions. As in previous research, cognitive ability was associated with musical involvement even when demographic variables were controlled statistically. Novel findings indicated that personality was associated with musical involvement when demographics and cognitive ability were held constant, and that openness-to-experience was the personality dimension with the best predictive power. These findings reveal that: (1) individual differences influence who takes music lessons and for how long, (2) personality variables are at least as good as cognitive variables at predicting music training, and (3) future correlational studies of links between music training and non-musical ability should account for individual differences in personality.
Music, interpersonal synchrony, and social affiliation
(2017) Makowecki, Erika; Corrigall, Kathleen
Research suggests that moving synchronously with others increases social affiliation as it blurs the boundary between “self” and “other” and allows group members to focus on a shared goal. In the real world, few synchronous movement behaviours are performed without the backdrop of a musical beat to support them (i.e., tribal rituals, soldiers marching, dancing during concerts). However, to our knowledge, only one previous study examined the role of music in the association between synchronous movement and social affiliation. To examine this question, we had participants watch a 3-minute dance video in groups of 3-4. They either mimicked the dance moves in the video (moving synchronously) or simply observed the movements while seated, and music was either present or absent. As such, there were four conditions: 1) move with music, 2) move without music, 3) observe with music, 4) observe without music. Participants then completed a series of questionnaires; our dependent measures focused on social affiliation (i.e., entitativity, inclusion of other in self, trustworthiness) and prosocial behaviours (i.e., helping). We hypothesize that 1) the movement groups will show greater social affiliation and prosocial behaviour than the observation groups, and 2) the group moving to music will show the strongest effect. If hypothesis 2) is supported, we suspect that it will result from an increased mood and/or a higher degree of synchronization compared to the other group(s). Because even simple synchronous movements (e.g., finger tapping) generate feelings of community and bonding, the addition of music may enhance or exaggerate this effect.
Musical enculturation in preschool children: acquisition of key and harmonic knowledge
(2010) Corrigall, Kathleen; Trainor, Laurel J.
Even adults without formal music training have implicit musical knowledge that they have acquired through day-to-day exposure to the music of their culture. Two of the more sophisticated musical abilities to develop in childhood are knowledge of key membership (which notes belong in a key) and harmony (chords and chord progressions). Previous research suggests sensitivity to key membership by 4 or 5 years, but provides no behavioral evidence of harmony perception until 6 or 7. Thus, we examined knowledge of key membership and harmony in 4- and 5-year-old children using a simple task and a familiar song. In line with previous research, we found that even the youngest children had acquired key membership. Furthermore, even 4-year-olds demonstrated some knowledge of Western harmony, which continued to develop between 4 and 5 years of age. In sum, our results indicate that harmony perception begins to develop earlier than has been previously suggested.
Predicting who takes music lessons: parent and child characteristics
(2015) Corrigall, Kathleen; Schellenberg, E. Glenn
Studies on associations between music training and cognitive abilities typically focus on the possible benefits of music lessons. Recent research suggests, however, that many of these associations stem from niche-picking tendencies, which lead certain individuals to be more likely than others to take music lessons, especially for long durations. Because the initial decision to take music lessons is made primarily by a child's parents, at least at younger ages, we asked whether individual differences in parents' personality predict young children's duration of training. Children between 7 and 9 years of age (N = 170) with varying amounts of music training completed a measure of IQ. Their parents provided demographic information as well as ratings of their own and their child's Big Five personality dimensions. Children's personality traits predicted duration of music training even when demographic variables and intelligence were held constant, replicating findings reported previously with 10- to 12-year-olds and 17-year-olds. A novel finding was that parents' openness-to-experience predicted children's duration of training, even when characteristics that pertained to children (demographic variables, intelligence, and personality) were controlled statistically. Our findings are indicative of passive and active gene-environment correlations, whereby genetic predispositions influence the likelihood that a child will have certain experiences, such as music training.

Browsing by Author "Corrigall, Kathleen"

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