Front Psychol. 2016 Mar 01;7:278. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00278. eCollection 2016.
Sex Differences in Music: A Female Advantage at Recognizing Familiar Melodies.
Frontiers in psychology
Scott A Miles, Robbin A Miranda, Michael T Ullman
Affiliations
Affiliations
- Brain and Language Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience, Georgetown University, WashingtonDC, USA; Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience, Georgetown University, WashingtonDC, USA.
- Brain and Language Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience, Georgetown University, WashingtonDC, USA; Infinimetrics Corporation, ViennaVA, USA.
- Brain and Language Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience, Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA.
PMID: 26973574
PMCID: PMC4771742 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00278
Abstract
Although sex differences have been observed in various cognitive domains, there has been little work examining sex differences in the cognition of music. We tested the prediction that women would be better than men at recognizing familiar melodies, since memories of specific melodies are likely to be learned (at least in part) by declarative memory, which shows female advantages. Participants were 24 men and 24 women, with half musicians and half non-musicians in each group. The two groups were matched on age, education, and various measures of musical training. Participants were presented with well-known and novel melodies, and were asked to indicate their recognition of familiar melodies as rapidly as possible. The women were significantly faster than the men in responding, with a large effect size. The female advantage held across musicians and non-musicians, and across melodies with and without commonly associated lyrics, as evidenced by an absence of interactions between sex and these factors. Additionally, the results did not seem to be explained by sex differences in response biases, or in basic motor processes as tested in a control task. Though caution is warranted given that this is the first study to examine sex differences in familiar melody recognition, the results are consistent with the hypothesis motivating our prediction, namely that declarative memory underlies knowledge about music (particularly about familiar melodies), and that the female advantage at declarative memory may thus lead to female advantages in music cognition (particularly at familiar melody recognition). Additionally, the findings argue against the view that female advantages at tasks involving verbal (or verbalizable) material are due solely to a sex difference specific to the verbal domain. Further, the results may help explain previously reported cognitive commonalities between music and language: since declarative memory also underlies language, such commonalities may be partly due to a common dependence on this memory system. More generally, because declarative memory is well studied at many levels, evidence that music cognition depends on this system may lead to a powerful research program generating a wide range of novel predictions for the neurocognition of music, potentially advancing the field.
Keywords: declarative memory; language; melody; music; music cognition; musical training; recognition; sex differences
References
- Neuropsychologia. 2005;43(11):1559-67 - PubMed
- Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2003 Nov;999:15-28 - PubMed
- J Neurosci. 1995 Feb;15(2):1080-9 - PubMed
- Hippocampus. 2005;15(4):451-9 - PubMed
- Am Psychol. 2005 Sep;60(6):581-92 - PubMed
- Ageing Res Rev. 2013 Mar;12(2):628-41 - PubMed
- Cereb Cortex. 2003 Sep;13(9):943-9 - PubMed
- Psychoneuroendocrinology. 1992 Oct;17(5):485-95 - PubMed
- Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011 Sep 6;108(36):14786-8 - PubMed
- J Cogn Neurosci. 2003 Aug 15;15(6):810-20 - PubMed
- Eur J Neurosci. 2006 May;23(10):2791-803 - PubMed
- Neuroreport. 2003 Apr 15;14(5):709-13 - PubMed
- Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2009 Mar;1156:211-31 - PubMed
- Mem Cognit. 1997 Jul;25(4):518-33 - PubMed
- Perspect Psychol Sci. 2013 Jan;8(1):49-55 - PubMed
- Nat Rev Neurosci. 2010 Jul;11(7):523-32 - PubMed
- Neuroimage. 2013 Jan 1;64:134-46 - PubMed
- Trends Cogn Sci. 2007 Oct;11(10):442-50 - PubMed
- Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2015 Apr;51:205-22 - PubMed
- Nat Neurosci. 2003 Jul;6(7):674-81 - PubMed
- Neuropsychologia. 2014 Feb;54:1-10 - PubMed
- J Neurosci. 2006 Jun 7;26(23):6314-7 - PubMed
- Neuropsychologia. 1971 Mar;9(1):97-113 - PubMed
- Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2009 Jul;1169:431-6 - PubMed
- Curr Biol. 2011 Dec 20;21(24):2109-14 - PubMed
- J Music Ther. 2001 Spring;38(1):28-35 - PubMed
- Brain Cogn. 2011 Oct;77(1):40-7 - PubMed
- Psychol Bull. 2006 May;132(3):354-80 - PubMed
- J Cogn Neurosci. 2003 Jul 1;15(5):683-93 - PubMed
- Annu Rev Psychol. 2011;62:621-47 - PubMed
- J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform. 2001 Oct;27(5):1185-96 - PubMed
- PLoS One. 2012;7(3):e32974 - PubMed
- Cognition. 2004 May-Jun;92(1-2):231-70 - PubMed
- Brain. 1999 Jan;122 ( Pt 1):75-85 - PubMed
- Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2013 Sep 17;110(38):15443-8 - PubMed
- Behav Neurosci. 2000 Dec;114(6):1245-50 - PubMed
- Trends Cogn Sci. 2011 Jan;15(1):20-7 - PubMed
- J Autism Dev Disord. 2008 Aug;38(7):1395-9 - PubMed
- Annu Rev Neurosci. 2011;34:259-88 - PubMed
- Neuroimage. 2007 Nov 1;38(2):331-45 - PubMed
- Acta Psychol (Amst). 2011 May;137(1):24-35 - PubMed
- Epilepsia. 1999 Apr;40(4):414-23 - PubMed
Publication Types
Grant support