[ANPPOM-Lista] Earworm Project

Dom Ago 5 08:46:35 BRT 2012

Earworm Project Why do tunes get stuck in our heads?

*The Music, Mind and Brain group is currently running a number of projects
examining the nature of earworms. We are funded by the British Academy and
our projects run in partnership with 6Music (BBC Radio).*

**
LINK TO EARWORMERY.COM <http://earwormery.com/> - The home of our original
project questionnaire. Please fill in only once - then pass it on!
LINK TO QUICK EARWORM
FORM<http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/shows/shaun-keaveny/form/earworms/>-
use this to report as many earworm experiences as you like.

**

*
*
What are '*earworms'*?

The term *earworm* originally comes from a translation of the German word
'Ohrwurm'. It refers to the experience of having a tune or a part of a tune
stuck in your head. Often a person experiencing an earworm has no idea why
a tune has popped into their head and has little control over how long it
continues. Earworms are a really common phenomenon: A recent poll suggested
over* 90% *of the population experience them at least once a week, so it
seems like having the odd earworm is perfectly normal. But 15% of people
classified their earworms as  "disturbing"
[1]<http://www.gold.ac.uk/music-mind-brain/earworm-project/#_ftn1>and
in a different study one third of the people described their earworms
as "unpleasant"
[2]<http://www.gold.ac.uk/music-mind-brain/earworm-project/#_ftn2>-
This means that although earworms are essentially harmless they can
get
in the way of what you are trying to do and can stop you from thinking
straight.

Despite the prevalent nature of earworms and the potential impact they can
have on our normal thought processes very little is known about what causes
earworms, why they happen to some people more than others and why some
tunes are more commonly heard as an earworm than others.*This is where our
research comes in!*

**
*Our Projects*

   - *Project 1: What features do typical earworm music tunes have in
   common?* - Are some tunes naturally more 'sticky'?

*NEWS! We *have completed the first run of this project using over 1000
reports of earworm tunes. We used computational methods to analyse the
structure of the tunes that were reported as earworms and then compared
these tunes to 'control songs' to see which parts of the musical structure
make a tune more 'sticky'. Our model is continuing to grow and develop in
strength as we get more and more reports. To keep you updated, we can tell
you that the current model can predict whether a tune has the potential to
be an earworm with over 80% success. We are currently re-analysing our
dataset to update our model and very soon we will have our first paper on
this subject.

   - *Project 2: What do people who frequently experience earworms have in
   common? - *Are musicians or music lovers more vulnerable? What about
   people with different personality types?

*NEWS! We *have completed the first run of this project using nearly 2000
reports of earworm tunes. We used statistical techniques to determine
whether certain types of people were more likely to experience earworms. To
keep you updated, we have found some fascinating relationships between
personality and earworms.Our first paper on this subject has been submitted
for publication and we hope to provide further details soon.

   - *Project 3: What causes earworms? - *Are some situations more 'high
   risk'?  Can earworms have a purpose?

*NEWS! *- We have completed their analyses of over 3000 earworm reports
provided by the general public using our
questionnaire<http://earwormery.com/>and 6 Music contacts. To
summarise, the results of this analysis have shown
that while the music in our environment has an effect on our earworm
experiences,  especially when we hear music repeatedly and outside of our
control, this is not the only factor that leads to spontaneous musical
imagery. The reports we have received highlighted the importance of
spreading activation in memory (both personal memory and memory for simple
knowledge and facts), as well as the effects of mood and attention states
on the type of music that we hear in our heads.

Our paper on this project is now published!! You can find it in the Psychology
of Music Online
first.<http://pom.sagepub.com/content/early/2011/09/17/0305735611418553.abstract>Please
contact Vicky
Williamson <http://www.gold.ac.uk/psychology/staff/victoria-williamson/> if
you would like a copy.

   - *Project 4: What cures earworms? - *We are currently building a
   database of 'earworm cures', supplied by kind members of the public. Have
   you worked out a way to control your earworms? Have you worked out a trick
   for silencing the stuck tune? Do you know of a melody or sound that you can
   play or imagine that knocks out an earworm without itself getting stuck? If
   the answer to any of these questions is 'yes' then we would love to hear
   from you!

Please email: earwormcures - at- gmail.com

** *'How can I get involved?'... *

…By telling us about you and your earworm experiences at
http://earwormery.com/ . In addition, anytime that you notice an earworm
you can fill in our short report form which is hosted by 6Music
here<http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/shows/shaun-keaveny/form/earworms/>-
the more the merrier!
**
*The Research Team at Goldsmiths*

Sebastian Finkel <http://brainformusic.tumblr.com/>

Georgia Floridou

Josh Fry <http://joshuafry.tumblr.com/>

Rhiannon Jones

Daniel Müllensiefen <http://www.doc.gold.ac.uk/%7Emas03dm/>

Lauren Stewart <http://www.gold.ac.uk/psychology/staff/stewart/>

Mike Wammes

Vicky Williamson
<http://www.gold.ac.uk/psychology/staff/victoria-williamson/>

Please visit Vicky Williamson's blog on music
psychology<http://musicpsychology.co.uk/>
<http://www.gold.ac.uk/psychology/staff/victoria-williamson/>
** *Contact: *Any questions and comments can be directed to us at:
earwormery em gmail.com <musicallistening em gmail.com>

*External Links*

Recent Interview on Radio 4 (Begins 7m into recording):
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00t2xct#synopsis

Earworm Paper 1 (Project 3) on the British Psychological Society
Blog:<http://bps-research-digest.blogspot.com/2011/11/what-triggers-earworm-song-thats-stuck.html>

The birthplace of our earworm
hunt:http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/shows/shaun_keaveny/

The video where the 6 Music team got Vicky in a white coat!:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SkxXzitCuU

The British Academy: http://www.britac.ac.uk/

Tell us your earworm on Twitter: http://twitter.com/search?q=earworms(#earworm)

Visit our Facebook page:
http://en-gb.facebook.com/pages/Music-Mind-Brain-Goldsmiths/10150121042135716

Learn more about our research group: http://www.gold.ac.uk/music-mind-brain/

 Learn about our Masters in Music, Mind and Brain:
http://www.gold.ac.uk/pg/msc-music-mind-brain/

References

[1] <http://www.gold.ac.uk/music-mind-brain/earworm-project/#_ftnref1>Liikkanen
L.A. (2008) Music in everymind: Commonality of involuntary
musical imagery. *Proceedings of the 10th International Conference of Music
Perception and Cognition*. Sapporo, Japan.

[2] <http://www.gold.ac.uk/music-mind-brain/earworm-project/#_ftnref2>Beaman,
C. P., & Williams, T. I. (2010) Earworms ("stuck song syndrome"):
Towards a natural history of intrusive thoughts. *British Journal of
Psychology, * 101(4), 637-653.

 Edit<http://luna.gold.ac.uk/terminalfour/SiteManager?ctfn=content&fnno=30&sid=9301>

Goldsmiths, University of London, New Cross, London, SE14 6NW, UK
Telephone: + 44 (0)20 7919 7171

Goldsmiths has charitable status

-- 
carlos palombini
www.researcherid.com/rid/F-7345-2011
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