Abstract
The degree of interference caused by different kinds of stimuli on memory for tonal pitch was studied. Musically trained and untrained subjects heard a sequence of two tones separated by an interval of 5 sec. The tones were either identical in pitch or differed by a semitone. Subjects had to decide whether the tones were identical or not. The interval was filled with tonal, verbal, or visual material under attended and unattended conditions. The results revealed clear group differences. Musically trained subjects’ retention of the first test tone was only affected by the interposition of other tones. In contrast, the performance of musically untrained subjects was also affected by verbal and visual items. The findings are discussed in the framework of Baddeley’s (1986) working-memory model.
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This is a revised version of a paper presented at the Fourth Conference of the European Society for Cognitive Psychology at Como, Italy, in September 1990. Both authors contributed equally to this research.
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Pechmann, T., Mohr, G. Interference in memory for tonal pitch: Implications for a working-memory model. Memory & Cognition 20, 314–320 (1992). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03199668
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03199668