EXPOSURE EFFECTS ON MUSIC PREFERENCE AND RECOGNITION

In three experiments, the effects of exposure to melodies on their sub sequent liking and recognition were explored. In each experiment, the subjects first listened to a set of familiar and unfamiliar melodies i n a study phase. In the subsequent test phase, the melodies were repea ted, along with a set of distracters matched in familiarity. Half the subjects were required to rate their liking of each melody, and half h ad to identify the melodies they had heard earlier in the study phase. Repetition of the studied melodies was found to increase liking of th e unfamiliar melodies in the affect task and to be best for detection of familiar melodies in the recognition task (Experiments 1, 2, and 3) . These memory effects were found to fade at different time delays bet ween study and test in the affect and recognition tasks, with the latt er leading to the most persistent effects (Experiment 2). Both study-t o-test changes in melody timbre and manipulation of study tasks had a marked impact on recognition and little influence on liking judgments (Experiment 3). Thus, all manipulated variables were found to dissocia te the memory effects in the two tasks. The results are consistent wit h the view that memory effects in the affect and recognition tasks per tain to the implicit and explicit forms of memory, respectively. Part of the results are, however, at variance with the literature on implic it and explicit memory in the auditory domain. Attribution of these di fferences to the use of musical material is discussed.