A study of the effect of music on memory when presented to a person and the emotions it can evoke

Abstract

Internet users can avail of a range of music services that allow them to listen to any genre spanning decades of performances. The providers of the service have access to data tracking usage patterns and preferences. A simple telemetry between this data and the demographic data provided as part of signing up to the services provides a wealth of insights into the user. These insights coupled with the knowledge that music acts as a memory retrieval trigger and that these autobiographical memories are associated with specific emotions, gives the service providers some very insightful data on their customers. This research looked to establish the effect of music from the past on memory when presented to a person and the emotions evoked. The findings indicate that there is an effect in that the memories retrieved can be vivid and that associated emotions are varied.