An efficient and adaptive test of auditory mental imagery

Bibliographic Data

ID21532831
AuthorsRebecca W Gelding (0000-0003-4883-8075, Macquarie University), Peter M C Harrison (0000-0002-9851-9462, Queen Mary University of London), Sebastian Silas (0000-0001-8140-6528, Goldsmiths University of London), Blake W Johnson (0000-0002-0598-4358, Macquarie University), W Fletcher Thompson (0000-0002-4256-1338, Macquarie University), Daniel Müllensiefen (0000-0001-7297-1760, Goldsmiths University of London, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume85
Issue3
Pages1201-1220
Publication date2021-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePsychological Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0340-0727 • E-ISSN: 1430-2772
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1007/s00426-020-01322-3
PMID32356009
OpenAlexW3021575212
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited66

The ability to silently hear music in the mind has been argued to be fundamental to musicality. Objective measurements of this subjective imagery experience are needed if this link between imagery ability and musicality is to be investigated. However, previous tests of musical imagery either rely on self-report, rely on melodic memory, or do not cater in range of abilities. The Pitch Imagery Arrow Task (PIAT) was designed to address these shortcomings; however, it is impractically long. In this paper, we shorten the PIAT using adaptive testing and automatic item generation. We interrogate the cognitive processes underlying the PIAT through item response modelling. The result is an efficient online test of auditory mental imagery ability (adaptive Pitch Imagery Arrow Task: aPIAT) that takes 8 min to complete, is adaptive to participant’s individual ability, and so can be used to test participants with a range of musical backgrounds. Performance on the aPIAT showed positive moderate-to-strong correlations with measures of non-musical and musical working memory, self-reported musical training, and general musical sophistication. Ability on the task was best predicted by the ability to maintain and manipulate tones in mental imagery, as well as to resist perceptual biases that can lead to incorrect responses. As such, the aPIAT is the ideal tool in which to investigate the relationship between pitch imagery ability and musicality

Aesthetics · Auditory imagery · Cognition · Cognitive psychology · Melody · Mental image · Musical · Musicality · Perception · Sophistication · Visual arts · Diverse Music Education Insights · Hearing Loss and Rehabilitation · Neuroscience and Music Perception · Psychology

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Open DOISci-HubOpen Access