Abstract
Two experiments investigated whether and how background music (BGM) produces context effects on free recall. A total of 160 undergraduates encoded 20 words while one of four BGM selections was played. In a free recall test of the words conducted 30 seconds after encoding, either the same (same context) or a different (different context) piece of BGM selections was played. Experiment 1 examined the effects of learning intention, the number of repetition, and context. Experiment 2 examined the effects of presentation rate and context in the incidental-learning condition. A BGM-dependent effect was found in the incidental-learning conditions (Experiments 1 and 2), but not in the intentional-learning condition (Experiment 1). In the incidental-learning condition, once-presented words yielded a BGM-dependent effect but twice-presented words did not, and words presented for 4 or 8 seconds both yielded significant effects. The present results indicate that (a) BGM-dependent effects are difficult to be found in the free recall of intentionally-learned words, and (b) repetition and presentation rate, determinants of item strength, do not increase the size of BGM-dependent effects.
