Lyrics Can’t be Killed: A Study on Involuntary Processing of Lyrics in Music

DOI: 10.5176/2251-1865_CBP15.22

Authors: Hoi Ki TSANG and Lap Yan LO

Abstract:

The present study aimed at examining the feature of automaticity in music listening. A hundred undergraduates were either reminded or not reminded to pay attention to the lyrics at the beginning of a visual search task. They were assigned into one of five conditions (visual search with/without prior reminder, visual search in a silent condition, sole music listening with/without prior reminder). No significant performance difference in visual search tasks and in remembering the lyrics across all conditions was found. The results strongly indicated an encapsulated and automatic processing to lyrics.

Keywords: Lyrics; music; attention