Poster #36 - The Effects of Gestures and Spatial Cognitive Ability, on Melodic Recognition Performance in Childhood

• In Event: Poster Session 02

Abstract

[Purpose]
In singing activities of nursery school or kindergarten, children memorize melodies to sing. Spatial cognitive ability is one of the abilities necessary for memory of melody, and the higher the spatial cognitive ability, the higher the ability to memorize melody (Cupchik et al., 2001). However, because children's spatial cognitive abilities vary from individual to individual, it is necessary for the teacher to present the model songs in an easy-to-understand manner and aid the young children in learning the melodies accurately. The present study therefore devised multimodal pitch perception through gestures as a method to improve childrens' memory of melody. When listening to the melody, the children watched and imitated a human model who gestured up and down according to the pitch of the melody, with the hand going up when the pitch went up and down when the pitch went down. In this way, children perceive the melody through three modalities: auditory, visual, and kinaesthetic perception. We used a recognition experiment to measure memory of melody. Although it is difficult for a children to verbally indicate whether one pitch is higher or lower than the other, 5- or 6-year-old children can determine whether they are the same pitch or not. In sum, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of multimodal pitch perception through gestures and spatial cognitive ability, on melodic recognition performance in 5- and 6-year-old children.

[Method]
We asked several preschools to take part in our research and conducted an experiment with 5- and 6-year-old children with no musical experience. First, to measure spatial cognitive ability, we administered the block design test of the WIPPSI-III intelligence test. In this test, children were presented with a model pattern and asked to make the same pattern with a specified number of building blocks within a time limit. Next, we conducted a melody recognition task (Figure1). When the children in the experimental group heard the melody of the standard stimulus, they saw a human model who gestured by moving hands in accordance with the pitch of the melody. Children in the control group saw a model of a person in a fixed position, moving hands only. Children in both groups imitated the model's gestures when listening to the melody. We then presented the standard stimulus followed by the comparison stimulus. The children then stated whether the standard stimulus and the comparison stimulus had the same melody.

[Results and Discussion]
The results of this study confirm that the effect of gestures was observed in melodies with many changes in the direction of pitch up and down. Although melodies with many changes in the direction of pitch up and down are difficult to perceive, it is thought that the direction of pitch were emphasized by gestures and memory was consequently facilitated. The results also suggest that children with higher spatial cognitive ability have higher melodic recognition performance. Cupchik, et al. (2001) conducted a study with college students, and we confirmed similar results in this experiment with children.

Authors

• Erika Kanayama, Doshisha University graduate school of psychology
  Presenting Author

• Ichiro Uchiyama, Doshisha University