Abstract
Introduction. The purpose of this work was to investigate the correlation between teacher assessment of children's musical abilities and the development of their executive functions. Additionally, as part of the study, an initial approbation was conducted of a questionnaire for assessing the children's musical abilities. The novelty of this research lies, firstly, in the development and practical evaluation of a new tool for assessing children's musical abilities, based on a concept of B. M. Teplov, and secondly, in the demonstration that not only music lessons affect the developmental indicators of executive functions in children, but also some of the executive functions also contribute to children's musical abilities. Methods. The study involved 61 children, aged 5 to 6 years, who had attended music classes several times a week at children's art schools in Moscow and Krasnodar. During the evaluation, such indicators of executive functions as cognitive flexibility, working memory and inhibition were studied in the course of several meetings with children. 50 teachers took part in the assessment of the development level of children's musical abilities. They filled out a specially designed questionnaire aimed to identify the level of development of the following parameters of children's musical abilities: pitch perception, sense of rhythm, modal perception and emotional responsiveness. Results. As a result, a positive link was established between visual working memory and the assessment of pitch perception in children in music classes. Moreover, as a result of the regression analysis, it was shown that the indicator of children's visual working memory contributes to the assessment of such parameters of musical abilities as pitch perception (R2 = 0.241, p=0.008) and emotional responsiveness (R2 = 0.149, p = 0.043). Discussion. Therefore, the study demonstrates a link between musical abilities and executive functions in children, as well as a contribution of executive functions to the evaluation of their musical abilities, which justifies the value of systematic musical lessons in preschool age.
References
Bayanova, L.F., Hamatvaleeva, D.G. (2022). Review of foreign research of creative thinking in developmental psychology. Moscow University Psychology Bulletin, 2, 51-72. (in Russ).
Boyko, L. А., Tereshchenko, L. V., Velichkovsky, B. B., Latanov, A. В. (2019). Visual-motor activity of professional pianists at sight-reading music. Moscow University Psychology Bulletin, 2, 3–26. (in Russ).
Bukhalenkova, D. А., Gavrilova, M. N., Airapetyan, Z. V., Tarasova, K. S., Semenov, Yu. I. (2020). Relation between play preferences at home and self-regulation in preschool children. National Psychological Journal, 2, 99-108. (in Russ).
Teplov, B. M. (1947). Psychology of musical abilities. APN RSFSR. (in Russ).
Bayanova, L., Chichinina, E., Veraksa, A., Almazova, O., Dolgikh, A. (2022). Difference in Executive Functions Development Level between Two Groups: Preschool Children Who Took Extra Music Classes in Art Schools and Children Who Took Only General Music and Dance Classes Offered by Preschools. Education Science, 12, 119. doi:10.3390/educsci12020119
Bentley, A. (1966). Musical ability in children and its measurement. Harrap.
Bugos, J. A., & DeMarie, D. (2017). The effects of a short-term music program on preschool children’s executive functions. Psychology of Music, 45(6), 855–867. https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735617692666
Butkovic, A., Ullén, F., & Mosing, M. A. (2015). Personality related traits as predictors of music practice: Underlying environmental and genetic influences. Personality and Individual Differences, 74, 133–138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2014.10.006
Chen, J., Scheller, M., Wu, C., Hu, B., Peng, R., Liu, C., Liu, S., Zhu, L., & Chen, J. (2021). The relationship between early musical training and executive functions: Validation of effects of the sensitive period. Psychology of Music, 50(1), 86–99. https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735620978690
Colwell, R., & Abrahams, F. (1991). Edwin Gordon’s contribution: An appraisal. The Quarterly Journal of Music Teaching and Learning, 2(1–2), 18–36.
Correia, A. I., Vincenzi, M., Vanzella, P., Pinheiro, A. P., Lima, C. F., & Schellenberg, E. G. (2022). Can musical ability be tested online? Behavior Research Methods, 54, 955–969. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-021-01641-2
Degé, F., & Frischen, U. (2022). The impact of music training on executive functions in childhood – A systematic review. Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft, 25, 579–602. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11618-022-01102-2
Degé, F., Kubicek, C., & Schwarzer, G. (2011). Music lessons and intelligence: A relation mediated by executive functions. Music Perception, 29(2), 195–201. https://doi.org/10.1525/mp.2011.29.2.195
Demorest, S. M. (1995). Issues of ecological validity for perceptual research in music. Psychomusicology: A Journal of Research in Music Cognition, 14(1–2), 173–181. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0094085
Denham, S. A., & Brown, C. (2010). “Plays nice with others”: Social–emotional learning and academic success. Early Education and Development, 21(5), 652–680. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2010.497450
Diamond, A. (2013). Executive functions. Annual Review of Psychology, 64, 135–168. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-113011-143750
Diamond, A., & Lee, K. (2011). Interventions shown to aid executive function development in children 4 to 12 years old. Science, 333(6045), 959–964. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1204529
Fasano, M. C., Semeraro, C., Cassibba, R., Kringelbach, M. L., Monacis, L., de Palo, V., Vuust, P., & Brattico, E. (2019). Short-term orchestral music training modulates hyperactivity and inhibitory control in school-age children: A longitudinal behavioral study. Frontiers in Psychology, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00750
Frischen, U., Schwarzer, G., & Degé, F. (2021). Music lessons enhance executive functions in 6- to 7-year-old children. Learning and Instruction, 74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2021.101442
Gordon, E. E. (1989). Audie: A game for understanding and analysing your child’s musical potential. GIA.
Hallam, S. (2010). 21st century conceptions of musical ability. Psychology of Music, 38(3), 308–330. https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735609351922
Hallam, S., & Papageorgi, I. (2016). Conceptions of musical understanding. Research Studies in Music Education, 38(2), 133–154. https://doi.org/10.1177/1321103X16671037
Hallam, S., & Prince, V. (2003). Conceptions of musical ability. Research Studies in Music Education, 20(1), 2–22. https://doi.org/10.1177/1321103X030200010101
Haroutounian, J. (2000). Perspectives of musical talent: A study of identification criteria and procedures. High Ability Studies, 11(2), 137–160. https://doi.org/10.1080/13598130020001197
Ho, Y.-C., Cheung, M.-C., & Chan, A. S. (2003). Music training improves verbal but not visual memory: Cross-sectional and Longitudinal explorations in children. Neuropsychology, 17(3), 439–450. https://doi.org/10.1037/0894-4105.17.3.439
Holochwost, S. J., Propper, C. B., Wolf, D. P., Willoughby, M. T., Fisher, K. R., Kolacz, J., Volpe, V. V., & Jaffee, S. R. (2017). Music education, academic achievement, and executive functions. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 11(2), 147–166. https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000112
Howe, M. J. A., Davidson, J. W., Moore, D. G., & Sloboda, J. A. (1995). Are there early childhood signs of musical ability? Psychology of Music, 23(2), 162–176. https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735695232004
Jaschke, A. C., Honing, H., & Scherder, E. J. A. (2018). Longitudinal analysis of music education on executive functions in primary school children. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2018.00103
Joret, M.-E., Germeys, F., & Gidron, Y. (2017). Cognitive inhibitory control in children following early childhood music education. Musicae Scientiae, 21(3), 303–315. https://doi.org/10.1177/1029864916655477
Korkman, M., Kirk, U., & Kemp, S. L. (2007). NEPSY II. Administrative Manual. Psychological Corporation.
Kragness, H. E., Swaminathan, S., Cirelli, L. K., & Schellenberg, E. G. (2021). Individual differences in musical ability are stable over time in childhood. Developmental Science, 24(4). https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.13081
Levitin, D. J. (2012). What does it mean to be musical? Neuron, 73(4), 633–637. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2012.01.017
Miyake, A., & Friedman, N. P. (2012). The nature and organization of individual differences in executive functions: Four general conclusions. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 21(1), 8–14. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721411429458
Miyake, A., Friedman, N. P., Emerson, M. J., Witzki, A. H., Howerter, A., & Wager, T. D. (2000). The unity and diversity of executive functions and their contributions to complex “frontal lobe” tasks: A latent variable analysis. Cognitive Psychology, 41(1), 49–100. https://doi.org/10.1006/cogp.l999.0734
Morosanova, V. I., Fomina, T. G., & Bondarenko, I. N. (2021). Dynamics of interrelationships between conscious self-regulation, psychological and school-related subjective well-being in adolescents: Three-year cross-lagged panel study. Psychology in Russia: State of the Art, 14(3), 34–49. https://doi.org/10.11621/pir.2021.0303
Mosing, M. A., Madison, G., Pedersen, N. L., Kuja-Halkola, R., & Ullén, F. (2014). Practice does not make perfect: No causal effect of music practice on music ability. Psychological Science, 25(9), 1795–1803. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797614541990
Murphy, C. (1999). How far do tests of musical ability shed light on the nature of musical intelligence? British Journal of Music Education, 16(1), 39–50. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0265051799000133
O’Neill, S. A. (2002). The self-identity of young musicians. In R. MacDonald, D. J. Hargreaves, & D. Miell (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of music psychology (pp. 79–96). Oxford University Press.
Okada, B. M., & Slevc, L. R. (2018). Individual differences in musical training and executive functions: A latent variable approach. Memory & Cognition, 46, 1076–1092. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13421-018-0822-8
Ollen, J. E. (2006). A criterion-related validity test of selected indicators of musical sophistication using expert ratings (Doctoral thesis). Ohio State University. https://www.academia.edu/26499046/A_criterion_related_validity_test_of_selected_indicators_of_musical_sophistication_using_expert_ratings
Roden, I., Grube, D., Bongard, S., & Kreutz, G. (2014). Does music training enhance working memory performance? Findings from a quasi-experimental longitudinal study. Psychology of Music, 42(2), 284–298. https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735612471239
Schellenberg, E. G. (2006). Long-term positive associations between music lessons and IQ. Journal of Educational Psychology, 98(2), 457–468. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.98.2.457
Shanmugan, S., & Satterthwaite, T. (2016). Neural markers of the development of executive function: Relevance for education. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 10, 7–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2016.04.007
Slevc, L. R., Davey, N. S., Buschkuehl, M., & Jaeggi, S. M. (2016). Tuning the mind: Exploring the connections between musical ability and executive functions. Cognition, 152, 199–211. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2016.03.017
Sloboda, J., Davidson, J. W., & Howe, M. J. A. (1994). Is everyone musical? The Psychologist, 7(8), 349–354.
Tikhomirova, T. N., Malykh, A. S., & Malykh, S. B. (2020). Visuospatial working memory development across years of schooling. Psychology in Russia: State of the Art, 13(4), 207–222. https://doi.org/10.11621/pir.2020.0414
Woodford, P. (1996). Evaluating Edwin Gordon’s music learning theory from a critical thinking perspective. Philosophy of Music Education Review, 4(2), 83–95.
Zuk, J., Benjamin, C., Kenyon, A., & Gaab, N. (2014). Behavioural and neuronal correlates of executive functioning in musicians and non-musicians. PLoS ONE, 9(6). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0099868
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2022 Dolgikh, A. G., Bayanova, L. F., Shatskaya, A. N., Yakushina, A. A.