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PDFOpen Access (License Unspecified), Open Access
Thesis
The conceptualization of time in participants with high and low musical experience
Master of Science (M.S.), Drexel University
Mar 2026
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00011321
Abstract
Time is a dynamic and adaptive framework, integral to human cognition. Research shows that time perception and production rely on a flexible, experience-dependent network of brain regions influenced by a feedback loop between sensory and motor systems. Athletes and musicians, through repeated sensorimotor training, often demonstrate enhanced timing abilities, suggesting that sensorimotor training may enhance temporal perception. Although studies have explored components of the sensorimotor loop and time, understanding how musical experience and rhythm shape the perception and conceptualization of time may provide insights into cognitive processes that rely on time, such as learning, memory, and attention. This study examined whether individuals with High Musical Experience would show enhanced timing accuracy and a rhythmic conceptualization of time. Participants were grouped by musical experience and completed a time reproduction task, followed by additional tasks that examined motor inhibition, working memory, and questionnaires that assessed individual differences in time perception and interoceptive awareness. Results revealed no significant group differences in timing accuracy. As well, musical experience, along with other measures were not predictors of performance on the timing task. However, participants in the High Musical Experience group demonstrated faster reaction times on the response inhibition task and reported greater awareness of others' emotional states and their influence on time as measured by a metacognitive time questionnaire. Although further data collection is necessary, preliminary results suggest that musical experience may influence certain cognitive processes related to time, even if not directly related to improving timing accuracy.
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Details
- Title
- The conceptualization of time in participants with high and low musical experience
- Creators
- Leah Downie
- Contributors
- Evangelia G. Chrysikou (Advisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Master of Science (M.S.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University
- Number of pages
- 40 pages
- Resource Type
- Thesis
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Psychological and Brain Sciences (Psychology); College of Arts and Sciences; Drexel University
- Other Identifier
- 991022172260904721