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Music-Evoked Imaginings Workshop
Presented by Department of Psychology
Imagination is often conceptualized as an entirely unbounded creative capacity that eludes empirical explanation. But methods have emerged that allow a more systematic investigation of complex, multimodal imaginings. Despite historical reliance on terminology that implies a complete disconnection between the imagination and the perceptual environment (“stimulus-independent thought”, “task-unrelated thought”), research has increasingly shown that aspects of the current environment can systematically influence the content and trajectory of mind-wandering and spontaneous thought.
Music is an excellent domain for interrogating the dynamic interplay between perception, memory, and imagination. It has been shown to trigger vivid multimodal imaginings, ranging from autobiographical memories to fictional scenes and stories. Although people report that their imaginings to music are idiosyncratic and subjective, when prompted by novel, unfamiliar excerpts, within-culture participants tend to produce highly similar imaginings featuring events that unfold with shared temporal structure. This workshop assembles a multidisciplinary group of researchers to consider what new insights into the psychology of the imagination might be gained by considering the case of daydreams sustained while listening to music.