Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40781454›Full record

ArticleMemory & cognition2026

Popular music and movies as autobiographical memory cues.

Julien Hanson, Jessica Frame, Elena Bai, Kendra Mehl, Kelly Jakubowski, Amy M Belfi

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Memory & cognition, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Julien Hanson *Department of Psychological Science, Missouri University of Science and Technology, 135 H-SS, 500 W. 14th St, Rolla, MO, 65409, USA.
Jessica Frame *Department of Psychological Science, Missouri University of Science and Technology, 135 H-SS, 500 W. 14th St, Rolla, MO, 65409, USA.
Elena BaiDepartment of Psychological Science, Missouri University of Science and Technology, 135 H-SS, 500 W. 14th St, Rolla, MO, 65409, USA.
Kendra MehlDepartment of Psychological Science, Missouri University of Science and Technology, 135 H-SS, 500 W. 14th St, Rolla, MO, 65409, USA.
Kelly JakubowskiDepartment of Music, Durham University, Durham, UK.
Amy M BelfiDepartment of Psychological Science, Missouri University of Science and Technology, 135 H-SS, 500 W. 14th St, Rolla, MO, 65409, USA. amybelfi@mst.edu.ORCID 0000-0002-1469-4117

Funding

Music as an autobiographical memory cue across the lifespanR15AG075609 · NIA · MISSOURI UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY · PI BELFI, AMY · 2022 to 2023
$462k
NIA NIH HHS R15AG075609
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Research on music-evoked autobiographical memories has grown rapidly in recent years, suggesting that music can be an effective stimulus for cueing memories from one's life. One challenging aspect of this type of research is creating a stimulus set that is effective at cueing autobiographical memories in a wide range of individuals. The present work sought to address this issue by creating a normed stimulus set of popular music and popular movie cues. In addition to this methodological aim, we had an empirical aim to identify differences between autobiographical memories cued by music and movies. Participants (N = 248) either listened to excerpts of popular music or viewed clips of popular movies. After each stimulus, participants rated it on several dimensions, including emotional valence, emotional arousal, familiarity, and autobiographical salience. Results indicated that certain songs and movies are autobiographically salient across a wide age range of participants. Additionally, we identified that musical cues show a significantly more pronounced reminiscence bump than movie cues, suggesting that music from the reminiscence bump period of life is more effective at triggering memories. Overall, these data provide an important resource for researchers wishing to use popular media to cue autobiographical memories, as well as indicating differences between memories cued by music and movies.

Indexed as

CuesEmotionsMemory, EpisodicMental RecallMotion PicturesMusicAdolescentAdultAgedFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedRecognition, PsychologyYoung AdultAutobiographical memoryEmotionMoviesMusicReminiscence bump

Identifiers

PMID40781454
PMCPMC12957643

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.