Near and far transfer: Is music special?
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Abstract
Far transfer rarely occurs, and a recent meta-analysis suggests that music is no exception. The overall effect of musical training on cognition was claimed to be null when considering studies with active control groups or implemented randomization procedures (Sala & Gobet, Memory & Cognition, 48: 1429-1441, 2020). Using the authors' data file and program ( https://osf.io/rquye ), we did not confirm the effect of randomization, and we demonstrated that their conclusion is based in part on the failure to differentiate near and far transfer, with near transfer effect sizes being selectively excluded for the musical training group studies, but not for the active control group studies. Reanalyzing their data file resulted in a significant effect size (g = .234), and also provided new evidence that far-transfer effects of musical training can challenge near-transfer effects of linguistic training. Music is a recreational activity that may be special in allowing for small but statistically significant far-transfer effects.
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Some outcomes included in the meta-analyses by Sala and Gobet (2017, 2020) were measures of skills trained with active control activities and therefore should not be analyzed in a far-transfer meta-analysis.
“some outcomes included in the meta-analyses by Sala andGobet (2017, 2020) were measures of skills trained with active control activities (e.g., phonological abilities with phonological training), and therefore should not be analyzed in a far-transfer meta-analysis (Bigand & Tillmann, 2021).”
From Please don't stop the music: A meta-analysis of the cognitive and academic benefits of instrumental musical training in childhood and adolescence (2022) · cites this paper as Bigand & Tillmann, 2021
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Cites
The applicability of Visible Learning to higher education
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Does Far Transfer Exist? Negative Evidence From Chess, Music, and Working Memory Training
Sala, G., & Gobet, F. (2017) · Current Directions in Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/0963721417712760 · Cited by 309 · cited 23× · see citing works
“All of these points might contribute to underestimating the potential effect size of music training in S&G2020, and when revisiting their data file, we inherited this tendency.”
BackgroundMethodResultInfluentialCognitive Training Does Not Enhance General Cognition
Sala, G., & Gobet, F. (2019) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2018.10.004 · Cited by 303 · cited 18× · see citing works
“For the authors, “the obvious practical implication is that music training should not be used as a tool for cognitive enhancement” (Sala & Gobet, 2019b, page 991) and “Educators and policymakers should be aware that music training provides no benefits on nonmusic-related cognitive or academic…”
BackgroundMethodResultInfluentialCognitive and academic benefits of music training with children: A multilevel meta-analysis
Sala, G., & Gobet, F. (2020) · Memory & Cognition · doi:10.3758/s13421-020-01060-2 · Cited by 235 · see citing works
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Sorted by citations
Román-Caballero, R., Vadillo, M. A., Trainor, L. J., & Lupiáñez, J. (2022) · Educational Research Review · doi:10.1016/j.edurev.2022.100436 · Cited by 118 · see citing works
- Authors
- Bigand, E., & Tillmann, B.
- Affiliations
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Corresponding author
- Bigand, E.
- Venue
- Memory & Cognition
- Published
- 2021-08-30
- Volume
- 50
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 339-347
- ISSN
- 0090-502X (ISSN-L)
- 1532-5946
- OpenAlex
- W3163305441
- Cited by
- 103
- References
- 4
- Citations by year
- 2026: 18 · 2025: 26 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 18 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 6
- FWCI
- 120.10
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Memory & Cognition (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- HAL (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR-10, ANR-10-LABX, ANR-10-LABX-0060)
- Centre Lyonnais d'Acoustique, Université de Lyon (ANR10LABX0060)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Music › Diverse Music Education Insights
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Music Perception
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
- Keywords
- far transfer, near transfer, musical training, music cognition, active control groups, randomization, effect size, linguistic training, reanalysis, meta-analysis critique
- MeSH terms
- Cognition, Humans, Music
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