Involuntary music imagery: conscious contents extending over time elicited by simple melody

Percepts and urges often enter the conscious field involuntarily. The Reflexive Imagery Task (RIT) examines the manner in which high-level conscious contents enter the conscious field involuntarily. In the present study, subjects (n = 48,4 0 female, Mage = 22.73 years old, SDage = 4.86) were exposed to and learned four simple melodies. At test, subjects were instructed to follow along with the melody and to not continue in his or her head the melody when the melody stops short. It was revealed that participants were unable to suppress the continuation of the melody in his or her head on a majority of trials. There was a main effect of Stopping Point, but no main effect of Training.