Associations between Dance Training and Memory Skills

Abstract

There is strong evidence that both music training and physical exercise are associated with various cognitive abilities. Musicians tend to have superior auditory memories compared to non-musicians, and physical activity is associated with working memory. In dance, these two areas are combined, but very few studies have examined links between dance training and cognitive skills. Dancers are required to remember long complex patterns of body movements over time, an ability that is practiced in most trained dancers. This study examined the association between dance training and memory skills. University students with varying amounts of dance experience were recruited, and they completed measures of visual and auditory memory, general intelligence, and personality. Consistent with previous research, extracurricular physical activity was associated with our working memory measures. Music training was initially associated with auditory immediate memory, but this disappeared when controlling for IQ and the personality variable of openness. By contrast, duration of dance training was associated with visual memory but not auditory memory. These findings were what was expected due to dance’s heavy reliance on visuals; dance may benefit visual memory or people with better visual memories may be more likely to participate and stay in dance training. These results demonstrate that different classes of extracurricular activities are associated with different aspects of memory.

Discipline: Psychology (Honours)

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Kathleen Corrigall