Dr. Francesca Talamini

University Assistant (Post-Doc)
Personality Psychology, Differential Psychology & Assessment

Room: 4W11
Office Hours: By Appointment
Email:
Phone: +43 (0)512 507-56053

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Research Interests

Music Psychology:

  • Music expertise and cognitive skills
  • Music emotions
  • Music aptitude
  • Contour perception
  • Inter-individual differences (e.g., personality) of musicians and non-musicians
  • Creativity

Aesthetic emotions:

  • Similarities and differences between music and other arts-evoked emotions
  • Inter-individual differences in aesthetic emotions experience

Cognition:

  • Working memory
  • Relationship between working memory and perception

Methods:

  • Meta-analysis
  • Multi-lab studies
My Current Projects:
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Participate in ongoing studies

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No study available at the moment.

Publications

  • Román-Caballero, R., Başkent, D., Caclin, A., Ferreri, L., Fiveash, A., François, C., Grassi, M., Harding, E. E., Lima, C. F., Overy, K., Rodriguez-Fornells, A., Roncaglia, M. P., Schellenberg, E. G., Slevc, L. R., Talamini, F., Tillmann, B., Trainor, L. J., & Zappa, A. (2026) Common Evidence, Multiple Interpretations: Commentaries on a Multilab Study on Musicians’ Short-Term Memory. Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science. 9(2). doi:10.1177/25152459261445951
  • Talamini, F., Vigl, J., Wille, D., Zentner, M., Caclin, A., Tillmann, B., (Accepted). Can melodic contour help encoding luminance sequences? A cross-modal short-term memory study. Music Perception.
  • Talamini, F., Grassi, M., Altoè, G., Brattico, E., Caclin, A., Carretti, B., …& Zappa, A. (2026). Music Ensemble: A large dataset on musicianship, cognition, and personality in musicians and nonmusicians. Scientific Data. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-026-06654-0 
  • Talamini, F., Schellenberg E. G., Grassi, M., Lima, C. (2026). Musical Expertise and Cognitive Abilities: No Advantage for Professionals over Amateurs. Royal Society Open Science 13 (1): 251613. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.251613  
  • Grassi, M., Talamini, F.a, Altoè, G., Brattico, E., Caclin, A., Carretti, B., … & Zappa, A. (2025). Do musicians have better short-term memory than nonmusicians? A multilab study. Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science, 8(4), 25152459251379432. https://doi.org/10.1177/25152459251379432 shared first authorship
  • Vigl, J., Talamini, F., Strauss, H., & Zentner, M. (2024). Prosodic discrimination skills mediate the association between musical aptitude and vocal emotion recognition ability. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 16462. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-66889-y 
  • Vigl, J., Strauss, H., Talamini, F., Zentner, M. (2024). Trajectories of relationship and sexual satisfaction over two years in the Covid-19 pandemic: A latent class analysis. Journal of Personality. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12928
  • Strauss, H., Vigl, J., Jacobsen, P.-O., Bayer, M., Talamini, F., Vigl, W., Zangerle, E., & Zentner, M. (2024). The Emotion-to-Music Mapping Atlas (EMMA): A systematically organized online database of emotionally evocative music excerpts. Behavior Research https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-024-02336-0
  • Vigl, J., Talamini, F., Feller, A., Gerstgrasser, S., Henning, H. (2023). Accuracy and Stability of Musical Tempo Memory and the Role of Music Expertise. Music Perception, 41(1) https://doi.org/10.1525/mp.2023.41.1.15
  • Tillmann, B., Graves, J. E., Talamini, F., Leveque, J., Fornoni, L., Hoarau, C., … & Caclin, A., (2023). Auditory cortex and beyond: Deficits in congenital amusia. Hearing Research, 108855. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heares.2023.108855
  • Grassi, M., Altoè, G., Brattico, E., Caclin, A., Carretti, B., Drai-Zerbib, V., … & Talamini F., (IPA*). Do musicians have better short-term memory than nonmusicians? A multi-lab study. Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science. https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/69GZF
  • Vigl, J., Talamini, F., Strauss, H., Zentner, M. (2022). A Prospective Study of Relationship and Sexual Satisfaction During the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Dispositional Vulnerabilities and External Stressors. Journal of Personality. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12790
  • Martini, M., Wasmeier, J. R., Talamini, F., Huber, S. E., & Sachse, P. (2022). Wakeful resting and listening to music contrast their effects on verbal long-term memory in dependence on word concreteness. Cognitive research: principles and implications, 7(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41235-022-00415-4
  • Talamini, F., Eller, G., Vigl, J., Zentner, M. (2022). Musical emotions affect memory for emotional pictures. Scientific Reports.12(1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-15032-w
  • Vigl, J., Strauss, H., Talamini, F., Zentner, M. (2022). Relationship Satisfaction in the Early Stages of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-National Examination of Situational, Dispositional, and Relationship Factors. PLOS ONE 17(3): e0264511. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0264511
  • Talamini, F., Vigl, J., Doerr, E., Grassi, M., Carretti, B. (2022). Auditory and Visual Mental Imagery in Musicians and Nonmusicians. Musicae Scientiae. https://doi.org/10.1177/10298649211062724
  • Blain, S., Talamini, F., Fornoni, L., Bidet-Caulet, A., Caclin, A. (2022). Shared cognitive resources between memory and attention during sound sequence encoding. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13414-021-02390-2
  • Ginzburg, J., Moulin, A., Fornoni, L., Talamini, F., Tillmann, B., Caclin, A. (2021). Development of auditory cognition in 5- to 10-year-old children: focus on musical and verbal short-term-memory. Developmental Science. https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.13188
  • Talamini, F., Blain, S., Ginzburg, J., Houix, O., Bouchet, P., Grassi, M., Tillmann, B., Caclin (2021). Auditory and visual short-term memory: Influence of material type, contour, and musical expertise. Psychological Research, 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-021-01519-0
  • Talamini, F., Grassi, M., Toffalini, E., Santoni, R., & Carretti, B. (2018). Learning a second language: Can music aptitude or music training have a role?. Learning and Individual Differences, 64, 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2018.04.003
  • Bruzzi, E., Talamini, F., Priftis, K., & Grassi, M. (2017). A SMARC Effect for Loudness. i-Perception, 8(6), 2041669517742175. https://doi.org/10.1177/2041669517742175
  • Talamini, F., Altoè, G., Carretti, B., & Grassi, M. (2017). Musicians have better memory than nonmusicians: A meta-analysis. PloS one, 12(10), e0186773. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0191776
  • Talamini, F., Carretti, B., & Grassi, M. (2016). The working memory of musicians and nonmusicians. Music Perception: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 34(2), 183-191. https://doi.org/10.1525/mp.2016.34.2.183

*IPA = In Principle Acceptance

 
 

Conference Contributions / Presentations

  • Talamini, F., Schellenberg, E.G., Grassi, M., Lima, C. (2025). Training musicale e abilità cognitive: più training, maggiori abilità?  IV Incontro Rete Italiana di Neuroscienze e Musica, Rome, (Italy). Talk
  • Talamini, F., Schellenberg, E.G., Grassi, M., Lima, C. (2025). If music training improves cognitive abilities, are professional musicians smarter than amateurs? ESCOP, Sheffield (UK). Talk.
  • Talamini, F., Grassi M. (2024). Do musicians have better short-term memory than nonmusicians? A multi-lab study. German & Austrian society for psychology annual meeting. DPG-OEPG, Vienna (Austria). Talk.
  • Talamini, F., Grassi M. (2024). Who possesses good musical abilities? Exploring the relations among musical perception skills, non-musical cognitive skills, and personality. ESCOM 12 – European Society for the Cognitive Sciences of Music, York (UK). Talk.
  • Talamini, F., Grassi M. (2024). Do musicians have better short-term memory than nonmusicians? A multi-lab study. ESCOM 12, York (UK). Talk.
  • Talamini, F., Vigl, J., Zentner, M., (2024): Is music the best art form to evoke emotions? A comparison with paintings. ESCOM 12 – European Society for the Cognitive Sciences of Music, York (UK). Poster.
  • Talamini, F., Grassi M. (2024). Do musicians have better short-term memory than nonmusicians? A multi-lab study. The Neurosciences and Music | VIII, Helsinki (Finland). Poster.
  • Talamini, F., Grassi M. (2023). Music Ensemble: A multi-lab study on musicians and nonmusicians. Big Team Science Conference (online). Talk.
  • Talamini, F., Zentner M. (2023). A behavioral and objective assessment of music-evoked emotions: the potential of mood-congruency tasks. International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition ICMPC-ASCOM, Tokyo (Japan). Talk.
  • Talamini, F., Vigl, J., Zentner, M., Caclin A., Tillmann B. (2023). Contour perception: a music-specific ability or a general process? International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition ICMPC-ASCOM, Tokyo (Japan). Talk.
  • Talamini, F., Eller, G., Vigl, J., Zentner, M. (2022). Musical emotions affect memory for emotional pictures. Conference of the European Society for Cognitive Psychology – ESCOP, Lille (France). Poster.
  • Talamini, F., Blain, S., Ginzburg, J., Houix, O., Bouchet, P., Grassi, M., Tillmann, B., Caclin, A., (2021). Auditory and visual short-term memory in musicians and nonmusicians: influence sensory modality, material type and contour.  International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition ICMPC-ESCOM. Online. Poster.
  • Talamini, F., Blain, S., Ginzburg, J., Houix, O., Bouchet, P., Grassi, M., Tillmann, B., Caclin, A., (2019). Shared and distinct mechanisms in auditory and visual short-term memory: Influence of material type, contour, and musical expertise”. The dynamic and flexible nature of memory, Lyon (France). Poster 
  • Talamini F., Altoè, G., Carretti, B., Grassi, M. (2017). Musicians have a better memory than nonmusicians: a meta-analysis. Cognitive Science Arena, Brixen (Italy). Talk.
  • Talamini F., Altoè, G., Carretti, B., Grassi, M., (2016). Musicians have a better memory than nonmusicians: a meta-analysis. The Trieste Symposium on Perception and Cognition, Trieste (Italy). Talk
  • Talamini F., Altoè, G., Carretti, B., Grassi, M., (2016). Do musicians have better memory than nonmusicians? A meta-analysis. AIP Experimental Psychology National Meeting, Rome (Italy). Poster.
  • Talamini F., Altoè, G., Carretti, B., Grassi, M. (2016). Do Musicians have Better Memory than Nonmusicians. A Meta-analysis. EWOMS, Liège (Belgium). Talk.
  • Talamini F., Carretti, B., Grassi, M., (2016). The Working Memory of Musicians and Nonmusicians. Cognitive Science Arena, Brixen (Italy). Talk.
  • Talamini F., Carretti, B., Grassi, M., (2015). Auditory, Visual and Audiovisual Working Memory in Musicians and Nonmusicians. AIP Experimental Psychology National Meeting, Rovereto (Italy). Talk.