ABSTRACT

The cognitive science is a newly coined name for the cluster of disciplines that studies the human mind. This research combines the study of two originally different fields of science; neurobiology, the science of the brain and cognitive psychology, the science of the mind. This combined study has made great advances in understanding the relationship between the cognitive processes and the anatomic functions of the brain. Information-processing theory or model was first introduced in cognitive psychology to explain the mental processes. In general, information-processing theory in explanation of thought and memory views perceptual and cognitive operations as taking place in stages or steps, e. g., input, coding, decoding, storage, retrieval and output. In recent years, scientists use music as one of the most powerful experimental tools to study the workings of the human brain. This research on the brain has provided useful information on how the brain works in processing musical information. The purpose of this study is to investigate musical information processing based on information-processing theory and neurological research, to understand the mental processes of creative thinking based on information-processing theory, and to explain the similarity of musical thinking and creative thinking in the workings of the brain. The application of psychological theories and principles to education is very important because it provides the foundations for the contents and methods in learning and teaching. An understanding of musical information processing and creative thinking based on information-processing theory and neurological research helps think theoretical bases for music education. Music education to develop musical potential and creativity can play an important role in education by understanding the findings from the cognitive science that studies the human mind and applying the findings to music class.