Does Playing Mozart to Babies Make Them Smarter?
The Mozart Effect is a phenomenon taking both the scientific world and public eye by storm. The controversy over the Mozart Effect has allowed the spread of a misconception that listening to Mozart can enhance general intelligence. The term “Mozart Effect” relates specifically to the neuropsychology research paper, carried out by Rauscher, Shaw, & Ky in 1993, that reported temporary increases in college students’ ability to perform spatial reasoning tasks after briefly listening to Mozart’s sonata K. 448 (Taylor & Rowe 2012). Although spatial reasoning is important for generating and theorising solutions to problems, this alone does not mean that listening to Mozart’s music will make babies, or anyone smarter.
Don Campbell (n.d.), from the Mozart Effect Resource Centre, claims that studies show that classical music has a strong effect on the intellectual development of children from the youngest of ages. Due to the inconsistency between the mixed reviews of research and Campbell’s claim, it is essential to look deeper into the research done on this topic to discover whether Campbell’s claim is accurate.
To be selected for analysis in this review, the research must have been of great relevance to the topic, show a strong trend in the results, have a clearly structured argument and be considerably authoritative and credible; such that it has respected author/s.
Three aspects of this topic will be discussed throughout this report to analyse why the Mozart Effect is being misrepresented. The difference between music listening and music instruction will be examined, as well as the different methodologies used in literature, and an alternate explanation for why a temporary increase in IQ ...
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...his alone, it should be noted that just because an effect is seen in a certain age bracket, does not mean it applies to everyone. Therefore, since no tests have been carried out on babies regarding their spatial reasoning or intelligence, it is prejudicial to say that the given claim is true. McKelvie and Low (2002) also provide corroborative evidence that the Mozart effect does not exist in children. A mixture of years seven and eight students were put in two different listening conditions, Mozart and Aqua (repetitive dance music), and then tested for their ability to complete a spatial reasoning task. The results of this showed that both the Mozart and Aqua group similarly improved their results in the post-test situation. The design of this experiment was comparable to that of Rauscher et al. and yet McKelvie and Low still failed to replicate the original effect.
As Bob Marley once said, “One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.” Studies shown that classical music, specifically Mozart, help you engage in your studies better and as a result showed high test scores according to a test scientist at Stanford University held. Did you ever imagine how powerful a piece that was composed in the 1780’s could be?
There have been many studies done to find how music influences a child’s development. The College Entrance Examination Board discovered that students who took music appreciation classes had higher verbal and math scores than those who did not take the classes. (Stephens 2003) The U.S. Department of Education found that in 25,000 secondary schools, students who were highly involved in the music program did much better in math than any other students. (Stephens 2003) These studies and more have found that involvement in music increases chi...
The position that is being argued is that music should stay in schools. This author is making the claim that music makes children excel in their education. This author uses many different sources. The author relies mainly on studies to back up his argument. The article is recent.
Schlaug, Gottfried, Andrea Norton, Kate Overy, and Ellen Winner. Effects of Music Training on the Child’s Brain. The Musician's Brain. New York Academy Of Sciences, 2005. Web. 14 Oct. 2013. .
The idea of the Mozart effect began in 1993 with a study conducted by Rauscher, Shaw & Ky. This study involved 36 university students taking three different IQ spatial reasoning tasks and for each test used either Mozart’s sonata for two pianos in D major and relaxation music was played, silence was also used. The results of this experiment showed that students who had listened to the music of Mozart had better results for the spacial reasoning tests in comparison to silence or relaxation music. The results also showed that the impact of Mozart’s music was only temporary and only lasted for 10-15 minutes. Overall this study was very basic and had numerous flaws such as the sample size and also the variety of tests used to look at the impact of music (Rauscher, Shaw & Ky, 1993). In 1997 Don Campbell’s book The Mozart effect popularised the claim that music makes children smarter. This book created a public interest in music and brain development. The book uses Rauscher’s experiment as an example of what Mozart’s music can do which in this experiment shows a temporary increase in spatial reasoning, this however was misinterpreted by the public as an increase in IQ. The popularisation of the...
The most easily influenced stage of human life is early childhood, therefore it is encouraged that children listen to classical music. The researchers at Irvine recently found that preschoolers who had received eight months of music lessons scored “eighty percent higher on object-assembly tasks” than did other children who received no musical training. It was concluded that students who listened to music had high a greater ability to think abstractly and to visualize. These tasks are necessary to understand difficult theorems and equations in math and engineering. German scientists discovered an amazing difference in musicians who have the ability to recognize notes by ear and who began studying music before the age of seven. The plenum temporal, which is the area on the brain's left side that processes sound signals, mostly language, is three times the average size. The age of the musician matters because the brain generally stops growing after age 10.
Scientists and skeptics have different beliefs about the benefits of the Mozart Effect. Scientists found that Mozart “enhanced synchrony between the neural activity in the right frontal and left tempoparietal cortical areas of the brain,” and that this effect continued for “over 12 minutes” (Rauscher & Shaw, 1998, p. 839). Based on these results, Leng and Shaw speculated that “listening to Mozart could be stimulating the neural firing patterns in the parts of the cerebral cortex responsible for spatial-temporal skills, which subsequently enhances the spatial-temporal abilities that are housed in those parts of the cortex”[Dowd]. However nonbelievers suggest that the research is incomplete and misleading. The Irvine study that launched the phenomenon has been widely criticized. The Startling results announced by the initial paper were misleading. First, the researchers claimed that the undergraduates improved on all three spatial-reasoning tests. But as Shaw later clarified, the only enhancement came from one task—paper folding and cutting. Further, the researchers presented the data in the form...
2."First Evidence That Musical Training Affects Brain Development In Young Children." Science Daily: News & Articles in Science, Health, Environment & Technology. Web. 14 Dec. 2011. .
Many parents are under the influence that their child will be better in school and life, increasing their I.Q. scores by listening to Mozart at an early age; any child would want their child to better. This idea first came into light in 1993 with an article describing an improvement in spatial reasoning testing for college students after 10 minutes of listening to Mozart compared to a control group who did not. This study only focuses on one attempt at the test. The study only found that listening to Mozart immediately helped with cognition. However, businesses capitalized on this and began marketing to parents that the “Mozart Effect” can help with mental development in young children, so millions of cassette tapes and CDs were sold to parents under the false pretenses of helping children, when it is a confusion between correlation and causation. Over 70% of Americans including average and psychology students believe that the Mozart effect would increase your intelligence. This belief was so popular that some state governors directed funding to have Mozart played in daycares and other places were infants are heavily
Campbell, D. G. (1997). The Mozart effect: tapping the power of music to heal the body, strengthen the mind, and unlock the creative spirit. New York: Avon Books.
Coff, Richard. "The Mozart Effect." Research On Music And The Developing Brain. Suzuki Music Academy, 2005. Web. 2015.
"The Mozart Effect." Index Page - PositiveHealth.com - United Kingdom. Web. 24 Feb. 2010. .
Have you ever wondered if classical music actually helps the brain? Or whether it can help you concentrate on the task ahead? Many studies have shown that it can reduce pain and anxiety, lower blood pressure, or even reduce crime in a certain area! So don’t wonder if you can get a better score on a test, just by listening to classical music?
Cooper, Belle. " How Music Affects and Benefits Your Brain."lifehacker.come. N.p., 11 22 2013. Web. 3