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Effects of music on the brain research paper
The influence of classical music
Effects of music on the brain research paper
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Taking tests in the academic environment has been the mainstay for evaluating student’s comprehension and mastery of concepts learned. Although this can reflect an accurate depiction of their retained knowledge, many factors may affect the recollection of tested material. Students of all ages can experience a certain level of stress when entering the testing environment, which may have a negative impact on their ability to recall information. This stress may reflect an inaccuracy of what they recalled. Countless factors have been shown to impact test taking ability including environmental noise or lack thereof, anxiety, and self-confidence. These factors affect the students’ ability to concentrate and recall learned information leading to poor test scores. This often results in the necessity to repeat courses, grade levels, decreasing further self-confidence, and social stigma.
Utilizing background music has long been studied as a factor to calm the mind and improve performance within the testing environment. Yahaya (2008) proposed the existence of a link between a students’ improvement in reasoning and visualization in the presence of background music. He stated the brain develops from stimulation of their senses by music. It has been suggested that classical music, due to its soothing tones and slow-tempo, results in relaxation and increased ability to focus on a given task. Utilizing music in the testing environment may result in a more accurate reflection of cognitive ability and enhanced performance on testing results (Saunderson, 2013). This study will focus on the potential benefit of classical background music upon a students’ ability to perform multidisciplinary reasoning.
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Thompson, W. F., Schellenberg, E. G., & Letnic, A. K. (2011). Fast and loud background music disrupts reading comprehension. Psychology of Music, 1-9. doi: 10.1177/0305735611400173
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Yahaya, A. (2008). The role of music and young children: The brain development. Retrieved from http://eprints.utm.my/6133/1/Aziziyah_music_.pdf
Students and teachers both can have anxiety about testing. Teachers can be worried about the students’ performance on a test – a test that does not measure a student’s intelligence unless the student is good at taking tests. A student might be a gifted musician, artist, or athlete, but if they do not pass a standardized test, they are considered unfit for most colleges. Moreover, since the test is so important and they do not want to fail, students might be nervous while taking this test and because of this, they might not perform as well as they could. Also, a student’s self-esteem and self-worth can be lowered if they do not do well on a standardized test. This can be for two different reasons. One, a student might have thought they had done better on the test and the results could not be what they expected and they could feel like a failure. This can cause a student’s self-esteem to be lowered. Two, they might become worried about their future if they don’t receive a high score. There are many students who have the pressure of their family to do well and if they do not, they might become depressed. Even President Obama thought that standardized testing was not a good way to do things. Taken from an article written by Jonathan Glover (2016) of The
According to Laurence O’Donnell, “Music is thought to link all of the emotional, spiritual, and physical elements of the universe.” This proves that music is more than a simple class teaching random notes. It is a common denominator between mind, body, and learning. One scholar shows that music causes a response that can affect a person’s mood; this is directly related to how a person acts upon their emotional response to music. He later talks about how music can have a positive effect on memorization and brain function (O’Donnell). The Center for New Discoveries in Learning stated, “Learning potential can be increased a minimum of five times by using 60 beats per minute music” (qtd. in O’Donnell). Most of the music that follows these types of beats is classical music such a Mozart and Bach. This is the type of music taught in schools, thus, enhancing a student’s ability to learn.
The Mozart Effect Resource Centre website, music educator Don Campbell made the claim that “classical music has a powerful effect on the intellectual and creative development of children from the very youngest of ages.” (Campbell, n.d.). To critically evaluate this claim a number of sources have been analysed. Through this analysis it was found that the claim cannot be supported by reliable empirical research and that classical music only produces short-term cognitive enhancement. This effect can be achieved by listening to any type of music. The first main theme found in the literature was that listening to classical music such as Mozart produced only short term increased cognitive abilities and did not aid the intellectual development of children. Secondly it was found that much of the testing on the topic was not reliable, contained many uncontrolled variables and there was little information relating to babies directly. Finally, many sources corroborated to agree that the same affect could be yielded from other types of music such as rock and pop.
This review aims to address the debate as to whether or not playing classical music enhances the cognitive development of infants. This question is raised in response to the claim made by music educator Don Campbell (1997), who states that ‘playing Mozart to babies makes them smarter’, by aiding their intellectual and creative development. It is important to determine if there is sufficient evidence behind this statement as people are paying money for their children to experience the claimed effects. This review will draw upon, analyse and interpret a range of empirical research studies involving school-aged children to adults exposed to different forms of music (including Mozart) to measure the effects. Campbell’s claim will be critically evaluated and proved otherwise that playing Mozart to babies does not improve overall intelligence. It will be argued that the empirical studies are based on children and young adults not infants, that the effects were found to be temporary and relative to specific measure on intelligence, and that other forms of music can influence spatial reasoning.
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.
Developing studying skills that incorporate testing myself will take the ease of being overwhelmed, as well as help with concentration, and becoming more comfortable and confident. Practicing recalling information over time will help in recalling for an actual assessment, by retaking study guides, and creating at home pre-test. 3The information provided by Karpicke and Roediger can me as an educator and other educators by considering various methods of learning. Using test as an instrument of learning rather than solely an assessment on knowledge can be essential in helping students’ learning effectiveness. Since the experiment showed that the learning conditions where retrieval was repeated caused students to have 80% of the pairs recalled compared to the 33% of where retrieval was not practice shows that testing can be used as a tool of learning. In my classroom I would implement take pre-test for homework and/or extra credit assignments, as well as implement classroom activities such as games where testing occurs in a communal group setting. Retrieval is easier when related pieces of information are stored in close association with one another (Ormord p. 212). Therefore, I would have students get in pairs and test each other on the information as soon as the lesson is over as a form of review and test
Studies have shown that the effects of classical music, are advantageous to both one’s ability to process and retain new information, as well as to recall and memorize old material. I believe that the outcome of an experiment of this nature will be entirely dependent upon the individual that the experiment is being conducted upon. Furthermore, due to the complexity of as well as the diversity found within humans, and the fact that no two humans are the same, I believe that the results will vary from person to person.
Noonan, P. (2007). Tempo, arousal and the underlying mechanisms of the Mozart effect. (Masters Dissertation). Available from Proquest Dissertations and Theses database. http://search.proquest.com.ezp01.library.qut.edu.au/docview/881641564
The Mozart Effect, a study done to show the effect of music education on middle school children, led the way to more followup research on this subject. The procedure included thirty-six college student’s split up into three groups. Each group
The first thing that music influences is a little thing called “brain fitness.” Your brain, like other parts of your body can be strengthened and manipulated. Have you ever concentrated while working really hard on a puzzle and felt that your problem solving skills had improved? Solving a puzzle is one example of a brain exercise. There are various other exercises you can do. For instance, memory games, solving math problems, or solving various other problems that cause you to have to think outside of the box. But did you know that having musical instruction could also exercise parts of the brain just like a problem solving activity would? Music training can help increase your working memory as well as auditory learning. (Strickland). Music training can help flex a high-working memory load. It helps expand your working memory capacity, and therefore reduces impairing effects of a memory overload (Klemm). An experiment done with second graders from an elementary school showed proof of this. Group A received musical training, while Group B did not. They then were asked to take a quiz. Group A had shown a shift in mental processing to the l...
Husain, G, Schellenberg, G & Thompson, W. (2002). Effects of Musical Tempo and Mode on Arousal, Mood, and Spatial Abilities. Music Perception, 20(2), 151-171. Retrieved from http://www.erin.utoronto.ca/~w3psygs/Husain.pdf
Positive test results have shown that this is true. Different findings have suggested that “different types of music instruction affect different aspects of cognition” (Rauscher, 2003, pp. 3-4). Rauscher found effects from a number of research studies, connecting keyboard instruction and aspects of cognition. In one of these tests, the preschoolers that were tested showed a 46 percent boost in their spatial IQ after taking eight months of keyboard lessons (Rauscher, 2003). Another test showed students scoring 51 points higher on verbal and 39 points higher on math from their SATs after participating in fine arts (Mitofsky, 2002). Scientific studies have shown how active music making, as opposed to passive listening improves brainpower. This increases spatial-temporal reasoning, and increases test scores (AMC, 2004).
Some people believe that songs with lyrics and melody can distract a student while studying, and hence, the speed of doing work will decrease. However, it must be recognized that there are other types of music, such as classical or instrumental music. These types of music promote in gaining higher concentration than compared to music with lyrics. As Cho suggests, with this state, when the brain is relaxed and calm,work is d...
The other component of test anxiety is the psychological component, which has to do with worry about performance. This excessive worrying about performance interferes with the ability of students to read accurately and understand the materials they are reading. One way to reduce this component is for students to direct their worry into studying rather than directing it into taking the test.
Cooper, Belle. " How Music Affects and Benefits Your Brain."lifehacker.come. N.p., 11 22 2013. Web. 3