The Mozart Effect

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The Mozart Effect

Ever since human intelligence has been a factor for survival, people have been trying to think of new, innovative ways to increase their mental capabilities. In the past, people have taken pills, prepared home-made concoctions, and have even shaven their heads to clear their minds. Even now, new ideas, such as magnetic mattresses for better blood circulation to the brain, are patented and sold promising mental wellness and stability – and making money for the inventor. When scientists find something that enhances intelligence the general public is interested.

This is perhaps why a small study out of the University of California, Irvine procured so much attention. In 1993 Gordon Shaw, a physicist, and Frances Rauscher, a former concert cellist and an expert on cognitive development, studied the effects the Mozart Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major had on a few dozen college students. They performed this study to see whether "brief exposure to certain music could increase a cognitive ability" (3). They study took thirty-six college students and divided them up into three groups. Each group spent ten minutes listening to different sounds: the first group listened to the afore mentioned Mozart sonata, the second group listened to a tape of relaxation instructions and the third group sat in silence. Directly following these ten minutes the students were tested on spatial/temporal reasoning (more specifically the Stanford-Binet Test). Simply put, the "subject has to imagine that a single sheet of paper has been folded several times and then various cut-outs are made with scissors" (3). The object for the students is to correctly guess the pattern of cut-outs if the paper were unfolded.

In the end, the scores o...

... middle of paper ...

... widely shared by the media and the general pubic. The new inventions centered around Mozart's music are becoming more scarce, and it's much harder to find "Mozart for the LSATs" at an average CD retailer. After spending almost a decade in the spot light, The Mozart Effect is beginning to loose ground, and will soon be replaced by a new study proving that skittles stimulate the right-frontal lobe and every parent will be happy to give their kids some candy.

References

1) http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/9908/25/mozart.iq

2) http://parenting-baby.com/Parenting-Baby-Music-Research/index1.html

3) http://www.musica.uci.edu/mrn/V7I1W00.html

4) http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?

file=/nature/journal/v400/n6747/full/400826a0_r.html&filetype=&dynoptions=

5) http://skepdic.com/mozart.html

6) http://www.usatoday.com/life/2003-08-19-mozart_x.htm

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