Mozart effect
The "Mozart effect" refers to a phenomenon initially described in a 1993 study where listening to a Mozart sonata was found to temporarily enhance spatial-reasoning abilities in college students. During the research, participants who listened to Mozart for ten minutes performed better on a mental paper-folding task compared to those exposed to silence or other music. However, this improvement was short-lived, lasting approximately fifteen minutes, and later studies produced mixed results regarding the existence and significance of the effect. A meta-analysis in 2010 noted a slight positive impact from music listening in general, suggesting that factors like engagement and mood may play a crucial role, rather than the specific qualities of Mozart's music.
The 1990s saw a surge in interest surrounding this concept, leading to the commercialization of classical music products aimed at boosting children's intelligence. Notably, some studies found that music instruction in children was linked to more sustained cognitive benefits, such as improved spatial-reasoning, hand-eye coordination, and arithmetic skills. Overall, while the temporary listening effect attributed to Mozart has limited educational implications, the broader benefits of music education are more consistently supported and hold greater promise for cognitive development.
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Mozart effect
A temporary effect whereby listening to a Mozart sonata leads to improved performance on a spatial-temporal task
The broader interpretation of the Mozart effect—the idea that just listening to Mozart can make one smarter—caught both researchers’ attention and the public’s imagination in the 1990s.
Specifically, the Mozart effect refers to a finding published by Frances H. Rauscher, Gordon L. Shaw, and Katherine N. Ky in a 1993 issue of Nature. Rauscher and her colleagues found that just listening to a Mozart sonata led to temporary improvement in undergraduate students’ performance on a spatial-reasoning task. In this research, college undergraduates listened to different kinds of music (and silence, in one condition) for ten minutes. Afterward, they were administered a mental paper-folding and -cutting test getting at spatial-reasoning ability. In comparison to the other conditions, students who listened to Mozart showed improved performance on their immediate test. Since this listening effect was only temporary (about fifteen minutes), there were few implications for education. Further, the numerous follow-up studies have been mixed as to the phenomenon’s existence. A 2010 meta-analysis of various studies on the topic did find that there was an overall positive effect, albeit a slight one, but that all kinds of music produced the same effect. One study found that students showed the same degree of improvement after being read to aloud as they did after listening to music, and moreover that those who had enjoyed what they had listened to were more likely to show improvement, suggesting that engagement and positive mood might have more to do with the results than did any quality of the music in and of itself.
Nevertheless, in the 1990s, a Mozart effect industry developed, and numerous books and classical music CDs were marketed toward parents who wanted to enhance their children’s intelligence. Indeed, in 1998, Georgia governor Zell Miller went so far as to propose a budget that would spend $105,000 so that a classical music CD could be sent to every newborn in the state.
On another front, the Mozart effect has sometimes been associated with additional research findings as to the potential cognitive benefits of music instruction. Again, in an early study, Rauscher and her colleagues found that preschoolers who received music instruction did better on a puzzle test than did a comparison group who did not receive music instruction. The music instruction effect has been more consistently supported by subsequent research and has more implications for education since the benefits seem to last longer. That is, children who receive music instruction may end up higher in spatial-reasoning ability than those who do not. Rauscher and her colleagues have further concluded that music instruction can lead children to score higher in hand-eye coordination and arithmetic. It is important to note that the music instruction effect is a more general effect and is not limited to the music of Mozart.
Impact
In the 1990s, the Mozart effect grew from an obscure research finding to a well-known (if somewhat confused) phenomenon. While the purported, temporary listening effect has limited educational implications, the value of music instruction holds more promise.
Bibliography
Hammond, Claudia. "Does Listening to Mozart Really Boost Your Brainpower?" BBC. BBC, 8 Jan. 2013. Web. 6 Apr. 2015.
Hetland, Lois. “Listening to Music Enhances Spatial-Temporal Reasoning: Evidence for the 'Mozart Effect.'” The Journal of Aesthetic Appreciation 34 (2000): 105–48. Print.
Heiding, Lynn. "In the Shadow of the Mozart Effect." Journal of Singing 70.5 (2014): 597–602. Print.
Rauscher, Frances H., and Sean C. Hinton. “The Mozart Effect: Music Listening Is Not Music Instruction.” Educational Psychologist 41 (2006): 233–38. Print.
Rauscher, Frances H., Gordon L. Shaw, and Katherine N. Ky. “Music and Spatial Task Performance.” Nature 365 (1993): 611. Print.
Wise, Brian. "After the 'Mozart Effect': Music's Real Impact on the Brain." WQXR. New York Public Radio, 6 Nov. 2013. Web. 6 Apr. 2015.