Universidad Tecnolgica de _____________Nezahualcoyotl

Teacher VIII Presented By:

Zoe SalinasRoberto SanchezLourdes ReyesClaudia Paz

THE MOZART EFFECT

Society has often hoped for a quick and simple way of increasing intelligence. In 1993, such a possibility was offered by researchers at the University of California, Irvine.

Rauscher, Shaw, and Ky (1993) found that a group of 36 college undergraduates improved their spatial-temporal intelligence (the ability to mentally manipulate objects in three-dimensional space) after listening to 10 minutes of a Mozart sonata. Results showed that student' IQ scores improved by 8-9 points and lasted for 10-15 minutes. The findings, which were later dubbed the Mozart effect, have spawned both criticism and support for music's ability to alter intelligence. The meaning of the Mozarts Effect can mean any number of things but the basic definition is: A set of research results that indicate that listening to Mozart's music may induce a short-term improvement on the performance of certain kinds of mental tasks known as "spatial-temporal reasoning (Hughes).

One has to think about how Mozarts music influences the brain. There are a number of questions that need to be answered. For instance, what are the effects of Mozarts music on children and babies, and secondly what are the moods of listening to Mozarts music.

The Mozart effect is said to make people smarter but they shouldnt believe that only listening to Mozart will make them smarter. Effects of Mozart on Children and Babies The Mozart Effect based off the readings and theories it only has a lasting effect on babies. For the first experiment conducted by Dr. Raucher in 1998 he placed three groups of children in three different rooms. He placed children in the first room and played Mozarts music. The song he used was Wolfgang Mozarts Sonata.Group 2 were placed in a room listing to rock music. The last groups were placed in a silent room. All children were given the same test, but the children who were listing to any music performed better than the children who were placed in the silent room (Anderson). The children who listen to music found the tasks to be easy according to Dr. Raucher. He used the word stimulus when talking about the children results in the study. A word used to show the growth of the children who listened to music was stimulus (The British Journal of Psychology pg.609). Stimulus means an agent that directly influences the activity of a living organism (Webster online Dictionary). That makes one think that if a child listens to any type of music other than Mozart it will have the same effect. False studies show that music that plays sixty beats a min or less is what stimulates the mind (Mind on Music 103). Music any faster only makes the mind think rapidly. Music like rap wont stimulate the mind; it will only make the mind think faster which is something apparently one doesnt want to happen. A study shows that listening to Mozart slows the brain so that information can be drawn better. This is only for children aging from new born to ten years old.When this study was conducted on unborn babies, it showed that it didnt make them smarter only calm them while in the womb. The music only can affect their IQ after they have been born. The tests that were conducted were mainly timed test. The effects of the Mozart Effect have been said to only last about 15 min total or long enough for the child to complete the task at hand. So one has to think if it only last for 15 min then does it makes one smarter in the long run? Music is said to change the mood of the people who listen. Mozart is also said to be mood altering music. Moods of Listening to Mozart Another researched topic that has been debated is about the mood that music put oneself in. This is a topic that has been heavily debated about by scientist. The debate is over whether listening to Mozart alters peoples mood. The other scientists who are non-believers believe that his music has no influence on emotions. A doctor by the name of J.S Jenkins states that There is evidence that one will perform better at abstract reasoning tasks when one is mildly aroused and in a good mood; if music can be placed on a mildly aroused happy state of mind which may explain why the Mozart effect works (J.S Jenkins). To refute this quote, another study was given. In this test they gave a group of children rubrics cubes and let the listen to Mozart.

The other group was placed in to a silent room. After this test was conducted it showed that both groups finished the rubric cubes in equal time. Does this prove that they Mozart effect doesnt work? Yes, it does. It shows that Mozarts music doesnt make children complete tasks quicker. Those interested in this topic would go with the second study based off the tasks given. They also believe that its not the music that alters mood but rather than the person. They believe if a person is good with a task then it wont take them that long to complete it.

Those who question Mozart will do the same as others based of the test shown. The answer to this question is: No, Mozart music did not affect any individuals in this study of rubrics cubes.After these studies were analyzed and documented I still needed more information so a personal study was done. Long-Term effects of music on the brain The original experiments on adults exposed to Mozart's music were of short duration only. In related experiments15, long-term effects of music were studied in groups of pre-school children aged 3-4 years who were given keyboard music lessons for six months, during which time they studied pitch intervals, fingering techniques, sight reading, musical notation and playing from memory. At the end of training all the children were able to perform simple melodies by Beethoven and Mozart. When they did they were then subjected to spatial-temporal reasoning tests calibrated for age, and their performance was more than 30% better than that of children of similar age given either computer lessons for 6 months or no special training (P