The Mozart Effect of Boosting IQ

And they took a group of 6 year olds and gave them weekly singing and piano lessons for 9 months. And in this study they took a baseline IQ score at the before the 1st grade and then taken again at the beginning of 2nd grade with the time in between provided for the experiment. And they found that on average the kids that received the lesson IQ was 3 points higher than it was 9 months earlier. This might be in part because when learning to play an instrument much like learning a new language you brain is required to build new connections and remap the network of the brain to work faster. Another study that was published from Christopher Johnson at the University of Kansas was out to prove if this raise in IQ also would affect the testing scores of children. And they found that in an elementary school with good education in the arts scored 20% higher in both English and Math standardized test, than an elementary school with little to no music education. Johnson sums it up by saying, “Schools that have rigorous programs and high-quality music education and arts teacher probably have high-quality teachers in other areas. If you have an environment where there are a lot of people doing creative, smart, great things, even people who aren’t doing that have a tendency to go up and do better.”

The idea behind the “Mozart Effect” is that when babies listen to classical masterpieces, specifically Mozart, their brainpower will be enhanced which ultimately increases their intelligence. There are a myriad number of people who have tested this hypothesis and truly believe that the waves and the sounds engenders cognitive skills in the domain of learning. However, the real question is that do scientists substantiate this claim? Is there solid evidence or is it all an obscure hypothesis?

He randomly assigned 132 first-graders to keyboard, singing or drama lessons, or no lessons at all. He figured that at the end of the school year, both music and drama students would show bumps in IQ scores, just because of "that experience of getting them out of the house." But something unexpected happened: The IQ scores of the music students increased more than those of the other groups. (Lipman 2).

In Joanne Lipman’s “A Musical Fix for U.S. Schools”, she describes the benefits music can bring to a student’s IQ that allows them to perform superior in school. Music forces a person to think differently than how they usually may in other classes. This allows for new thinking strategies to form, improving the cognitive side of the mind. This positive difference is shown when a canadian study was done with music training where the results showed an increase in IQ in the group of people children studied (Lipman). With that study, the favorable results of music is clear for children. An IQ measures the intelligence of people, which is related to the cognitive abilities of the mind, and therefore the person. People may think that music may

In order to understand, one must understand the history of the myth. The term “Mozart Effect” is commonly used to discuss the general correlation between Mozart and increased intelligence. However, this term is applicable to many different tests and relationships. For example, the Mozart Effect can be used to describe the relationship between listening to Mozart while in the womb and increased intelligence. While this is a common myth, it is not the myth discussed in this paper. I will be addressing the “Mozart Effect” based on Dr. Gordon Shaw’s theory of the Mozart Effect, which states “listening to classical music makes you smarter.” After conducting a study in which college students took an IQ test before and after listening to Mozart’s famed “Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major,” Shaw claimed that the student’s IQ increased by “as much as 9 points.” This conclusion sparked many tests, ranging from

However when the two group’s SAT test scores were compared it was found that there was no significant difference between effects on the cognitive abilities of adolescents. This suggests that listening to Mozart only produces short-term increased cognitive abilities. Both these sources refute Don Campbell’s claim that listening to Mozart can have a powerful impact on the creative and intellectual development in children (Taylor & Rowe, 2012). Any cognitive enhancement that occurs is normally minimal and is not lasting as it does not show any change in IQ or reasoning ability (Helder, 2014). Helder states that a basic principle showing that learning has occurred is proven by its repeatability. As the ‘Mozart effect’ was considered only to have a short term effect on cognitive abilities of students then it is unlikely that students could repeat what they had been taught any better than without the music as the effect only lasted 10-15 minutes (Helder, 2014). Pietschnig, Voracek and Formann (2010) state that exposure to music stimulates the section of the cortex that is responsible for spatial awareness. However this stimulation does not result in long-term change in the intellectual and creative development of humans so therefore this refutes Don Campbells claims (Pietschnig, Voracek & Formann, 2010). Sources arguing that listening to Mozart produces only short-term effects on

The Mozart Effect interested parents because they believed it was simple way for them to increase their child’s IQ. Entrepreneurs were motivated by easy profits because of the book called “Mozart Effect” written by Don Campbell. There is very little merit that proves that listening to Mozarts’ music increases the IQ of children. Using the name Mozart Effect as a trademark in infomercials for his book, discs and cassettes was a way to get the news out to mainstream America. Mr. Campbell gained a lot of fame and fortune through speaking engagement, cd, tape sells and promotion by the media. The media created the illusion that listening to Mozart’s music will somehow increase spatial intelligence, concentration and memory and enhance right brain creativity activity. These were some of the promises that were used to promote the sale of Mozart Effect CDs.

As described in The Mozart effect: Tracking the evolution of a scientific legend: the Mozart Effect presents guaranteed way to “ensure intellectual growth and development in children.” (Bangerter & Heath, 2004) Originally coined described by Alfred A. Thomatis in his 1991 book Porquoi Mozart?, this effect has become so popular that entire businesses have been built on the concept. (Bangerter & Heath, 2004) Still, the idea has garnered mix reactions from the scientific community. Many have found that the effect is short-lived and temporary, while others point to flaws in experimental designs as a fundamental factor. (Thompson, 2015) It is critical to evaluate this claim in order to understand if there actually are intellectual benefits of music. As it stands right now, if this theory is correct, the integration of classical music into education and work may boost proficiency of both students and workers.

While the intelligence quotient can be shaped from a variety of sources ranging from biological to environmental influences, the correlation between an increase of IQ with classical music cannot be implied with a cause and effect relationship without consideration for other variables or a different interpretation of the relationship. Since the research did not specify the control variables within the experiments done on mothers, it is important to consider third variable problems in situations where the parents of the fetus may have an influence on the development of the baby based on their actions and genetics. For example, while all of the mothers were subjected to the same classical music, the variations between the habits of each individual may have effected the results through differences in the development of each infant (e.g. drugs, unhealthy diet, lack of eating).

Drooling with an object to its mouth, a small child sits in a corner, as a symphony of Requiem in D minor plays in the background. The babysitter jollily states to the child’s mother “Listening to Mozart can make you smarter.” Many believers of this phenomenon of the “Mozart effect” has sparked controversial argument of whether its enhancing effects on the brain are true. A famous otolaryngologist and inventor, Alfred A. Tomatis, first coined the phrase the “Mozart effect” for its mysterious capability of physical healing and brain development. A research team in the University of California, Frances Raucher, Katherine Ky, and Gordon Shaw, experimented with the measurement of IQ levels after the variables were exposed to Mozart’s masterpieces.

I believe that music can help everyone, Mozart was a genius. He made amazing peaceful music. Even throughout the years women have believed that playing Mozart for unborn child can improve their intelligence. Why can’t that still work for us now? I know that music helps me engage in my work, but I feel that listening to loud pop music can get very distracting. After reading through the variety of articles I believe that classical music does improve test score. Towards the end of this paper I have switched over to classical. I quite enjoy listening to the background noise instead of the loud, upbeat music I usually listen to. Not only does Mozart improve test scores it is also very calming and lessens anxiety. I will definitely be tuning into Spotify's classical radio

Studies show that when students of all ages were listening to Mozart while studying for a test the brain became relaxed. It had allowed the students to focus more on the task at hand which was studying. This is called the Mozart Effect. With 60 beats per minute it affects both the left and right side of the brain. It allowed the

MUSIC AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO OVERALL INTELLECT Abstract A review of previous studies was conducted to test and measure the correlation of music and its influence on various levels of intellect. Subjects range in age from 9 to 67 and education from elementary school to undergraduate and beyond. Analysis included studies of subjects who listened to music and subjects that have varying levels of musical training. While some studies found

Countless studies have proven time and time again that a student’s performance in school is greatly increased when they learn to play an instrument. The studies discuss the “Mozart Effect,” which says that listening to Mozart’s music can increase a child’s ability for spatial reasoning, as well as help brain development. The studies also cite the fact that many of history’s most intelligent men, like Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin, played one or more musical instruments. These studies are wrong. Students should not be required to learn an instrument, because it does not help them perform better in school.

The problem being studied is whether listening to Mozart causes an increase in IQ scores. Several researchers have made this claim, yet others have not been able to replicate the experiment.