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Mozart Effect, Cognitive Dissonance, and the Pleasure of Music

Leonid Perlovsky1*, Arnaud.Ca anac!, Marie"Claude #onniot"Ca anac$, Michel Ca anac$.

Athinoula A. Martinos Center for #io%edical &%aging, 'arvard (niversity, Charlesto)n, MA,

(*A and Air +orce ,esearch La oratory, Dayton, -', (*A, leonid.seas.harvard.edu
!

De ,oche elle *chool /C.*.D.D0, 1ue ec, Canada, arnaud.ca anac.csdecou.2c.ca. +aculty of Medicine, Laval (niversity, 1ue ec, Canada, Marie"Claude.#onniot.

f%ed.ulaval.ca3 Michel.Ca anac.f%ed.ulaval.ca. *Corres4ondence to5 leonid.seas.harvard.edu, 617"!89":197

;ords5 <,91! Pages5 !! /!"s4aced0

'ighlights Music hel4s overco%ing cognitive dissonance and hold contradictory kno)ledge =his %ight e funda%ental for hu%an evolution and a ility to think =he >Mozart effect? %ight e caused y overco%ing cognitive dissonance *tudents reduce thinking ti%e during stressful tests, ut %usic reverses this A >%ystery of %usic? %ight e due to overco%ing cognitive dissonance

A stract =he >Mozart effect? refers to scientific data on short"ter% i%4rove%ent on certain %ental tasks after listening to Mozart, and also to its 4o4ularized version that @listening to Mozart %akes you s%arter.A Does >Mozart effect? 4oint to a funda%ental cognitive function of %usicB ;ould such an effect of %usic e due to the hedonicity, a funda%ental di%ension of %ental eC4erienceB =he 4resent 4a4er eC4lores a recent hy4othesis that %usic hel4s to tolerate cognitive dissonances and thus ena led accu%ulation of kno)ledge and hu%an cultural evolution. ;e studied )hether the influence of %usic is related to its hedonicity and )hether 4leasant or un4leasant %usic )ould influence scholarly test 4erfor%ance and cognitive dissonance. *4ecific hy4otheses evaluated in this study are that during a test students eC4erience contradictory cognitions that cause cognitive dissonances. &f so%e %usic hel4s to tolerate cognitive dissonances, then first, this %usic should increase the duration during )hich 4artici4ants can tolerate stressful conditions )hile evaluating test choices. *econd, this should result in i%4roved 4erfor%ance. =hese hy4otheses are tentatively confir%ed in the re4orted eC4eri%ents as the agreea le %usic )as correlated )ith etter 4erfor%ance a ove that under indifferent or un4leasant %usic. &t follo)s that %usic likely 4erfor%s a funda%ental cognitive function eC4laining the origin and evolution of %usical a ility that have een considered a %ystery.

Dey)ords5 Musical cognition, Mozart effect, cognitive dissonance, 4leasure, %usic cognitive function

1. Introduction - Mozart effect, cognitive dissonance, and music

=he >Mozart effect? is a short"ter% i%4rove%ent on @s4atial"te%4oral reasoningA E1, !F. =he idea that >listening to Mozart %akes you s%arter? has een so %uch hy4ed y the %edia that %any scientists conducted eC4eri%ents to verify its validity. A short"ter% effect of any i%4rove%ent )as illustrated, and s4ecificity to Mozart and %usic )as 2uestioned E$, <, 8F. 'ere )e eC4lore the >Mozart effect? as a 4ro e into the 4ossi le funda%ental cognitive function of %usic.

Music, its strong 4o)er over hu%ans, its origin and cognitive function have een a %ystery for long ti%e. Aristotle E6F listed the 4o)er of %usic a%ong the unsolved 4ro le%s. Dant E7F, eC4laining the e4iste%ology of the eautiful and the su li%e, could not eC4lain %usic5 @/As for0 the eC4ansion of the faculties... in the Gudg%ent for cognition, %usic )ill have the lo)est 4lace a%ong /the eautiful arts0... ecause it %erely 4lays )ith senses.A According to Dar)in EHF, the hu%an %usical faculty @%ust e ranked a%ongst the %ost %ysterious )ith )hich /%an0 is endo)edA ecause %usic is a hu%an cultural universal that a44ears to serve no o vious ada4tive 4ur4ose. A%ong current evolutionary 4sychologists so%e argue that %usic 4lays no ada4tive role in hu%an evolution. *o follo)ing Dant, Pinker E9F has suggested that %usic is an @auditory cheesecake,A a y4roduct of natural selection that Gust ha44ened to @tickle the sensitive s4ots.A -ther conte%4orary scientists suggest that %usic clearly has an evolutionary role, and 4oint to %usic?s universality E1:F. &n !::H, Iature 4u lished a series of essays on %usic E11F. =he authors agreed that %usic is a cross"cultural universal, still @none... has yet een a le to ans)er the funda%ental 2uestion5 )hy does %usic have such 4o)er over usBA E1!F.

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Cognitive dissonance /CD0 is a disco%fort caused y holding conflicting cognitions E1$F. &t is kno)n that this disco%fort is usually resolved y devaluing"discarding a conflicting cognition. Any t)o ele%ents of kno)ledge contradict each other to so%e eCtent, leading to CD and to de" %otivation of kno)ledge accu%ulation. &n 4articular, e%ergence of language and the follo)ing accu%ulation of kno)ledge )ould e devalued. =herefore the current theory of CD 2uestions %otivations for the entire hu%an evolution, unless a 4o)erful cognitive %echanis% )ould e%erge in 4arallel )ith language, )hich )ould ena le kee4ing in %ind contradictory cognitions.

A recent hy4othesis suggests that %usic originated in hu%an evolution to hel4 overco%ing negative conse2uences of CD E1<, 18F. Music )as argued to e this 4o)erful %echanis% overco%ing negative effects of CD. #ecause all decisions are %ade in the hedonic di%ension of consciousness E16F and result fro% the %aCi%ization of 4leasure E17F, one %ay sus4ect that such an influence of %usic also takes 4lace in that di%ension, i.e. that 4leasureJdis4leasure o4erates also in the case of the Mozart effect E<F /=ho%4son et al !::10.

As 4leasure E1HF )as sho)n to e the >co%%on currency? 4ostulated y Mc+arland and *i ly E19F to allo) %otivations to >talk? to one another and esta lish ehavioral 4riorities, it )as natural to eC4lore )hether 4leasure )ould also fulfill the sa%e function )ith CD )here t)o cognitions are in conflict )ith one another in our %ind. A %usic a ility to hel4 kee4 contradictory cognitions in %ind has een de%onstrated eC4eri%entally in E!:, !1F5 %usic has hel4ed young children /< y.o.a.0 to avoid devaluing an attractive toy, )hile not 4laying )ith it. =he funda%ental and road clai%s a out %usical role in cognition and hu%an evolution re2uire %ultifaceted evaluation. 'ere )e a44roach relations et)een %usic and CD in a different setting of student 4erfor%ance on acade%ic tests. ;e evaluate t)o hy4otheses5 first, that the hedonicity /i.e 4leasure or dis4leasure0 fro% %usic could %odulate the a ility to tolerate stress caused y

CD, and second, )hether the result )ould lead to an a44lied use of %usic during acade%ic eCa%ination tests.

2. Methods

=)o grou4s of 8th year high school /1<"18 y.o.a.0 of oth seCes served as 4artici4ants. =hey ans)ered a %ulti4le choice ty4e training test )ith 1! 2uestions of their scientific course for fifteen %inutes. After they had co%4leted the test each received a for% )ith $ additional 2uestions on face A and, after ans)ering those, t)o final 2uestions on face # /reverse0.

Environ%ental %usic ;hat )as ai%ed at )as to 4lay %usic to oth grou4s5 one cal% and 2uiet to one grou4 and, to the second grou4, a %usic )idely different, vivid, and dra)ing attention. =he nature and hedonicity of the environ%ental %usic 4layed during the test had een selected y 4ro ing on other teenagers )ho did not 4artici4ate in the eC4eri%ent. Cal% %usic )as Mozart sonata in D for t)o 4ianos D.<<H, /used in E!:, !1F0 es4ecially the Andante3 it )as deter%ined to e >Pleasant?, and the other %usic )as a koto solo )ith so%e dishar%onious se2uences, y Duro Da%i and *akura Miyotote, deter%ined to e >(nPleasant?. =he louds4eaker had een 4laced near the ceiling in the center of the class"roo%. &n oth sessions the %usic intensities )ere5 88 d# ho%ogenous in the roo%, as checked fro% a sono%eter.

Partici4ants *iCty four 4artici4ants took 4lace in t)o grou4s and su Gected to Mozart /nK$!0 and Doto /nK$!0 %usic. =he t)o grou4s had identical grades 4erfor%ance.

&t ha44ened that so%e of the 4artici4ants in the Mozart grou4, found that %usic (nPleasant, and so%e fro% the koto grou4 found it Pleasant. =herefore the results )ere sorted, not on the account of the %usic heard, ut on the 4leasure or the dis4leasure eC4erienced5 $: rated their %usic as Pleasant, and !1 as (nPleasant. Also, in oth grou4s /1$ 4artici4ants altogether0, rated on 1uestionnaire 4age # /see elo)0 the %usic they heard as indifferent /zero hedonicity0. =hese 1$ 4artici4ants served as a control and )ere la eled the >(n'edonic? grou4.

1uestionnaires At the end of their acade%ic tests the 4artici4ants ans)ered t)o short 2uestionnaires on se4arate 4ages, the first one, Page A, 4ro ed their ehavioral 4erfor%ance and the second one, Page #, 4ro ed their eC4erience. =his 4rotocol )as arranged that )ay in order to avoid dra)ing the 4artici4ants? attention on the environ%ental %usic and on their a)areness aroused y the 4revious 2uestions on face A. =he %usic had een sto44ed at the end of the test, i.e. efore these final 2uestionnaires )ere o4ened.

-n Page A the 4artici4ants )ere re2uested to5 " )rite the eCact ti%e of their co%4letion of the acade%ic test3 thus 4roviding their individual duration " " " rate fro% : to 1: ho) difficult they had found the test )rite fro% : to 1:: the grade they eC4ected to have earned rate fro% : to 1:, the intensity of their stress

-n Page # the 4artici4ants ans)ered the follo)ing t)o 2uestions5 " 'ave you een a)are that %usic )as 4layed during the testB Ans)er LJI

"

Did you like itB ,ate your 4leasureJdis4leasure eC4erience, as a nu% er et)een "8 and M8, )ith the follo)ing land%arks5 "8 very un4leasant, "$ un4leasant, : indifferent, M$ agreea le, M8 very agreea le.

3. Results

$.1 Nrade 4erfor%ance and hedonicity of %usic

Nrades earned y students in Pleasant %usic condition )ere higher than for (nPleasant or (n'edonic. =he differences are statistically significant. /=his is si%ilar to the >Mozart effect?03 ,elationshi4s for (nPleasant vs. (n'edonic are not statistically significant, =a le 1. 'ere and elo) M; and = denote Mann";hitney and *tudent ="tests3 arro)s O"P"Q indicate the co%4ared 4air of conditions3 re4orted nu% ers for each 4air of conditions sho) the 4ro a ility of acce4ting null hy4othesis, 4 /4 K 1 corres4onds to no difference, 4 O :.:8 is usually inter4reted as statistically significant difference et)een the 4air of conditions0. Table 1. Nrades earned /fro% : to 160. Nrades y students in Pleasant %usic condition )ere a ove the t)o other grou4s. 'igher grades under 4leasant %usic than under un4leasant or indifferent %usic, )ere statistically significant.

%edian %ean st.dev. Pleasant Q (nPleasant Pleasant Q (n'edonic (nPleasant vs. (n'edonic

Pleasant (nPleasant (n'edonic 1<.:: 1!.:: 1!.8: 1$.6: 1!.17 1!.1! 1.H< !.$9 !.8H O"" 4M; K :.:!3 4= K :.:1""Q O"""""""""""""""" 4M; K :.:$3 4= K :.:<""""""""""""""""Q O"" 4M; K :.963 4= K :.<H ""Q

$.! -ther varia les

Table 2. Duration )as shorter under Pleasant %usic than under (n'edonic %usic and (nPleasant condition. =he difference did not reach statistical significance for Pleasant vs. (nPleasant, ut significant for Pleasant vs. (n'edonic.

%edian %ean st.dev. Pleasant Q (nPleasant Pleasant Q (n'edonic (nPleasant vs (n'edonic

Pleasant (nPleasant (n'edonic 11.:: 11.:: 1$.:: 11.1$ 11.76 1!.69 !.<$ !.!$ !.1: O"" 4M; K :.<<3 4= K :.17""Q O"""""""""""""""" 4M; K :.:83 4= K :.:!""""""""""""""""Q O"" 4M; K :.!!3 4= K :.1! ""Q

Table 3. ,ating for Difficulty. ,atings )ere lo)er for Pleasant condition than for the other t)o. =hese differences do not reach the threshold for statistical significance /4O:.:80.

%edian %ean st.dev. Pleasant Q (nPleasant Pleasant Q (n'edonic (nPleasant vs (n'edonic

Pleasant (nPleasant (n'edonic <.:: 8.:: 8.:: <.$8 <.8: <.9! !.:: !.!! !.<$ O"" 4M; K :.H:3 4= K :.<:""Q O"""""""""""""""" 4M; K :.<$3 4= K :.!$""""""""""""""""Q O"" 4M; K :.6:3 4= K :.!H ""Q

Table 4. Median EC4ectedRNrade )as higher for Pleasant condition than for the other t)o. =hese differences are statistically significant.

%edian

Pleasant H:.::

(nPleasant 78.::

(n'edonic 78.::

%ean st.dev. Pleasant Q (nPleasant Pleasant Q (n'edonic (nPleasant vs (n'edonic

H:.7: 7<.6! 7:.H8 9.9: 9.67 18.<9 O"" 4M; K :.:<3 4= K :.:!""Q O"""""""""""""""" 4M; K :.:<3 4= K :.:$""""""""""""""""Q O"" 4M; K :.7$3 4= K :.!! ""Q

Table . *tress rating )as lo)er for Pleasant condition than for the other t)o. =hese differences are of lo) statistical significance for Pleasant vs. (nPleasant conditions, and of %uch lo)er /then 4K:.:80 statistical significance for the other t)o 4airs of conditions.

%edian %ean st.dev. Pleasant Q (nPleasant Pleasant Q (n'edonic (nPleasant vs (n'edonic

Pleasant (nPleasant (n'edonic !.8: <.:: <.:: $.:7 <.<H <.:: !.$6 !.66 !.6H O"" 4M; K :.:H3 4= K :.:$""Q O"""""""""""""""" 4M; K :.$83 4= K :.1<""""""""""""""""Q O"" 4M; K :.793 4= K :.$1 ""Q

$.$ Evaluation of the hy4othesis that the hedonicity of %usic %odulates the tolerance for cognitive dissonance /Table ! elo)0

=o isolate the effect of CD"stress on reducing durations, )e co%4ute regression of Duration on t)o varia les, the 1st %easuring difficulty for each student /esti%ated as either su Gective Difficulty, or EC4ected grade, or Nrade0 and the !nd *tress. =o get data inde4endent of units of %easure%ents, )e consider nor%alized varia les, %ean values are su tracted for every varia le and the results are divided y standard deviations. +or nor%alized varia les regression e2uation looks like follo)s E!!F5

Duration K a1*SDifficultyS M a!**tress

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=he advantage of using nor%alized varia les is that results are inde4endent of units of %easure%ents of individual varia les. Coefficient a1 gives a di%ensionless isolated effect of @DifficultyA on Duration, and coefficient a! gives a di%ensionless isolated effect of *tress on Duration. SDifficultyS can e esti%ated as /su Gective Difficulty0, or as /"Nrade0, or as /" EC4ected Nrade0. A higher grade %easures @easinessA rather than @difficultyA, therefore to %easure @difficultyA )e took negative values /"Nrade, or TEC4ected Nrade0. ;e co%4uted all three regressions for each condition, and evaluated statistical significance of the effects of @difficultyA and stress on duration for each condition, as given y the coefficients a1 and a!, di%ensionless %easures of @DifficultyA and *tress effects on Duration, isolated fro% each other. =he results are su%%arized in =a les 6 and 7.

Table ! =he coefficient a1, a di%ensionless isolated %easure of @difficultyA effect on Duration, for each %easure of @difficulty,A and its statistical significance /4, a 4ro a ility of acce4ting a1K:0. The coefficient a1 Difficulty /"Nrade0 /"EC4ectedRNr0 "tatistical significance of a1# $ Difficulty /"Nrade0 /"EC4ectedRNr0 Pleasant :.$1< :.!!1 :.189 Pleasant :.:< :.!$ :.89 (nPleasant ":.179 :.:$7 :.:<8 (nPleasant :.!H :.9< :.91 (n'edonic :.H77 :.6$9 :.869 (n'edonic : : :

Table % =he coefficient a!, a di%ensionless isolated %easure of *tress effect on Duration for each %easure of @difficulty,A and its statistical significance /4, a 4ro a ility of acce4ting a!K:0

The coefficient a2 Difficulty /"Nrade0 /"EC4ectedRNr0 "tatistical significance of a2# $

Pleasant :.176 :.!8< :.!$8 Pleasant

(nPleasant :.!!1 :.:9< :.:H! (nPleasant

(n'edonic ":.H97 ":.<<< ":.8<8 (n'edonic

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Difficulty /"Nrade0 /"EC4ectedRNr0

:.!H :.19 :.!!

:.$7 :.7$ :.76

: : :

&iscussion

=he first funda%ental result of the current re4ort de%onstrates that %usic affects 4erfor%ance.

=a le 1 sho)s that the test 4erfor%ance as %easured y Nrades confir%ed the hy4othesis5 Nrades for Pleasant %usic condition are higher than for (nPleasant or (n'edonic conditions. =hese differences are statistically significant.

*i%ilar differences in the 4ast )ere called the >Mozart effect? and eventually dis%issed as short" ter% effect, non"s4ecific to %usic E<F. 'o)ever, confir%ation of our second hy4othesis discussed elo) de%onstrates that the effect of %usic on 4erfor%ance can e eC4ected short" ter%ed, yet %ight e related to funda%ental 4sychological %echanis%5 overco%ing the %or id conse2uences of CD.

=he second funda%ental result of the current re4ort deals )ith the cognitive function, origin, and evolutionary causes of %usic5 %usic hel4s overco%ing %or id conse2uences of CD. *ince %ulti4le choice tests re2uire holding and evaluating contradictory cognitions, students are eC4ected to eC4erience CD resulting in a stress. =hinking, accu%ulating kno)ledge, and %aking choices involves CD, )hich causes stress. =hinking is stressful. =his stress reduces ti%e hu%ans allocate to thinking. =his conclusion is su44orted y the third colu%n in =a le 75 the coefficient a! is negative, *tress reduces duration of tests. =his effect is highly statistically significant,

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)hich is seen fro% the $rd colu%n in =a le 7. ;hereas naively one could eC4ect that %ore stressful tests should re2uire %ore ti%e, these results de%onstrate that )hen the effect of difficulty is se4arated, the effect of stress is o44osite fro% this naUve eC4ectation. *tress reduces duration ecause stress is un4leasant and tolerating stress is difficult. &f hu%ans in their evolutionary develo4%ent )ould not e a le to overco%e this %or id conse2uence of CD, hu%an culture )ould not evolve to %ore kno)ledge and to a ility for thinking.

=hese results confir% the 4reviously discussed hy4othesis E1<, 18, !$F5 %usic evolved for hel4ing to overco%e this 4redica%ent. Pleasant %usic hel4ed kee4ing in %ind contradictory cognitions in stressful thinking. =his is seen fro% the 1st colu%n in =a le 75 coefficient a! for Pleasant %usic condition is 4ositive. &n other )ords )ith 4leasant %usic students )ere a le to tolerate stress and devote %ore ti%e to stressful thinking. =he 1st colu%n in =a le 7 sho)s that the values of the coefficient a! for Pleasant condition are of lo) statistical significance /co%4arative to value a!K:0, ut the effects of Pleasant %usic )ere highly statistically significant )hen co%4ared to (n'edonic condition /4K: in the $rd colu%n0. &n other )ord the effects of Pleasant %usic )ere highly statistically significant in ter%s of ena ling stressful thinking.

=he effect of (nPleasant %usic condition deserves future studies. =he effect of stress on duration in (nPleasant condition is not statistically significantly different fro% a!K: /no stress effect0, and not significantly different fro% Pleasant condition. *till it is different fro% (n'edonic condition and this difference is highly statistically significant.

Evaluating results in =a le 6, the effect of difficulty on duration, )e )ould note that the %ean value of the coefficient a1 is 4ositive, :.!9H, as )ell as its %edian value :.!!1. As eC4ected it is

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a 4ositive value5 difficulty increases duration /)hile a1 has lo) statistical significance, eCce4t one case, of su Gective Difficulty, 4K:.:<0. &n (n'edonic condition coefficients a1 are highly statistically significant /4K:05 %ore difficult tests take longer to solve. Linear correlation of difficulty and duration over conditions /:.16$0 is of lo) statistical significance ecause the relation is not linear3 difficulty and stress have o44osite effects on duration.

&t %ust e underlined that the o served 4erfor%ance i%4rove%ent, and therefore the usefulness of %usic, )as 4resent only )ith agreea le %usic and that un4leasant %usic tended to 4roduce results that )ere often no different fro% controls. *uch a result thus gives a ne) evidence of the role of 4leasura le eC4erience in decision %aking E16, 17, 1H, !<, !8, !6, !7, !H, !9, $:F.

*tudying three grou4s of students according to 4leasant, un4leasant, and indifferent reaction to %usic is of course a first ste4. +ro% theoretical argu%ents E1<, 18, !$, $1, $!, $$, $<, $8F one could eC4ect that there are very %any %usical e%otions that hel4 overco%ing different CD e%otions. Does any 4air of contradictory cognitions cause a different CD e%otionB Does any %usical 4hrase contain a different e%otionB ;hereas eC4eri%ents re4orted here should e re4roduced as a %atter of confir%ing our results, the directions of research should e eC4anded. +uture research should develo4 eC4eri%ental %eans of %easuring %usical e%otions as )ell as CD e%otions, esta lish relations of %usical and CD e%otions, and their relations to asic e%otions E!6, $6F.

Music could e funda%ental to the hu%an a ility to accu%ulate kno)ledge, to overco%e irrational decision"%aking caused y CD, and to sustain the hu%an cultural evolution in the face of ever increasing 4ressure fro% CD to devalue kno)ledge. =his is related to the fact that useful

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kno)ledge contradicts instinctual drives1, other)ise the instinctual drive )ould e sufficient and no kno)ledge )ould e needed. =he sa%e argu%ent a44lies to any t)o ele%ents of kno)ledge. =hus kno)ledge i%4lies CD. *o let us re4eat, accu%ulation of kno)ledge and a ility to think re2uires overco%ing CD tendency to devalue kno)ledge.

&t is interesting to note that Ancient Nreeks kne) a out CD and the hu%an tendency to devalue contradictory cognitions. &n the Aeso4?s fa le =he +oC and the Nra4es a foC sees high"hanging gra4es. A desire to eat gra4es and ina ility to reach the% are in conflict. =he foC overco%es this cognitive dissonance y deciding that the gra4es are sour and not )orth eating. *ince the 198:s cognitive dissonances eca%e a )ide and )ell studied area of 4sychology. Let us re4eat that tolerating cognitive dissonances is difficult, and 4eo4le often %ake irrational decisions to avoid contradictions E1$, $7F. &n !::! this research )as a)arded Io el Prize in econo%ics e%4hasizing the i%4ortance of this field of research. Ievertheless the 4sychological status of CD e%otions have not een addressed5 are these e%otions si%ilar to asic e%otions, such as fear or rage, or are they funda%entally different E!6, $!, $$, $<FB Are there fe) CD e%otions, si%ilar to asic e%otions E$1, $9, <:, <1F, or is there a virtual infinity of e%otions E$1F, a very"high di%ensional e%otional s4ace corres4onding to every 4air of cognitions E1<, $<FB

=he re4orted research has de%onstrated that unhedonic students, re4orting no e%otions fro% %usic, have scored lo)er grades. =his is interesting in itself, ut it raises a dee4er 4sychological and anthro4ological 2uestion in vie) of our %ain hy4othesis that %usic is crucial for the entire hu%an cultural evolution. =his 2uestion is5 ho) large should e eC4ected cognitive differences et)een %usical and a%usical 4eo4leB /A significant 4ercentage of 4eo4le, a out 1 4er 1::, are a%usical, re4orting no e%otions eC4erienced during listening to %usic E<!F0. Io dou t, this is an
1

'ere instinctual drives are defined according to E$HF as in orn sensor"like neural %echanis%s %easuring vital needs of an organis%.

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interesting 2uestion for future eC4eri%ental studies. 'ere )e )ould suggest a theoretical hy4othesis that the %ain contri ution of %usic to culture could e in creating %usical e%otions, overco%ing CD devaluations of kno)ledge, and sustaining hu%an cultural evolution. As kno)ledge, cognition, and culture have evolved and e%otions are categorized in language, a%usical 4eo4le can 4artici4ate in this cultural 4rocess. &f insensitivity to %usic affects cognitive differences et)een %usical and a%usical 4eo4le, these differences should e searched in s4ecifically creative as4ects of cognition, such as differences et)een decisions %ade using the kno)ledge instinct and using language" ased heuristics E<$F.

=he @Mozart effectsA )as re4orted to e non"s4ecific to %usic E$, <, 8F. &t )ould e interesting to esta lish )hich non%usical activities hel4 overco%ing CD. =his 4a4er eC4lored t)o i%4ortant and fascinating areas of hu%an %ind5 %usic, its cognitive function, its origin, and cognitive dissonances. Each area deserves studying its dee4 %ultifaceted cognitive %echanis%s and functions.

-ur results confir%ed the funda%ental role of 4leasure in decision %aking. =hese results are eCtre%ely i%4ortant to all teachers as 4leasant %usic i%4roves acade%ic 4erfor%ance, a to4ic that haunts any teacher, since suggested y the >Mozart effect? and then denounced as short"ter% effect nons4ecific to Mozart or %usic E1, !, <, 8, 6F. Let )e %ust also e a)are that the un4leasant %usic %ight have had ad influence on acade%ic 4erfor%ance, ut the si%ilar results o tained fro% (n'edonic and (nPleasant 4artici4ants contradicts such a conclusion.

Let us re4eat that our hy4otheses sti%ulating this eC4eri%ent have een that CD are i%4licit in any test and have a %aGor influence on 4erfor%ance, duration, and stress, )hile Pleasure has a funda%ental role in decision %aking and overco%ing negative effects of CD. MaGority of 4eo4le,

16

including students taking the tests dislike contradictions in their kno)ledge, eC4erience it as *tress, and do not )ant to kee4 it in the %ind for long5 %ore *tress less Duration!. =his is reversed during the Pleasant %usic condition. The fundamentally important result is that pleasant music helped tolerating stress for longer and resulted in better Grades. Pleasant music helps overcoming CD (stress) and helps keeping in mind contradictory cognitions.

'onclusion

=he current 4a4er contri utes to understanding t)o unsolved 4ro le%s in 4sychology. =he first is the origin and evolution of %usic. Consciousness is %uch evolutionary older than hu%an %usic E<<F. ;hy has %usic such a 4o)er over us and ho) could it e%erge in evolution /if it did0 E11, 1!, 1<, 18, !$FB =ogether )ith theoretical considerations E1<, 18, !$, $$F and eC4eri%ental evidence E!:, !1F the current 4a4er %akes a significant contri ution to)ard solving the 4ro le% of origin and cognitive function of %usic. =he second unsolved 4ro le% is overco%ing cognitive dissonances in cultural evolution5 the current understanding of CD suggests that at the ti%e of hu%an e%erging fro% ani%al kingdo%, language and kno)ledge could not have evolved, ecause CD )ould lead to devaluing kno)ledge.

&f the >Mozart effect? is due to CD and due to the 4leasure of listening to %usic hel4s to overco%e CD"related stress and devaluation of kno)ledge, this suggests a natural eC4lanation for short"ter% value of the >Mozart effect.? -ur 4a4er suggests that long"ter% eC4osure to %usic and sensitivity to %usical e%otions are likely to e i%4ortant for cognitive a ilities, ut this should e a se4arate field of study fro% the short"ter% >Mozart effect.?

As kno)n e%4irically y any teacher

17

=he current 4a4er adds evidence to the e%erging theory that %usic evolved Gointly )ith language for the 4ur4ose of overco%ing the %or id conse2uences of CD E1<, 18, !$F. Educators and teachers invest %uch effort to %ini%ize the e%otion of eCa%inations. =he 4resent results %ight lead to 4laying 4leasant %usic in eCa%ination roo%s.

(c)no*ledgment

=he authors )ish to thank the students of De ,oche elle *chool /C.*.D.D., 1ue ec0 )ho served as 4artici4ants, and Dr. ,o%an &lin for his kind statistical su44ort. =his )ork )as su44orted y the Iatural *ciences ,esearch Council /I*,C0 of Canada.

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