Mozart effect From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Mozart effect can refer to: 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 kno n as !spatial-temporal reasoning"! #$% &opularized versions of the theory, hich suggest that !listening to Mozart makes you smarter!, or that early childhood e'posure to classical music has a (eneficial effect on mental development" A trademark for a set of commercial recordings and related materials, hich are claimed to harness the effect for a variety of purposes) The trademark o ner #*% claims (enefits far (eyond improving spatiotemporal reasoning or raising intelligence, defining the mark as !an inclusive term signifying the transformational po ers of music in health, education, and ell-(eing)! The term as first coined (y Alfred A) Tomatis ho used Mozart's music as the listening stimulus in his ork attempting to cure a variety of disorders) The approach has (een popularized in a (ook (y +on ,amp(ell, ho trademarked the term, and is (ased on an e'periment pu(lished in -ature suggesting that listening to Mozart temporarily (oosted students' ./ (y 0 to 1 points) #2% As a result, the 3overnor of 3eorgia, 4ell Miller, proposed a (udget to provide every child (orn in 3eorgia ith a ,+ of classical music) ,ontents #hide% $ Alfred A) Tomatis * 5auscher and 6ha $112 study 2 &opularising of the concept 7 &olitical impact 8 9imitations of the effect : ;ther research :)$ ,ha(ris and 6teele :)* <ridget and ,uevas :)2 3erman 5esearch Ministry :)7 =niversity of Wisconsin, +epartment of &sychology :)8 Thompson, 6chellen(erg, >usain ? 5eferences 0 6ee also 1 @'ternal links #edit% Alfred A) Tomatis The concept of the !Mozart effect! as descri(ed (y French researcher, +r) Alfred A) Tomatisin his $11$ (ook &ourAuoi MozartB) >e used the music of Mozart in his efforts to !retrain! the ear, and (elieved that listening to the music presented at differing freAuencies helped the ear, and promoted healing and the development of the (rain) #edit% 5auscher and 6ha $112 study 5auscher, 6ha , and Cy D$112E, investigated the effect of listening to music (y Mozart on spatial reasoning, and the results ere pu(lished in -ature #$%) They gave research participants one of three standard tests of a(stract spatial reasoning after they had e'perienced each of three listening conditions: a sonata (y Mozart, repetitive rela'ation music, and silence) These authors found that the mean standard age scores converted into ./ scores ere 0 to 1 points higher after the participants had listened to the music than after either of the other t o conditions) #7%

According to 5auscher, 6ha , and Cy in the same $112 e'periment, the enhancing effect of the music condition is only temporary) -o student had effects e'tending (eyond the $8-minute period in hich they ere tested) &lease note that 5auscher's study makes no statement of an increase in ./) The increase as o(served in participants spatial intelligence scoresFF #edit% &opularising of the concept There has (een a common misconception that 5asucher et) al's D$112E study descri(ed a temporary increase in ./) .n fact, 5auscher et) al) specified an increase in 'spatial intelligence') This misconception and the fact that the music used in the study as (y Mozart had an o(vious appeal to those ho valued this music, and the Mozart effect as idely reported) .n $117, -e Gork Times music columnist, Ale' 5oss, rote in a light-hearted article, !researchers #5auscher and 6ha % have determined that listening to Mozart actually makes you smarter,! and presented this as the final piece of evidence that Mozart has dethroned <eethoven as !the orld's greatest composer)! A $11? <oston 3lo(e article mentioned some of the 5auscher and 6ha results) .t descri(ed one study in hich three- and four-year-olds ho ere given eight months of private piano lessons scored 27 percent higher on tests of spatio-temporal reasoning than control groups given computer lessons, singing lessons, and no training) The $11? (ook (y +on ,amp(ell, The Mozart @ffect: Tapping the &o er of Music to >eal the <ody, 6trengthen the Mind, and =nlock the ,reative 6pirit, discusses the theory that listening to Mozart Despecially the piano concertoE may temporarily increase one's ./ and produce many other (eneficial effects on mental function) ,amp(ell recommends playing specially selected classical music to infants, in the e'pectation that it ill (enefit their mental development) These theories are controversial) The relationship of sound and music D(oth played and listened toE to cognitive function and various physiological metrics has (een e'plored in studies ith no definitive results) After The Mozart @ffect, ,amp(ell rote a follo -up (ook, The Mozart @ffect For ,hildren, and created related products) Among these are collections of music that he states harness the Mozart effect to enhance !deep rest and reHuvenation!, !intelligence and learning!, and !creativity and imagination!) ,amp(ell defines the term as !an inclusive term signifying the transformational po ers of music in health, education, and ell-(eing) .t represents the general use of music to reduce stress, depression, or an'iety" induce rela'ation or sleep" activate the (ody" and improve memoryor a areness) .nnovative and e'perimental uses of music and sound can improve listening disorders, dysle'ia, attention deficit disorder, autism, and other mental and physical disorders and inHuries!) #8% #edit% &olitical impact The popular impact of the theory as demonstrated on Ianuary $2, $110, hen 4ell Miller, governor of 3eorgia, announced that his proposed state (udget ould include J$K8,KKK a year to provide every child (orn in 3eorgia ith a tape or ,+ of classical music) Miller stated !-o one Auestions that listening to music at a very early age affects the spatial-temporal reasoning that underlies math and engineering and even chess)! Miller played legislators some of <eethoven's !;de to Ioy! on a tape recorder and asked !-o , don't you feel smarter alreadyB! Miller asked Goel 9evi, music director of the Atlanta 6ymphony, to compile a collection of classical pieces that should (e included) 6tate representative >omer M) +e9oach said !. asked a(out the possi(ility of including some ,harlie +aniels or something like that, (ut they said they thought the classical music has a greater positive impact) >aving never studied those impacts too much, . guess .'ll Hust have to take their ord for that)! #:% #edit% 9imitations of the effect T o limitations or misconceptions should (e noted) First, popular presentations of the !Mozart effect! almost al ays tie it to !intelligence"! thus, as noted a(ove, Ale' 5oss's comment that !listening to Mozart actually makes you smarter,! and 4ell Miller's

asking the 3eorgia legislature hether they !felt smarter! after he played them some <eethoven) 5auscher herself, one of the original researchers, has disclaimed this idea) .n her $111 reply, pu(lished together ith an article challenging the effect #?%, she rote Demphasis suppliedE: ;ur results on the effects of listening to Mozart's 6onata for T o &ianos in + MaHor C) 770 on spatialtemporal task performance have generated much interest (ut several misconceptions, many of hich are reflected in attempts to replicate the research) The comments (y ,ha(ris and 6teele et al) echo the most common of these: that listening to Mozart enhances intelligence) 'We made no such claim)' The effect is limited to spatial-temporal tasks involving mental imagery and temporal ordering) 6econd, it is freAuently suggested or stated that e'posure to the right kind of music in childhood has a lasting, (eneficial effect) D,irca $111 the state of Florida created a regulation reAuiring toddlers in staterun schools to listen to classical music every dayE) ;n programs like these, 5auscher commented: . don't think it can hurt) .'m all for e'posing children to onderful cultural e'periences) <ut . do think the money could (e (etter spent on music education programs) #0% #edit% ;ther research Another e'periment that agrees ith the claim as made (y <ellarmine ,ollege) To make sure the Mozart effect as consistent, The +epartment of &sychology at <ellarmine ,ollegetested the spatial reasoning of the participants in a study (y having them complete pencil-and-paper mazes of varying comple'ity) The students ere given eight minutes to complete as many mazes as possi(le) .f the Mozart effect is replica(le, then the participant's performances on the mazes should (e enhanced after listening to Mozart's music relative to the other t o listening conditions) ;f the ** volunteers, the average student completed *):0mazes in 0 minutes after listening to Mozart's music) After listening to different types of music, the average student only completed *)* mazes, and after (eing in silence, the average student completed $)?2 mazes #1% ;ther researchers argue that The !Mozart @ffect! is only an artifact of the short-term effects of music listening on mood and arousal) William Forde Thompson, 3a(riela >usain, and 3lenn 6chellen(erg D*KK$E tested the Mozart effect on *7 graduate and undergraduate students ith a range of musical (ackground Daverage of *)?8 years of formal music lessonsE) The participants listened to either Mozart's &iano 6onata in + maHor DC)770E, or to Al(inoni's Adagio in 3 Minor) Mozart's piece contrasts ith Al(inoni's (ecause Mozart's is more up(eat and energetic than the Adagio, hich is a slo er, sadder piece) The participants then performed the same spatial-temporal task that as administered in the original study (y 5auscher and colleagues, called the !&aper Folding and ,utting! task, or &FL,) &articipants then completed a standard (attery for evaluating mood and arousal, called the !&rofile of Mood 6tates!) They also provided simple ratings of their mood and energy levels on a scale from $ to ?) Finally, they also rated ho much they enHoyed the music that they heard) The participants performed significantly (etter on the spatial-temporal task after listening to Mozart's sonata than after listening to Al(inoni's piece) >o ever, this apparent (enefit disappeared hen differences in mood and arousal ere held constant (y statistical means) #$K% Mozart's 6onata for T o &ianos in + maHor C)770 has also (een kno n to reduce the num(er of seizures that people ith epilepsy have) The =niversity of .llinois Medical ,enter did an e'periment on *1 epileptic patients) After listening to the piece for up to 2KK seconds, *2 of the *1 patients e'perienced significant decreases in epileptiform activity, even from patients in comas) They are not certain if this effect is immediate or if it reAuires 7K-2KK seconds to (ecome apparent) #$$%

Mozart C770 First movement of Mozart's C770 !AcroyaliM6tanding in Motion! (y Ganni

&ro(lems listening to these filesB 6ee media help) Music has different effects on different people and (ecause of this, researchers continue to test if the Mozart effect is real, and if any other pieces have the same effect) #7% .n addition, music has (een evaluated to see if it has other properties) The April *KK$ edition of Iournal of the 5oyal 6ociety of Medicine assessed the possi(le health (enefits of the music of Mozart) #$*% Iohn Ienkins played 6onata C 770 to patients ith epilepsy and found a decrease in epileptiform activity) According to the <ritish @pilepsy ;rganization, research has suggested that apart from Mozart's C 770 and C 700, only one other piece of music has (een found to have a similar effect" a song (y the 3reek composer Ganni, entitled !AcroyaliM6tanding .n Motion!) #$*% .t as determined to have the !Mozart effect!, (y the Iournal of the 5oyal 6ociety of Medicine (ecause it as similar to Mozart's C 770 in tempo, structure, melodic and harmonic consonance and predicta(ility) #$*%#$2% #edit% ,ha(ris and 6teele The e'istence of the Mozart effect as challenged (y t o teams of researchers in $111: ,hristopher F) ,ha(ris, and Cenneth M) 6teele et al) in a pair of papers pu(lished together under the title !&relude or 5eAuiem for the 'Mozart @ffect'B! ,ha(ris stated that his meta-analysis demonstrated !that any cognitive enhancement is small and does not reflect any change in ./ or reasoning a(ility in general, (ut instead derives entirely from performance on one specific type of cognitive task and has a simple neuropsychological e'planation!, called !enHoyment arousal!) For e'ample, he cites a study that found that !listening either to Mozart or to a passage from a 6tephen Cing story enhanced su(Hects' performance in paper folding and cutting Done of the tests freAuently employed (y 5auscher and 6ha E (ut only for those ho enHoyed hat they heard!) 6teele et al) found that !listening to Mozart produced a 2-point increase relative to silence in one e'periment and a 7-point decrease in the other e'periment!) #?% #edit% <ridget and ,uevas @ven if music improves performance in some settings and on some tasks, there is evidence that the effect is not general in the sense that it does not apply in other tasks) <ridget and ,uevas D*KKKE found that, hen compared to a no-music condition, listening to music (y <ach or Mozart for $K minutes produced no effect on su(seAuent mathematical pro(lem solving performance) #$7% #edit% 3erman 5esearch Ministry A report pu(lished (y the 3erman 5esearch Ministry in *KK? and analyzing presuma(ly all the scientific literature on music and intelligence, concluded that !))) passively listening to Mozart - or indeed any other music you enHoy - does not make you smarter) <ut more studies should (e done to find out hether music lessons could raise your child's ./ in the long term!) #$8%#$:% #edit% =niversity of Wisconsin, +epartment of &sychology A study of rats indicated a tangi(le demonstration of musical enHoyment versus a physical response to the Mozart 6onata) A num(er of rats ere e'posed in utero plus :K days post-partum to one of the follo ing:

comple' music DMozart &iano 6onata in + maHor DC)770EE, minimalist music Da &hilip 3lass compositionE, hite noise or silence, and ere then tested for five days, three trials per day, in a multiple T-maze) <y +ay 2, the rats e'posed to the Mozart music completed the maze more rapidly and ith fe er errors than the rats in the other groups) The difference increased in magnitude through +ay 8) This suggests that repeated e'posure to comple' music induces improved spatial-temporal learning in rats) #$?%#$0% #edit% Thompson, 6chellen(erg, >usain 5esearch (y William Forde Thompson, 3lenn 6chellen(erg, and 3a(riela >usain D=niversity of TorontoE suggests that the Mozart effect can (e attri(uted to temporary changes in mood and arousal that result from prolonged e'posure to music De)g), 0-$K minutesE) -ot all music generates the Mozart effect, ho ever) The music must (e perceived as having an energetic and positive emotional Auality) #$1% #edit% 5eferences N William &ryse-&hillips D*KK2E) ,ompanion to ,linical -eurology) ;'ford =niversity &ress) .6<K$18$8120$), p) :$$ defines the term as !6light and transient improvement in spational#sic% reasoning skills detected in normal su(Hects as a result of e'posure to the music of Mozart, specifically his sonata for t o pianos DC770E)! N +on ,amp(ell, .nc) N http:MM )nature)comMnatureMHournalMv7KKMn:?7?Ma(sM7KK0*?aK)html N a ( 5auscher, F), 6ha , 3), Cy, C) D$112E) Music and spatial task performance) -ature, 2:8 :$$) 5etrieved +ecem(er, 7 *KK?, from @(sco>ost 5esearch +ata(ases) N ,amp(ell, +on D$11?E) The Mozart @ffect: Tapping the &o er of Music to >eal the <ody, 6trengthen the Mind, and =nlock the ,reative 6pirit) .6<- K-20K-1?7$0-8) N 6ack, Cevin D$110-K$-$8E) !3eorgia's 3overnor 6eeks Musical 6tart for <a(ies!) The -e Gork Times) p) A$*) N a ( 6teele, M) !&apers (y 6teele casting dou(t on the Mozart effect!) appstate)edu) 5etrieved on *KK?K2-*7) N 3oode, @rica D$111E, !Mozart For <a(yB 6ome 6ay, May(e -ot!, The -e Gork Times, August 2, $111 p) f$: 5auscher, !the money could (e (etter spent on music education programs)! N Wilson, T), <ro n, T) D$11?E) 5ee'amination of the effect of Mozart's music on spatial task performance) Iournal of &sychology) $2$ D7E, 2:8) 5etrieved +ecem(er 7, *KK?, from @(sco>ost 5esearch +ata(ases) N Thompson, W)F), >usain, 3), L 6chellen(erg, @)3) D*KK$E) Arousal, mood, and the Mozart effect) &sychological 6cience, $* D2E, *70-*8$) 5etrieved +ecem(er 2, *KK?, from &syc.nfo) N >ughes, I), +aa(oul G), Fino, I), 6ha , 3) D$110E) The Mozart effect on epileptiform activity) ,lin @lectroencephalogr,*1 D2E, $K1-$1) 5etrieved +ecem(er 2, *KK?, from &u(med +ata(ase) N a ( c!The Mozart @ffect!) epilepsy)org) 5etrieved on *KK?-K0-K?) N Ganni" 5ensin, +avid D*KK*E) Ganni in Words) Mirama' <ooks) p) :?) .6<- $-7K$2-8$17-0) N!@ffects of listening to Mozart and <ach on the performance of a mathematical test! <ridgett, +)I)" ,uevas, I) D*KKKE) &erceptual and Motor 6kills, 1K) pp) $$?$-$$?8) .6<-) N!Mozart doesn't make you clever!) -ature)com) 5etrieved on *KK?-K7-K2) N!9istening to Mozart does not make your child a genius!) +aily.ndia)com) 5etrieved on *KK?-K7-K2) N!,lassical Music and 6patial 5easoning!) 5aise-A-3enius)com) 5etrieved on *KK0-K*-*7) N!.mproved maze learning through early music e'posure in rats!) -ational ,enter for <iotechnology .nformation) N!Arousal, mood, and the Mozart @ffect)! Thompson, W)F)" 6chellen(erg @)3)" >usain, 3 D*KK$E) &sychological 6cience) pp) $*D2E*70-*8$) .6<-) #edit% 6ee also

&sychoacoustics !Mozart For <a(yB 6ome 6ay, May(e -ot!, @rica 3oode, The -e Gork Times, August 2, $111p) f$: 5auscher, !the money, resources could (e (etter spent on music education programs)! <a(y @instein #edit% @'ternal links +o d, Will) D*KK0-K*-K:E .66- $88:8:1:) The myth of the Mozart effect 6keptic's +ictionary - The Mozart @ffect