Santa Susana High School

Music in Cognitive Psychology

A Study of the Effects of Music on Young Children

Cameron Mattern

A.P. English 12 Period 2

Mrs. Bradley

26 October 2016

For my senior project, I will be conducting a study involving the role of music in

cognitive and social psychology. I wanted to base my senior project around both music
and psychology because although Ive done music throughout all my years in high

school, I intend to pursue psychology and neuroscience in college. A major challenge

with this project will be that I have never taken a course in psychology. In order to

complete this project, I will need to observe a class of young children participating in

some sort of cooperative activity, such as building with blocks, and have different pieces

of music picked out to play for them. I also plan on repeating the study with older

children to observe differences in behavior among groups of different ages. The final

outcome will be a psychology paper along with a visual presentation, possibly consisting

of video footage of my observations. In order to complete this project, I will need to

research how to successfully complete a scientific study and the psychology behind

child cognitive development.

Before beginning a study, it is necessary to first ensure that the study will provide

the results desired, and in order to achieve this, the procedure must be clear and simple

while remaining specific enough to allow for accurate explanation of what is being

recorded (Zaleski, 2016). Costs of equipment and materials must be calculated in order

to determine whether the experiment can be realistically achieved. The population

which the study is to be carried out on, the changes that are being observed, and ways

external factors will be observed must also be specified before beginning. Expected

results should be recorded based on how the investigation is theoretically intended to

proceed. Once performed, the experiment should be performed again multiple times in

order to ensure a consistent set of results.

Other scientific studies may be observed in order to ascertain an idea of how

such a study may be carried out. A study done by four psychologists, two from the
University of Toronto, Canada, and two from the Nagasaki Junshin Catholic University,

Japan, aimed to find the effects of exposure to music on cognitive performance

(Schellenberg et al., 2007). In this experiment, changes in cognitive performance, such

as arousal, mood, and creativity, were measured by having participants take IQ tests

and draw pictures while different types of music were played or sung by the participants.

In the case of the study done on Canadian college students, music chosen varied in

tempo. This study found that students who had listened to more upbeat pieces

performed better on an IQ test. In the case of the study done on Japanese children,

there was a variety of music chosen ranging from familiar Japanese childrens songs to

unfamiliar composers such as Mozart and Albinoni. Of these children, those who had

listened to or sung familiar songs were able to focus on drawing for longer and produce

more creative drawings than those who had heard unfamiliar music.

The article Music and Emotion provides some insight into the relationship

between music and cognitive processes (Vink, 2016). The author lists some qualities of

music that can contribute to the emotional reaction to a certain piece - for example,

tempo, mode, and harmony, with tempo and mode being the most influential on a

listener's emotional response. Songs with slow tempos in minor keys are seen as

having a more graceful effect in contrast to the liveliness of songs with fast tempos in

major keys. However, the writer points out that these elements do not elicit emotion on

their own; emotion is elicited at particular moments based on changes in any of the

musics various elements.

Music is very much a large part of childrens lives (Lamont, 2005). The author of

the article What is the significance of music for young children? reports on a study
done on a group of children intended to find the approximate amount of music heard by

children throughout the day. Caregivers for the children carried a phone for a week, and

were randomly called throughout the day to find out whether music was being played at

that time and how the child was responding to it. Seventy-seven percent of the time

music could be heard, with some children listening to music every single time their

caregiver was called. Even children listening to the least music in comparison to the

others listened to music forty-two percent of the time. Most of the music heard at this

time, when the children are very young and have little choice over what they listen to, is

popular music played on the radio. Few children listen to classical music outside of

naptime at daycare. A study was carried out in order to find the most popular piece of

music among a group of children choosing from four different pieces - a fast pop song,

slow jazz, fast jazz, and womb music, a piece that had been played for the child

multiple times while still in the mothers womb. The childrens favorite pieces were both

the fast pop song and the womb music, with fast jazz as a second favorite and slow jazz

last.

Listening to different types of music can positively affect a persons intelligence

(Kent, 2006). The author of the essay The Effect of Music on the Human Body and

Mind explains a study in which a group of children was taught how to sight-sing using

solfge and then took a reading test. This group of children performed considerably

better than a group that had not been taught solfge. A different experiment conducted

on college students involved completing an activity and then taking an IQ test. One

group listened to "Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major" by Mozart, another group

practiced relaxation techniques, and the last group didnt do any kind of activity. The
group who had listened to Mozart was found to score an average of nine points higher

on the IQ test. The findings of this study eventually came to be known as the Mozart

Effect. Several studies have shown that children with previous experience in music get

better test scores. In one study, children who studied the keyboard were found to

achieve higher scores on math and science tests. In another, children were divided into

four groups - those who took piano lessons, singing lessons, drama lessons, or no

lessons at all. Children taking piano or singing lessons experienced an average

increase of 7.0 IQ points by the end of the school year, while the other children

experienced an average increase of 4.3 IQ points. Certain types of music can also

make learning different topics easier. For example, listening to gloomy music can make

memorizing details about negative events, such as war, easier, while listening to lively

music can make memorizing positive events, such as victory, easier.

The author of The Effect of Music on the Human Body and Mind also reported

on her own research project. There were varied participants across majors, gender,

grade level, and age. The participants were surveyed on whether they listened to music

while studying, and if so, what genre they listen to. Fifty-five percent of students listened

to music, while forty-five percent did not. The most listened-to genre, with twenty-three

percent of music listeners, was classical music, with rock music right behind with twenty

percent of listeners. The two least listened-to two genres were easy-listening with eight

percent of listeners and rap with seven percent of listeners. The mean GPA of those

who did not listen to music was found to be slightly lower than those who did. Listeners

of easy-listening had a higher GPA mean than any other group, and listeners of hip-hop

had the lowest GPA mean. Those who listened to classical had GPA means very close
to those who didnt listen to music at all. The author concludes that rap negatively

affects grades, while easy-listening offers the most positive effects, even more so than

classical.

Researching how to create an effective investigation will provide the backbone

for my entire project . In order to have my data come out as accurately as possible and

in a state that is appropriate for presentation, I will need to make sure my procedure

does not have too many uncontrolled variables. For example, since I will be observing

children, I will need to come in at a constant time and day, because childrens moods

can often be unpredictable if they are, for example, hungry because they haven't had

food yet or tired because its nearing the end of the day. I will also need to be sure I am

observing the same class every time in order to maintain consistency. This investigation

will most likely have to take place over several days, being repeated over and over, to

make sure that my results are precise. It is unlikely that costs will have to be factored

into planning my investigation, considering that I will not need any sort of specific

equipment to collect my observations, however, calculating any possible costs that

could come up, regardless of whether they actually do or not, can help me to get a

better understanding of the materials I will need.

Taking note of how others have carried out investigations similar to the one I plan

to carry out will help me to refine my procedures, identify any mistakes that be present,

and get ideas on how to improve the accuracy of my results. Some questions brought

up during the investigation involving the Japanese children listening to familiar music

and unfamiliar music can be incorporated into my own observations and analyses. For

example, this experiment only used unfamiliar music without words, so this makes one
wonder whether music in a foreign language would have the same effect described

here. Observing how the children respond to a foreign language in the music played

may bring up a new question - whether lyrics factor into cognitive performance at all

when listening to music while doing some other activity.

Finding musical pieces that will elicit different emotional responses is essential to

the success of my project. Therefore, knowing what types of music create different

emotional feelings and the elements that are the central reasons for these emotions will

help me to select a varied collection of pieces to play. Selecting an assortment of pieces

with many different keys and tempos will help to make sure that my investigation yields

the sort of results I am looking for.

Getting insight into the role music plays in a childs life growing up will help me to

better analyze the results of my project. The idea of a childs music taste being heavily

influenced by their own family can be incorporated into my conclusion after I have

recorded my observations. The article What is the significance of music for young

children? also offers an explanation for why children may have an inclination toward a

certain type of music before they are even old enough to know what music is.

The effect music has on the brain is an essential part of my project, so

researching different successful studies that have been done on this will be helpful

when it comes to my analysis and creating my own study. The Effect of Music on the

Human Body and Mind contains many examples of different studies that have been

done, as well as a study of the authors own. Not only can these be used for research

for my analysis, they can be used to help me plan out my procedure further by giving
me even more examples of investigations that have been done in the same area Im

working in.

Works Cited

Banerjee, Mita et al. A Sample of Recent Research. Claremont Graduate University.

Claremont Graduate University, 2016. Web. 12 September 2016.

Capdevila, Rose et al. Introduction to Child Psychology. Open Learn. The Open

University, 26 February 2016. Web. 12 September 2016.

Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly. Creativity: Flow and the psychology of discovery and

invention. Bioenterprise. Bioenterprise Corporation, 1996. Web. 9 September

2016.
Dusaniwsky, Zenia. A Portrait of the Creative Process in Childrens Learning. Learning

Landscapes. Learning Landscapes, 2012. Web. 9 September 2016.

Kent, Dawn. The Effect of Music on the Human Body and Mind. Digital Commons at

Liberty University. Liberty University, DRC. Web. 12 September 2016.

Lamont, Alexandra. What is the significance of music for young children? Open Learn.

The Open University, 4 January 2005. Web. 7 September 2016.

Schellenberg, E. Glenn et al. Exposure to music and cognitive performance: tests of

children and adults. Cleveland State University. Cleveland State University,

2007. Web. 7 September 2016.

Suttie, Jill. Four Ways Music Strengthens Social Bonds. Greater Good. University of

California, Berkeley, 15 January 2015. Web. 7 September 2016.

Vink, Annemiek. Living apart together: a relationship between music psychology and

music therapy. National Science Foundation. University of North Carolina at

Charlotte, 10 July 2009. Web. 7 September 2016.

Wesselhoff, Miller. Psychology of Music. Engineering IT. University of Illinois, 18

December 2012. Web. 7 September 2016.

Zaleski, Halina M. "Steps in Conducting a Research Project or Experiment."

Experimental Design and Data Analysis Workshop. University of Hawaii, 3 Oct.

2016. Web. 24 Oct. 2016.

 Bibliography

Banerjee, Mita et al. A Sample of Recent Research. Claremont Graduate University.

Claremont Graduate University, 2016. Web. 12 September 2016.

Capdevila, Rose et al. Introduction to Child Psychology. Open Learn. The Open

University, 26 February 2016. Web. 12 September 2016.

Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly. Creativity: Flow and the psychology of discovery and

invention. Bioenterprise. Bioenterprise Corporation, 1996. Web. 9 September

2016.

Dusaniwsky, Zenia. A Portrait of the Creative Process in Childrens Learning. Learning

Landscapes. Learning Landscapes, 2012. Web. 9 September 2016.

Hargreaves, David J. The developmental psychology of music. Cambridge University

Press, 1986.
Kent, Dawn. The Effect of Music on the Human Body and Mind. Digital Commons at

Liberty University. Liberty University, DRC. Web. 12 September 2016.

Kim, Youngmoo E., et al. "Music emotion recognition: A state of the art review." Proc.

ISMIR. 2010.

Lamont, Alexandra. What is the significance of music for young children? Open Learn.

The Open University, 4 January 2005. Web. 7 September 2016.

Schellenberg, E. Glenn et al. Exposure to music and cognitive performance: tests of

children and adults. Cleveland State University. Cleveland State University,

2007. Web. 7 September 2016.

Suttie, Jill. Four Ways Music Strengthens Social Bonds. Greater Good. University of

California, Berkeley, 15 January 2015. Web. 7 September 2016.

Vink, Annemiek. Living apart together: a relationship between music psychology and

music therapy. National Science Foundation. University of North Carolina at

Charlotte, 10 July 2009. Web. 7 September 2016.

Wesselhoff, Miller. Psychology of Music. Engineering IT. University of Illinois, 18

December 2012. Web. 7 September 2016.

Zaleski, Halina M. "Steps in Conducting a Research Project or Experiment."

Experimental Design and Data Analysis Workshop. University of Hawaii, 3 Oct.

2016. Web. 24 Oct. 2016.