Dr Gordon Shaw, Frances Rauscher and Catherine Ky’s 1993 research revealed that after listening to Mozart’s “Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major”, college students showed an improved spatial intelligence, which is the ability to manipulate and create mental images in order to solve problems.
The Original Study: "Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major"
These scientists had college students listen for 10 minutes to Mozart, a relaxation tape, or silence. Immediately afterward, students took a spatial reasoning test from the Stanford-Binet intelligence scale. The results showed that the students' scores improved after listening to the Mozart tape, more so than either the relaxation tape or silence. However, the researchers found that the effects of the music lasted only 10 to 15 minutes.
Nevertheless, these researchers believed that memory was improved because music and spatial abilities shared the same pathways in the brain. Therefore, they speculated that the music warms up the brain for spatial reasoning. Hence the term “spatial-temporal reasoning”—the general observation is that spatial intelligence can be improved, but only for a short period of time.
Neural Patterns: Mozart on Alzheimer's Patients and Rats
Shaw and his colleagues took the theory one step further, using the same Mozart sonata in an experiment which has revealed that music reduces pathological brain-wave activity in comatose epileptics, and improves spatial-temporal reasoning of Alzheimer's patients.
Another study by Rauscher showed that rats, whose brains are presumed to have basic neural structures similar to those of humans, scampered through mazes faster after being raised on repeated Mozart sonata recordings.
The Beethoven Effect?
In addition, Shaw questioned whether other types of music produce similar results on brain wave activity. However, he found no connection between Beethoven’s music and improved spatial intelligence.
He also attempted another experiment where the control group listened to music by acclaimed composer Philip Glass, while the experimental group listened to music by Mozart. Coincidentally—or otherwise—the Mozart group outscored the Glass group by an average of 30% on the spatial-intelligence test.
Failed experiments: Is the Mozart Effect a Sham?
However, the Mozart effect is not without detractors. In an experiment conducted by Kenneth Steele, Rebecca Runk and Tamera Ball, 36 undergraduates were exposed to 10-minute periods of Mozart music, a recording of rain, or silence. After each stimulus period, undergraduates underwent a backwards digit spin test. They heard different 9-digit strings in reverse order, and had three attempts to repeat them in correct order. In contrast to the Mozart effect, no significant differences among treatment conditions were found.
Lynn McCutcheon discovered a similar failure in the Mozart effect, as results of her test subjects yielded no significant difference on spatial reasoning performance after listening to classical music, jazz, or silence.
Even though the Mozart effect has been replicated many times with slight variations, and has often produced contradictory results, Shaw’s studies cannot be put down to a fluke, as his team has extensively researched this area, and produced findings consistent with their original theory. Nevertheless, one doesn’t need statistics to understand the intangible yet undeniable benefits of music – the one universal language which transcends culture and binds the world.
References:
‘Can you hum your way to math genius? (Gordon Shaw and the ‘Mozart effect’)’ 1999, Forbes, vol. 163, no. 8, p. 176(1).
McCutcheon, LE 2000, ‘Another failure to generalize the Mozart effect’, Psychol Rep., vol. 87 pp. 325-30
Rauscher, FH, Shaw, GL, Levine, LJ & Wright, EL 1994, ‘Music and Spatial Task Performance: A Causal Relationship’, University of California, Irvine
Steele, KM, Ball, TN & Runk, R 1997, ‘Listening to Mozart does not enhance backwards digit span performance’, Perceptual and Motor Skills, vol. 84, pp. 1179-84.
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