Mozart Effect Flashcards
What is the idea of the Mozart effect?
Music can be used to enhance information processing and cognitive performance
Is the Mozart effect a nature or nurture theory?
Nurture theory
Who first proposed the idea of the Mozart effect through books and CDs?
Don Campbell (1997)
What did Don Campbell (1997) claim about listening to Mozart?
If Mozart was played to small children (particularly in infancy), it can enhance their IQ
Exposing infants to Mozart in an ambient way can enhance their IQ
What general evidence is there for people believing the Mozart effect?
Georgia (US) gave free classical recordings to parents of babies in 1998
Preschools began playing classical music
What is the Baby Einstein phenomenon?
Explosion of products on the market that claim to enhance children’s intelligence in different ways.
Range of goods available under the marketing label of ‘Baby Einstein’
What research evidence is there for the Mozart effect?
Rauscher et al. (1993) - Sonata for 2 Pianos
Explain the study that Rauscher et al. (1993) conducted with Sonata for 2 pianos
Undergraduate participants were given a 10 minute exposure of a Mozart piano sonata
Spatial IQ task (figure rotation or something similar)
Compared to controls who either took part in relaxation or silence
What was found by Rauscher et al. (1993) in terms of the Mozart effect?
The Mozart group performed significantly better than the other two groups on the spatial IQ task
Instantaneous effect (effects disappeared after a 10-15 minute gap)
IQ task must be carried out immediately after the Mozart exposure
What are limitations of the Mozart effect study by Rauscher et al. (1993)?
People had struggled to replicate the findings
Participants in Mozart condition might have just been showing higher arousal (listening to Mozart was simply more interesting than listening to the relaxation sounds or not doing anything for 10 minutes)
Mozart wasn’t compared to any other music or similar stimulation
What did Rauscher et al.’s (1993) Mozart effect findings result in?
A media hype
Is there any evidence that classical music can boost babies’ IQ?
Not really - research tends to leave out attempts to address whether IQ improves or not because of classical music exposure
One study by Ivanov & Geake (2003)
Explain Ivanov & Geake’s (2003) study
Gave Mozart and Bach to schoolchildren in Australia
What did Ivanov & Geake (2003) find?
Found similar performance to the undergraduates in the Rauscher et al. (1993) study - some support evidence for Rauscher et al. (1993)
Is there any longitudinal research on the Mozart effect?
No. Findings are all relatively short-term.
