Some contributes about the Mozart effect 

Paolo Declich 


Rev Neurol. 2004 Dec 16-31;39(12):1167-73.Related Articles, Links 

  
[Musical perception and cognitive functions. Is there such a thing as the 
Mozart effect?]

[Article in Spanish]

Talero-Gutierrez C, Zarruk-Serrano JG, Espinosa-Bode A.

Universidad Colegio Mayor de Nuestra Senora del Rosario. Facultad de Medicina., 
Bogota, Colombia.

INTRODUCTION. Throughout the second half of the 20th century important advances 
were made in the study of neurobiology related to the processing of music, the 
differences and similarities between the neural pathways involved in language 
and in music, the role played by each hemisphere in recognising these stimuli, 
and the effects that exposure to certain specific pieces of music could have on 
the cognitive functions. DEVELOPMENT. The objective of this study is to review 
the literature concerning music and the central nervous system, bearing in mind 
the above-mentioned aspects. Likewise, we also wanted to analyse the reports 
referring to the Mozart effect and Tomatis, in addition to those dealing with 
formal musical education and its effects. The increased capacity to respond in 
visuospatial-type tasks after exposure to music by Mozart has triggered a 
commercial boom which makes use of isolated data, while the real extent of the 
effect remains unknown. CONCLUSIONS. After revi!
 ewing the scientific literature on this subject, it was found that the effects 
of exposure to music by Mozart (the 'Mozart effect') when they actually 
occurred, were limited to a specific skill that did not last for more than a 
few minutes. Formal musical education, on the other hand, shows more permanent 
positive effects but which can be attributed to the individual attention the 
pupil receives and to the stimulation in basic skills for general learning


Br J Soc Psychol. 2004 Dec;43(Pt 4):605-23.Related Articles, Links 

  
The Mozart effect: tracking the evolution of a scientific legend.

Bangerter A, Heath C.

Department of Psychology, Stanford University, USA. [EMAIL PROTECTED]

Theories of the diffusion of ideas in social psychology converge on the 
assumption that shared beliefs (e.g., social representations, rumours and 
legends) propagate because they address the needs or concerns of social groups. 
But little empirical research exists demonstrating this link. We report three 
media studies of the diffusion of a scientific legend as a particular kind of 
shared belief. We studied the Mozart effect (ME), the idea that listening to 
classical music enhances intelligence. Study 1 showed that the ME elicited more 
persistent media attention than other science reports and this attention 
increased when the ME was manifested in events outside of science. Study 2 
suggested that diffusion of the ME may have responded to varying levels of 
collective anxiety. Study 3 demonstrated how the content of the ME evolved 
during diffusion. The results provide evidence for the functionality of 
diffusion of ideas and initial elements for a model of the emergence and 
evoluti!
 on of scientific legends.





Nature 400, 826 - 827 (26 August 1999); doi:10.1038/23608 
 

Prelude or requiem for the 'Mozart effect'?
CHRISTOPHER F. CHABRIS
Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, 
USA



Rauscher et al. reported that listening to ten minutes of Mozart's music 
increased the abstract reasoning ability of college students, as measured by IQ 
scores, by 8 or 9 points compared with listening to relaxation instructions or 
silence, respectively. This startling finding became known as the 'Mozart 
effect', and has since been explored by several research groups. Here I use a 
meta-analysis to demonstrate that any cognitive enhancement is small and does 
not reflect any change in IQ or reasoning ability in general, but instead 
derives entirely from performance on one specific type of cognitive task and 
has a simple neuropsychological explanation.

Psychol Sci. 2001 May;12(3):248-51.Related Articles, Links 

  
Arousal, mood, and the Mozart effect.

Thompson WF, Schellenberg EG, Husain G.

Department of Psychology, Atkinson College, York University, Toronto, Ontario, 
Canada. [EMAIL PROTECTED]

The "Mozart effect" refers to claims that people perform better on tests of 
spatial abilities after listening to music composed by Mozart. We examined 
whether the Mozart effect is a consequence of between-condition differences in 
arousal and mood. Participants completed a test of spatial abilities after 
listening to music or sitting in silence. The music was a Mozart sonata (a 
pleasant and energetic piece) for some participants and an Albinoni adagio (a 
slow, sad piece) for others. We also measured enjoyment, arousal, and mood. 
Performance on tbe spatial task was better following the music than the silence 
condition but only for participants who heard Mozart. The two music selections 
also induced differential responding on the enjoyment, arousal and mood 
measures. Moreover, when such differences were held constant by statistical 
means, the Mozart effect disappeared. These findings provide compelling 
evidence that the Mozart effect is an artifact of arousal and mood.




 Percept Mot Skills. 1995 Dec;81(3 Pt 2):1379-87.Related Articles, Links 


An experimental test of "the mozart effect": does listening to his music 
improve spatial ability?

Newman J, Rosenbach JH, Burns KL, Latimer BC, Matocha HR, Vogt ER.

Department of Educational Psychology and Statistics, State University of New 
York at Albany 12222, USA.

This experiment was designed as a test of the 1993 findings of Rauscher, Shaw, 
and Ky who reported a positive effect of listening to classical music on 
spatial reasoning. Present results do not demonstrate the "Mozart effect." In 
our study, 114 students were pretested on items from the Raven's Progressive 
Matrices--Advanced Form, then instructed to listen to either 8 min. of Mozart's 
music, relaxation instructions, or silence. Then subjects were posttested on an 
equivalent set of Raven's items. The subjects were also asked to provide 
information about their musical background and preferences. All instructions 
and treatments were audiotaped and played to individual subjects through 
earphones in the university language laboratory, ensuring standardization of 
procedures. Subjects in all 3 treatment groups showed a practice effect, but 
this improvement in Raven's scores was not dependent on the type of treatment 
received. There were no differences in Raven's scores among groups !
 before or after treatment so our results do not confirm the prior ones. There 
was no evidence that the brief music had a different effect on subsequent 
problem solving according to listeners' musical background and 
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