on cognition THE BASICS:
› Spatial-Temporal Reasoning: An organism’s
ability to mentally visualize things in space and time and see how these things move and fit together.10
mozart for spatial-temporal reasoning?*: Some
highly publicized studies have suggested that listening to a Mozart sonata for 10 minutes before taking a test can improve results. This controversial finding is known as “The Mozart Effect.” the research: In a famous study published in 1993, healthy subjects listened to Mozart’s Sonata for Two Pianos K. 448 for 10 minutes before taking a spatial reasoning IQ test. Listening to Mozart was compared to listening to relaxation instructions or sitting in silence. The people who listened to Mozart before testing had higher average spatial IQ scores by 8 to 9 points than people who listened to relaxation instructions or silence. However, this effect lasted only 10 to 15 minutes after the music ended. Also, these enhancing effects were specific to spatial-temporal reasoning, not general intelligence, as some media reports have claimed. These results were very controversial in the scientific community, however. Some researchers were able to repeat the experiment and get similar results, but other researchers found little to no effect of Mozart when they repeated this experiment.11 Some hypothesize that if the Mozart effect exists at all, then it may be due to an increase in arousal rather than due to some component of Mozart itself. This stance is supported by an experiment in which participants performed better in a spatial-temporal reasoning task after listening to fast-paced Mozart or “happy” Mozart pieces compared to when they listened to slow or “sad” Mozart pieces. Furthermore, the better-scoring participants reported feeling more positive emotionally, suggesting that positive arousal due to happy or upbeat music may be the cause of the increase in performance rather than the mere act of listening to the music prior to testing.12
background music for thinking: Listening to
background music (music that does not draw our attention) is thought to either improve cognition or have no effect on it. the research: Many studies conducted in the last few decades have investigated the effects of background music on different types of cognition. Some studies found no effect of background music on tasks, while other studies have found that background music can improve performance to some extent in certain tasks. Some tasks in which music appeared to improve performance include general intelligence tests, arithmetic tests, and reading comprehension tests. In one example, people who listened to dance music while playing a driving simulation game had faster average response times. Keep in mind, however, that in most cases, the effect of music on cognitive performance was not large.13 what does it all mean?: Music that is played in the background has the potential to improve cognition to some extent in certain situations, as long as the music is not distracting (that is, the music does not compete for attentional resources). However, the effect is likely not large.
melodies for memory: Listening to music while
memorizing something may actually help us remember it later (if we listen to the same music again). the research: The ability of music to help with remembering certain things has been tested in many situations. This memory enhancement occurs when someone listens to a certain song, melody, or rhythm while memorizing something, and then hears that music again while trying to remember that thing. For example, in some studies, college students were better able to remember a list of random numbers when the music was paired with the numbers. Researchers suggest that this may occur because the rhythm of music can help us split information into smaller, more manageable pieces.14 what does it all mean?: Music can help to improve memory by acting as a prompt. That is, if we hear a certain melody or rhythm (or both) while memorizing something, listening to the same music later can help us recall what we memorized.
total wellness ▪ winter 2014
what does it all mean?: It is unlikely that Mozart makes us smarter, as some have claimed. Research is controversial, but trends slightly toward supporting the idea that listening to Mozart for a few minutes before getting to work may help improve spatial-temporal reasoning specifically (not necessarily other types of cognition), but this effect seems to be short-lasting (10 to 15 minutes) and very small. Moreover, the effect of Mozart on cognition is more likely due to its ability to excite the listener and provoke feelings of pleasantness rather than due to Mozart itself, suggesting that any sort of pleasantly arousing music can have the same effect. In any case, further research is still needed to understand the true nature of the “Mozart effect”.
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