The Mozart Effect

Joseph Murray

Overview

The purpose of this activity is to encourage general biology students to investigate the effect music has on short term memory. One of the most important skills students should develop during any laboratory science course is the ability to use the scientific method. In order to motivate students to become actively involved in the "process" of science, and to make the learning experience more meaningful, careful consideration should be used when selecting a topic for investigation. One area that should generate interest is the effect music has on their ability to do homework. Scientifically investigating music’s effect on their ability to perform a mental task will benefit students for a number of reasons: first, the students will have the experience of designing and conducting an experiment; second, the students will have the opportunity to analyze how external stimuli, background music in this case, influences their cognitive abilities; finally, the students will have a better appreciation of the dynamics of music and a good introductory lesson in how the brain perceives sound.

Biological Concepts

Scientific Method

• design

• analysis

• presentation

Neurobiology

• perception

• physiology

• behavior

Across the curriculum

• Music

• Math

• Psychology

Class Time

For general biology students, this activity should last approximately one week (including one weekend). See Extensions/Variations concerning suggestions for more Advanced Students.

Background Information

The homework environment for today’s teenagers often has pre-recorded music, radio and/or television playing in the background. This was generally not the case for previous generations of high school students, at least certainly not to the same degree. Is this audio enriched homework environment influencing the student’s ability to learn? In order to explore this broad area more specific questions can be generated and investigated by the individuals this problem affects most - the students. For example, can music influence gross physiological and emotional states (i.e. pulse and stress)? Can music influence short term memory? s early exposure to formal music education (Hurwitz et al, 1975). More educators appear to be experimenting with using music in their classroom presentations (Caine and Caine, 1991).

I recommend sharing at least two articles, both of which investigate the correlation of brief exposure to music to its ability to increase IQ, with the students: one in which a correlation has been demonstrated (Rauscher et al., 1993) and one in which no significant correlation was demonstrated (either Newman et al., 1995; Carstens et al., 1995; or Stough et al., 1994). See Resources for a complete reference of these articles. After the students have read the articles, discuss the author’s experimental design and how the author attempted to control as many variables as possible. Then have the students brainstorm variations of these experiments that they may be able to perform. Eventually the students will have to decide what their dependent variable will be - I recommend short term memory tests and gross physiological changes. In order to obtain some gross physiological data consider monitoring pulse rate and stress (see Materials). See Teacher Preparation for an example of short term memory tests and a possible testing procedure. In order to make the study more relevant to your students have them explore their personal music favorites as the levels of independent variables. If possible, divide the students into groups (4 to 5 per group) capable of designing their own unique experimental design. The following is an example of a completed experimental design.

TITLE: Melodic Minds: The Effect of Melodic Music On Short Term Memory.

HYPOTHESIS: Individuals will score higher on short term memory tests when listening to melodic music than when listening to rhythmic music.

INDEPENDENT VARIABLE: Melody and Rhythm in Music:

MELODIC only v. MELODIC & RHYTHMIC v. RHYTHMIC only v. SILENCE

TRIALS: 20 individuals (taking a different test while exposed to each treatment). This will yield a total of 80 scores.

DEPENDENT VARIABLE: Scores on the student designed short term memory tests, pulse rates, stress level.

CONSTANTS: Length of song, same environment, random order of treatment, similar tests, music familiarity, exclude immediate class members, ten individuals between the ages of 14 - 20 and ten individuals between the ages of 34 - 40.

Note: Record sex and age of all participants.

Materials

Obtain a portable CD and/or cassette player ("boom box") for class demonstration. Should a student object to listening to certain kinds of music for religious or personal beliefs exclude that student from data collection process but that student should still be able to analyze the data with the rest of the group. Collect a variety of musical selections to demonstrate melodic v. rhythmic music. In addition to copies of the student activity sheet include copies of the two recommended articles (see Teacher Preparation). To monitor the subjects stress level purchase a simple monitoring device from a biological supply company, such as "Stress Testers" from Carolina Biological (k3-69-6396, $2 each). An automated system for recording/measuring pulse rate would be very beneficial, I recommend Texas Instruments’ CBL (calculator based laboratory) unit which can be used with a TI82 calculator and a heart rate monitor that can be clipped to the subject’s ear lobe.

Teacher Preparation

Students are probably aware of movies, or documentaries, which are made more memorable when music was incorporated into the story. For a demonstration, play a memorable portion from a popular movie without any sound (e.g. Jurassic Park - when Dr. Grant first observes the dinosaurs on the island). Another way to spark a class discussion of how your students feel about music and behavior is to ask why they prefer driving with music playing. rrectly recalled are counted.

Table 1 consists of a suggested outline of the activities for the week. Group dynamics will be particularly important during this investigation since groups will need to agree on numerous issues concerning music preference and possibly sharing of equipment (two or three group members meeting over the weekend to swap tape players and tapes). In addition to providing necessary background information, two class periods of lecture and class discussion will probably be necessary to serve as "think time" for the students. You’ll have a good understanding of their knowledge when you review their experimental design after day two. Leave half of the third class period free so that students can practice their protocol, especially finding and measuring pulse rate. Try to have the students sample a wide variety of subjects. After the weekend, have the groups pool their data and perform some simple statistics (mean and range) on the entire data set by age and sex. You may want to place this outline (or a variation of this) on your chalkboard:

Table 1. Suggested Outline of Activities for the Week.

Consider assessing the students using a rubric which takes into account the difficulty of the student’s experimental design.

Extensions/Variations:

1. Class discussion/journal entry - what effect will pre-programmed computerized electronic music have on human emotion and intelligence? Look ahead 100 years into the future and describe how music will be used and /or enjoyed.

2. Music has been used in therapy for a long time. Assign a research paper designed to encourage students to investigate one aspect of music therapy (the different kinds; history of; physiological/neurological basis). Schipkowensky (1977) has provided a good historical summary in this area.

3. Should industries play music for their employees to boost productivity and improve morale? A number of studies have been done which show that familiar instrumental music has positive benefits.

4. Several organizations exist to maintain a comprehensive collection of scientific research on music and its biological substrates as well as making this information available at no cost to promote research and cooperative efforts. On the World Wide Web check into MuSICA (Music & Science Information Computer Archive) and MBI (Music and Brain Information Database).

5. Advanced students may want to investigate what frequency, as well as other biophysical dynamics, of music is responsible for change in short term memory and/or physiological response. There are several educational supply vendors that claim to have tapes of certain frequencies and "rhythms" that increase IQ and creativity. In addition, students may want to investigate the effect volume has on short term memory. Ward and Lewis (1987) found that loud "top 40" rock songs, picked by the subjects, actually increased the subjects analytical response ability.

6. Advanced students may also perform more advanced statistical analyses of data.

Resources

Carstens, C.B., E. Huskins, & G.W. Hounshell. 1995. Listening to Mozart may not enhance performance on the revised Minnesota Paper Form Board Test. Psychological Reports, 77(1): 111-114.

Caine, R.N. & G. Caine. 1991. Making Connections: Teaching and the Human Brain. Alexandria, VA: Association For Supervision And Curriculum Development.

Clark, R.W. 1971. Einstein: The Life and times. New York: World Publishing.

Diserens, C. 1976. The Influence of Music on Behavior. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton Press.

Gaston, E.T. 1968. Man and Music, in E.T. Gaston (editor), Music In Therapy. New York: The MacMillan Company.

Gatewood, E.L. 1921. An Experiment in the Use of Music in an Architectural Drafting Room. Journal of Applied Psychology. 5:350-358.

Herman, E.P. 1954. Relaxing Music For Emotional Fatigue, in E. Podolsky (editor), Music Therapy. New York: Philosophical Library.

Hoffman, B. 1972. Albert Einstein: Creator and Rebel. New York: The Viking Press.

Hurwitz, I., P.H. Wolff, B.D. Bortnick, K. Kokas. 1975. Nonmusical effects of the Kodaly music curriculum in primary grade children. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 8(3): 167-174.

Hyde, I.M. 1927. Effects of Music Upon Electrocardiograms and Blood Pressure, in M. Schoen, The Effects of Music. New York: Harcourt, Brace & Company, Inc.

Mursell, J.L. 1937. The Psychology of Music. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.

Newman, J., J.H. Rosenbach, K.L. Burns, B.C. Latimer, H.R. Matocha, and E.R. Vogt. 1995. An Experimental Test Of The Mozart Effect: Does Listening To His Music Improve Spatial Ability. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 81(3):1379-1387.

Rauscher, F.H., G.L. Shaw, & K.N. Ky. 1993. Music and Spatial Task Performance. Nature 365(6447):611.

Schipkowensky, N. 1977. Musical Therapy in the Field of Psychiatry and Neurology, in M. Critchley & R.A. Henson (editors), Music And The Brain: Studies in the Neurobiology of Music. London: William Heinemann Medical Books Limited.

Stough, C., B. Kerkin, T. Bates, & G. Mangan. 1994. Music and Spatial IQ. Personality and Individual Differences, 17(5): 695.

Ward, T.B. & S.N. Lewis. 1987. The Influence of Alcohol and Loud Music on Analytical and Holistic Processing. Perception and Psychophysics, 41(2):179-186.

About The Author

The author will gladly correspond (U.S. mail or e-mail) with other teachers interested in trying this investigation, sharing observations, or seeking additional information and references.

Joseph Murray

Amherst County High School Home: 110 Glenway

P.O. Box 410 Amherst, VA 24521

Amherst, VA 24521

jmmurray@pen.k12.va.us School (804) 946-9391

NAME ___________________________ DATE________PERIOD______

The Mozart Effect

Can music influence behavior, intelligence and/or attitude?

Can you name a tune that appears to be used by all cultures across the planet to change behavior in infants?

Do you study better with or without music playing in the background?

Think about your response to the above questions and then ask yourself how you arrived at those answers. Can you provide any evidence that supports your answer? How about high school teenagers as a whole; will music improve or distract their ability to study and do homework? Discuss your viewpoints with others in your group and generate several hypotheses.

Read the articles (supplied by your instructor) and modify your hypotheses accordingly so that you are testing a more specific characteristic of music - not just the "kind" of music (i.e. hard or soft rock).

Make a list of possible ways that you can test these hypotheses. After your hypothesis has been approved by your instructor, complete an experimental design to test your group’s hypothesis. Before you seek your instructor’s approval for the experimental design, make sure you have accounted for possible bias inherit in your subjects. For example, if a student admits to liking rock and hating opera, would he still be just as likely to perform as well on the tests when listening to opera as rock? Controlling the constants (controlled variables), for example familiarity, will be crucial in order to generate valid data.

Your instructor will explain how to design short term memory tests.

You will have the weekend to perform your experiment and gather data. When you return, you will pool your group’s data (as well as any other groups that performed a study identical to your group’s) and perform some simple statistical analyses. Then construct an appropriate table and graph. Was your hypothesis supported? Discuss, in your groups, possible reasons for your findings. You’ll turn in a written report describing your materials and methods, results, conclusion, and give a brief presentation.

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