Research and conducting experiments is the most effective way possible to gain an answer. The type of research is based on the situation, the hypothesis, and the resources the individual or group has on hand. The purpose of this research paper is to examine the Mozart
Effect from two different journals and answer questions based on the research materials. The first article for examination is Music and spatial task performance.
The Mozart Effect is essentially a study to determine if music helps individuals to accomplish tasks better. Memory is definitely a factor in this study. Rauscher, Shaw, Levine, and Ky, hypothesized that a model of the brain and its pathways for neurons would prove that music and the ability to orient oneself with their environment can be seen using the same neural paths and they cover a large portion of the same areas in the brain.
A much simpler picture would be two cars driving down the same highway to get to similar locations. The actual terminology used is spatial task performance. A quick explanation of spatial ability is necessary to understand the important of the study. Spatial skill deals with comprehension and memory related to spaces among objects. This ability can be classified as an intelligence that is set apart from others such as verbal or reasoning. It can be considered a fluid type of trait that evolves over time as people have different life experiences. The significance of spatial ability is two-fold: in application and also in occupation. In terms of application it is related to a person's ability to perform at least two tasks at the same time. For example: people who can eat and drive at the same time have developed this ability through spatial skill. Just like experience work has its spatial skill requirements. Occupations such as mathematics, natural sciences, and meteorology are included in the spatial skill classification. Notice that these types of occupations often require research. Two important components of research are the independent variable and the dependent variable. In this study the independent variables are: Mozart's sonata, college students, and three year olds. The dependent variable in the study was memory of the participants. The researchers focused on Mozart's sonata which was a controlled variable because it was the only type of music they used. This was necessary because the study itself was music specific i.e. Mozart's sonata. There were two other controlled variables college students and three year olds.
Controlling age ranges was important to see how memory was affected in children and adults, namely to see who remembered the most information for the longest period of time.
The researchers presented data from two different studies: college students with improved short-term memory due to Mozart's sonata, and three year olds with long-term advancements specifically in nonverbal cognitive abilities based on listening to Mozart's sonata.
The evidence from this study was observable and valid. The researchers explained that infants possess the highest level of ability concerning memorization and the development of nonverbal cognitive skills. As a person ages brain elasticity lessens and it becomes harder for a person to grasp new material specifically memory recall and implementation. The evidence presented did justify the explanation and proved that music does travel along the same neural pathways as spatial ability. The following is another study based on the Mozart Effect.
A researcher named Jenkins analyzed the work that was done by Rauscher et al concerning the Mozart effect and how it helped to improve memory and spatial skills. There was an initial argument that "enjoyment arousal" was the only reason that participants did so well in the previous study. The two specific factors were the specific type of music and the participants' appreciation for the music. For example if the participants consisted of teenagers with an urban background most likely they would respond more positively to rap music.
In order to adequately test the challenge hypothesis animal experiments were conducted on pregnant rats. The specified time frame was 60 days. The types of music the rats were exposed to consisted of: Mozart's piano sonata K448, limited music by Philip Glass, white noise, and silence. After the exposure was complete and the rats were born they were put to another test through maze navigation.
Interestingly, enough the findings from the maze navigation revealed that the rats exposed to the Mozart sonata were the quickest and most accurate of the three groups. This was very significant because it proves that Mozart's sonata or the Mozart Effect was real, provable, and provided a positive effect on memory. Another study was conducted that was not related to spatial skill performance or maze navigation; it involved individuals suffering from epilepsy. The study was conducted with 29 patients, 23 suffered from focal discharges and bursts/spikes. When the epileptic patients listened to Mozart's piano sonata K448 there was a noticeable decrease in epileptic activity recorded on the electroencephalogram.
The study was then narrowed down to one male who was unconscious. Listening to the selected music it was visible that his actual patterns went from 62% to 21% a definite improvement. Mozart K.448 was also effective in reducing the effects of epilepsy in children. Specifically, the result was a reduction in the frequency of the epileptic episode. This study has merit for these three reasons it proves the Mozart Effect is real, it proves the Mozart Effect is not based on appreciation of the music per the unborn rats' performance in the maze after 60 day exposure, and the Mozart Effect is not limited to spatial skill performance or memory it can also reduce the effects of epilepsy in some patients. The study did not take into account an individual's spatial ability. In this particular case it appeared that all the rats had the ability to navigate the maze. There was no indication that any of the rats were either physically or mentally impaired. The only different encountered was the type of music or lack thereof that they were exposed to Mozart's sonata, Philip Glass, white noise and silence. The study conducted with the epileptic patients was not about their spatial ability but rather about the reduction in their episodes. This study can be generalized in two ways: using different types of rats and using different types of classical music. The first study only dealt with seemingly healthy rats. In order to generalize this study all types of rats should be used in order to test their spatial skills.
These are the types of rats in particular that should be used for the study's generalization: mentally unstable/deficient rats, physically deformed rats, rats that have suffered some type of injury, rats that are blind/partially blind, deaf/partially deaf, and lastly healthy rats. Another set of rats that could be used in the study would be malnourished rats as well as obese rats.
With this many rats listening to the three musical selections plus silence a broader inference can be made concerning Mozart's sonata and its effects on rats' negotiation a maze. The study concerning the epileptic patients would include additional types of classical music not just Mozart's sonata.
The classical music can come from any composer Bach, Brahms, Chopin, and even consist of different types of Mozart's music. The idea is to find out if epileptic episodes can be decreased with all types of classical music or simply Mozart's sonata. Even then would different types of Mozart's music make a difference in the epileptic episodes? Taking the situation further the types of instruments in used in the classical music may have an effect as well.
It was previously stated that the Mozart piece was piano. It could be inferred that all classical pieces that use piano can decrease epileptic episodes. Another generalization is that any type of piano music in the soothing category lacking words could have a positive effect on epileptic episode reduction. The type of epileptic just like the rats could be a defining factor. Does the effect only work on patients with server epilepsy or does it work on all types of epileptic patients?
The conclusion of this study is that the Mozart Effect is real, attestable, and it creates positive results in the participants. The first study was based on college students and three year olds in relation to spatial skill. It was proven that the younger the individual the easier it is to remember information in association with listening to Mozart's sonata. The college students on the other hand only retain increased memory in the short-term. It was also proven that music itself and spatial skill travel along the same neurological pathways in the brain. The concept of the study was later challenged with the express argument that any piece of music can be used to make people smarter if they only appreciate the piece. In other words individuals who like jazz would be able to remember things more frequently because they listen to jazz and like it.