THE MOZART EFFECT

Society has often hoped for a quick and simple way of increasing intelligence. In
1993, such a possibility was offered by researchers at the University of California,
Irvine.
Rauscher, Shaw, and Ky (1993) found that a group of 36 college undergraduates
improved their spatial-temporal intelligence (the ability to mentally manipulate
objects in three-dimensional space) after listening to 10 minutes of a Mozart sonata.
Results showed that student' IQ scores improved by 8-9 points and lasted for 10-15
minutes. The findings, which were later dubbed the Mozart effect, have spawned
both criticism and support for music's ability to alter intelligence.
The meaning of the Mozarts Effect can mean any number of things but the basic
definition is: A set of research results that indicate that listening to Mozart's music
may induce a short-term improvement on the performance of certain kinds of mental
tasks known as "spatial-temporal reasoning (Hughes).
One has to think about how Mozarts music influences the brain. There are a number
of questions that need to be answered. For instance, what are the effects of Mozarts
music on children and babies, and secondly what are the moods of listening to
Mozarts music.

The Mozart effect is said to make people smarter but they shouldnt believe that only
listening to Mozart will make them smarter.
Effects of Mozart on Children and Babies
The Mozart Effect based off the readings and theories it only has a lasting effect on
babies. For the first experiment conducted by Dr. Raucher in 1998 he placed three
groups of children in three different rooms.
He placed children in the first room and played Mozarts music. The song he used
was Wolfgang Mozarts Sonata.
Group 2 were placed in a room listing to rock music. The last groups were placed in a
silent room.
All children were given the same test, but the children who were listing to any music
performed better than the children who were placed in the silent room (Anderson).
The children who listen to music found the tasks to be easy according to Dr. Raucher.
He used the word stimulus when talking about the children results in the study.
A word used to show the growth of the children who listened to music was stimulus
(The British Journal of Psychology pg.609). Stimulus means an agent that directly
influences the activity of a living organism (Webster online Dictionary).
That makes one think that if a child listens to any type of music other than Mozart it
will have the same effect. False studies show that music that plays sixty beats a min
or less is what stimulates the mind (Mind on Music 103).
Music any faster only makes the mind think rapidly. Music like rap wont stimulate
the mind; it will only make the mind think faster which is something apparently one
doesnt want to happen.
A study shows that listening to Mozart slows the brain so that information can be
drawn better. This is only for children aging from new born to ten years old.
When this study was conducted on unborn babies, it showed that it didnt make them
smarter only calm them while in the womb. The music only can affect their IQ after
they have been born. The tests that were conducted were mainly timed test.
The effects of the Mozart Effect have been said to only last about 15 min total or long
enough for the child to complete the task at hand. So one has to think if it only last
for 15 min then does it makes one smarter in the long run? Music is said to change
the mood of the people who listen. Mozart is also said to be mood altering music.

Moods of Listening to Mozart

Another researched topic that has been debated is about the mood that music put
oneself in. This is a topic that has been heavily debated about by scientist.
The debate is over whether listening to Mozart alters peoples mood. The other
scientists who are non-believers believe that his music has no influence on emotions.
A doctor by the name of J.S Jenkins states that There is evidence that one will
perform better at abstract reasoning tasks when one is mildly aroused and in a good
mood; if music can be placed on a mildly aroused happy state of mind which may
explain why the Mozart effect works (J.S Jenkins). To refute this quote, another
study was given.
In this test they gave a group of children rubrics cubes and let the listen to Mozart.

The other group was placed in to a silent room. After this test was conducted it
showed that both groups finished the rubric cubes in equal time.

Does this prove that they Mozart effect doesnt work? Yes, it does. It shows that
Mozarts music doesnt make children complete tasks quicker. Those interested in
this topic would go with the second study based off the tasks given.
They also believe that its not the music that alters mood but rather than the person.
They believe if a person is good with a task then it wont take them that long to
complete it.

Those who question Mozart will do the same as others based of the test shown. The
answer to this question is: No, Mozart music did not affect any individuals in this
study of rubrics cubes.
After these studies were analyzed and documented I still needed more information so
a personal study was done.
Long-Term effects of music on the brain
The original experiments on adults exposed to Mozart's music were of short duration
only. In related experiments15, long-term effects of music were studied in groups of
pre-school children aged 3-4 years who were given keyboard music lessons for six
months, during which time they studied pitch intervals, fingering techniques, sight
reading, musical notation and playing from memory.
At the end of training all the children were able to perform simple melodies by
Beethoven and Mozart. When they did they were then subjected to spatial-temporal
reasoning tests calibrated for age, and their performance was more than 30% better
than that of children of similar age given either computer lessons for 6 months or no
special training (P <0.001).
The improvement was limited to spatial-temporal reasoning; there was no effect on
spatial recognition. The effect lasted unchanged for 24 hours after the end of the
music lessons but the precise duration of the enhancement was not further explored.
The longer duration of the effects than in previous reports was attributed to the
length of exposure to music and the greater plasticity of the young brain. In further
experiments of this kind it has been claimed that the enhancement of spatialtemporal reasoning in children after piano training has resulted in significantly
greater scores in higher mathematics16.
Whats NLP?
NLP stands for Neuro-Linguistic Programming, a name that encompasses the three
most influential components involved in producing human experience: neurology,
language and programming. The neurological system regulates how our bodies
function, language determines how we interface and communicate with other people
and our programming determines the kinds of models of the world we create. NeuroLinguistic Programming describes the fundamental dynamics between mind (neuro)
and language (linguistic) and how their interplay affects our body and behavior
(programming).

The NLP Eye Accessing Cues

The NLP Eye movements indicate how a person is thinking whether they are
imagining a future or past event, internally re-hearing a sound or making up a sound,
talking to themselves, or attending to their feelings.
Why pay attention to the NLP eye movements?
Being able to notice a persons eye direction movements and to recognise what they
mean, as suggested by NLP, provides information about how they are processing (or
thinking in the broadest sense of the term).
Incidentally the person will rarely be aware of how they are thinking yet it is available
for the sharp-eyed and skilled observer.
So, lets say, you are explaining to a colleague how to do something and they say they
do not understand while looking UP to either the left or the right (indicating that
they may be visualising or trying to visualise). This could indicate that they need you
to demonstrate, rather than verbally explain, so they will be able to see how to do it.

The kinds of moves

Eyes Up and Left: Non-dominant hemisphere visualization - i.e.,
remembered imagery (Vr).

Eyes Up and Right: Dominant hemisphere visualization - i.e.,

constructed imagery and visual fantasy (Vc).

Eyes Lateral Left: Non-dominant hemisphere auditory processing - i.e.,

remembered sounds, words, and "tape loops" (Ar) and tonal discrimination.

Eyes Lateral Right: Dominant hemisphere auditory processing - i.e.,

constructed sounds and words (Ac).

Eyes Down and Left: Internal dialogue, or inner self-talk (Ad).

Eyes Down and Right: Feelings, both tactile and visceral (K).

Eyes Straight Ahead, but Defocused or Dilated: Quick access of almost

any sensory information; but usually visual.

The Lie Detection myth

This differentiation between looking up to the left and up to the right has given rise
to the NLP Lie Detector myth i.e. that you can tell if someone is lying by how they
move their eyes.
This is simply not true and was been refuted by the originators of NLP in the book
Frogs into Princes (1979). They said that for some people their eyes can indicate
whether or not they are lying but that this was not reliable.
Since the mid 90s we have been passing along this message in our own NLP courses
and providing a more thoughtful, systemic and considered style of NLP.

Reference:
http://www.nlpu.com/Articles/artic14.htm
http://nlp-now.co.uk/nlp-eye-movement-clues/