The Mozart effect
You’re probably familiar with the popular wives’ tale that Mozart makes prenatal babies smart. Even in the movie ‘The Incredibles’ one of the characters says something to that effect. Simply put the Mozart effect is said to increase short term memory and improve the mental task of special relations.
The Mozart effect was reported for the first time in 1993 by the University of California. A researcher set up a study in which college students listened to 10 minutes of Mozart, a relaxing track, or complete science prior to performing certain tasks. The group that listened to Mozart performed better. It was reported that the Mozart group’s special IQ points raised by about 8 or 9, which is quite significant. These findings were then released to the population gaining popularity fairly quickly.
In 1999, a professor at Union college performed a meta-analysis on 16 different studies all of which were related to the Mozart effect. They found that the effect only raised special IQ points by about 1 and a half. It was also noted that the differences between the performances could result from the natural variability a person may encounter between two test settings. In addition to that the effect supposedly only lasts for about 15 minutes. Despite this, the study from the University of California was still massively cited as an accurate source years later.
While having your child listen to Mozart might help their special relation skills there isn’t much scientific evidence backing it up. A psychology Professor from the University of Wisconsin had this to say about the Mozart effect “It’s really a myth, in my humble opinion.” He recommends that as opposed to having a child listen to music have them learn to play it instead. Learning anything new helps shape and develop the brain. One study found that those involved in a musical pursuit tended to score higher on both the SAT and reading proficiency exams when compared to those not involved in a musical pursuit.