What Is The Mozart Effect? Does It Make Us Smarter?
In recent years The so-called “Mozart effect” has become very popular According to those who defend the existence of this phenomenon, listening to the Austrian composer’s music, or classical music in general, increases intelligence and other cognitive abilities, especially during early development.
Despite Scientific research suggests that there is a real part In these types of statements, the truth is that the review of the existing literature shows that the potential benefits of listening to music have been overstated, at least in the field of intelligence. However, music can be very positive for people for other reasons.
We know as the “Mozart effect” the hypothesis that proposes that Listening to Mozart’s music increases intelligence and has Cognitive benefits in babies and young children although there are also those who say that these effects also occur in adults.
The majority of studies that have investigated the existence of this phenomenon have focused on Mozart’s sonata K448 for two pianos Similar properties are attributed to other piano compositions by the same author and to many similar works in terms of structure, melody, harmony and tempo.
More broadly, this concept can be used to refer to the idea that music, especially classical music, is therapeutic for people and/or increases their intellectual abilities.
The benefits of music
The clearest beneficial effects of music are related to emotional health. Since ancient times, humans have used this art as a method to reduce stress and improve mood both consciously and without realizing it.
In this sense, currently we speak of music therapy to refer to interventions that use music as a tool to reduce psychological discomfort, improve cognitive functions, develop motor skills or facilitate the acquisition of social skills, among other objectives.
Recent scientific research has confirmed much of what was believed: music therapy is effective for reduce symptoms of mental disorders such as depression, dementia or schizophrenia and also to reduce the risk of suffering cardiovascular accidents.
History and popularization
The Mozart effect began to become popular in the 90s with the appearance of the book “Pourquoi Mozart?” (“Why Mozart?”), by the French otorhinolaryngologist Alfred Tomatis, who coined the term. This researcher stated that listening to Mozart’s music could have therapeutic effects on the brain and promote its development.
Nevertheless, It was Don Campbell who popularized the concept of Tomatis through his book “The Mozart Effect.” Campbell attributed Mozart’s music with beneficial properties “to heal the body, strengthen the mind and free the creative spirit,” as the book’s extended title states.
Campbell’s work was based on a study by researchers Frances Rauscher, Gordon Shaw and Catherine Ky published a few years earlier in the journal Nature. However, this study showed only a slight improvement in spatial reasoning up to a maximum of 15 minutes after listening to the K448 sonata.
Articles in the New York Times and the Boston Globe also contributed to the current fame of the Mozart effect. After the publication of all this literature, a business began to form around musical compilations with supposed intellectual benefits, especially for children since Campbell also wrote the book “The Mozart Effect for Children.”
The claims made by Campbell and by the articles mentioned clearly exaggerated the study’s conclusions by Rauscher et al., who found only slight evidence for possible short-term improvement in spatial reasoning. In no sense can it be concluded from the existing research that music increases IQ, at least directly.
In general, experts affirm that the Mozart effect is an experimental artifact that would be explained by the euphoric effects of some musical works and by the increase in brain activation they cause. Both factors have been related to the improvement of cognitive functions in the short term.
Therefore, the benefits of the Mozart effect, which is real in a certain way, are not specific to the work of this author or classical music, but are shared by many other compositions and even by very different activities, such as reading or sports.
On the other hand, and although listening to classical music during early development has not been shown to be necessarily beneficial, practicing a musical instrument can promote the emotional well-being and cognitive development of children if it motivates and stimulates them intellectually. Something similar happens with other forms of art and creativity.
