The Mozart Effect Analysis

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There are currently many products on the market that claim to enhance the intellectual ability of infants. Such products range from DVDs claiming to teach babies to talk, to handbooks that show parents how to teach their infants to use sign language. Most parents want to give their children the best possible start in life and so are susceptible to products that claim to increase their child’s intelligence. This essay will look at one of these supposed ‘intellect-enhancing’ products called The Mozart Effect. It will explore how popular this product has become despite scientific proof that it does not work.

The concept of the Mozart Effect first appeared in a French book entitled Pourquoi Mozart? The book was published in 1991 and was written by Dr. Alfred A. Tomatis who claimed that listening to Mozart assisted the retraining of one’s ear and helped to develop and, in some cases, heal the brain. (Fisher, 2004.) Proponents of the Mozart Effect claim that the benefits are diverse and positively influence the areas of health, education, and well-being. (Rich, 2001.)

Some researchers have tried to provide a scientific explanation for how the Mozart Effect works. Scientists such as Shaw and Leng claimed that listening to intricate pieces of music increases cortical firing which is the same process used during spatial reasoning. Therefore, the idea is that listening to the complex pieces of Mozart will increase spatial reasoning. Spatial reasoning refers to the ability to imagine spatial patterns and then mentally adjust them in a logical and ordered manner. The ability to do this is a component of intelligence. (Holden & Gabrieli, 2004.)

Since Tomatis’ book was first published in 1991, numerous articles and other books were written about the Mozart Effect. In 1998, the hype around the Mozart music theory reached a peak when the Governor of Georgia, Zell Miller, declared that $105,000 of the state budget would go towards giving a CD or tape of classical music to every newborn in the state. In the same year, Florida created a law that stated that classical music must be played every day in state-funded childcare institutions. Also in that year, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Foundation gave out hundreds of copies of classical music to all hospitals in the area. (Holden & Gabrieli, 2004.)

In the 1990s, Don Campbell wrote two detailed books entitled, The Mozart Effect: Tapping the Power of Music to Heal the Body, Strengthen the Mind, and Unlock the Creative Spirit and The Mozart Effect for Children. Along with these books, Don also created several products that promoted the Mozart Effect. Campbell claims that his Mozart Effect products have a wide range of benefits that include improving health, memory, recovery from mental and physical disorders, harmonizing of different learning styles, creativity, awareness, listening, recovery from attention deficit disorders, healing of injuries, visualization, imagination and reducing depression and anxiety. (Rich, 2001.)

The problem with these books and products is that there wasn’t, and still isn’t, any scientific proof to support these ideas or benefits. It is extremely deceptive to pray on the need parents have to do the best for their children and to influence them to waste their time and money on a product that people have proven does not work. (Fisher, 2004.)

In 1999, two groups of researchers set out to determine the validity of the Mozart Effect and published their findings in a paper under the heading, Prelude or Requiem for the ‘Mozart Effect’? It was determined that there wasn’t any improvement in intelligence, but that the music did increase ‘enjoyment arousal.’ This effect is created whenever someone listens to something they like, and it temporarily enhances simple cognitive tasks such as cutting or folding paper. (Ellenvell, 2001.)

Despite the support for the Mozart Effect, many studies have been done to test the validity of this theory and it has been determined that the only effect the music has is on increasing energy and positive feelings, which can be said for most kinds of music. It has been proven that the Mozart Effect does not have any effect on one’s intelligence. (Holden & Gabrieli, 2004.)

If I, as a licensed psychologist, were to endorse a product that promoted “The Mozart Effect,” and claimed it would work, I would be in direct violation of the American Psychological Associations’ (APA) Code of Ethics. (American Psychological Association, 2002.) Section 5 is entitled, Avoidance of False or Deceptive Statements, and the first point includes that psychologists cannot knowingly make public statements that are false or deceptive, regarding their work. Such statements include adverts, product endorsements, print media, resumes, etc. (Dove, 2003.)

There are many products on the market at the moment that claim to assist the development of infants’ intellect. The advertising of these products is directed at the parents and specifically designed to make them believe that they will be giving their child a head start in life. If there were a product that could assist in increasing the intellect of infants, it would be a worldwide phenomenon that all governments would invest huge amounts of money in. It has been scientifically proven that the Mozart Effect does not raise intellect, yet many parents around the world believe it will. It would be wise for parents to only invest in products that have been scientifically proven to work.

References

American Psychological Association. (2002). American Psychological Association: Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct.

Dove, R. J. (2003). Cognitive Processes. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, New York: Whiteley Press.

Ellenvell, J. D. (2001). How Parenting is Influenced by the Media: Perceptual Physiology. South Melbourne: Macmillan Education Australia.

Fisher, D. A. (2004). Analysis of the Mozart Effect: Psychology and Development, Sydney: Addison-Wesley.

Holden, T., & Gabrieli, J. D. E. (2004). Music and the Brain. New York: Grayson.

Rich, N. (2001).Vibrations and Development. London: Harvester.

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The Mozart Effect Analysis

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