The Mozart effect: The role of periodicity and musical structure

The present study sought to replicate the Mozart effect (a temporary increase in spatial-temporal task performance following exposure to Mozart's music) as found by other researchers (Rauscher, Shaw, & Ky 1995; Rideout, Dougherty, & Wernert, 1998). Secondly, the study carries forward the research of J. Hughes (2001), who proposed that all music with highly organized structure and periodicity within the 30-second range would produce a temporary increase in spatial-temporal task performance. One hundred thirty-three undergraduates participated in the study. Participants were divided into one of four listening conditions: Bach, Mozart, Brahms, and Silence. Each group completed 16 Paper-Folding-and-Cutting (PF&C) items prior to the listening condition and a second set of 16 PF&C items following the listening condition. Bach and Mozart were predicted to increase PF&C posttest scores, and Brahms and Silence were predicted to have no effect. At posttest, there was not a significant difference between the mean number of correct answers between the four groups. However, when change scores were calculated, the Mozart group was found to have a higher, though not statistically significant, change score compared to the other three groups. This result was possible based on the Mozart group testing significantly lower at pretest. These results did not give evidence for periodicity as a means of predicting the Mozart effect, as the Bach group did not show an increase in PF&C task performance as predicted. However, the enhancement of PF&C scores following exposure to the Mozart Sonata did approach statistical significance. The results of this study point to an important question regarding the Mozart effect: does the Mozart effect only ameliorate already poor performers or was a ceiling effect on the PF&C to blame for the lack of improvement in the other three listening conditions? It is recommended that further research incorporate more difficult PF&C items in order to eliminate the possibility of a ceiling effect.