Mozart Effect by Don Campbell, published by HarperCollins in 1997 and again in 2001, posits the theory that listening to Mozart's music can help to boost one's IQ. The theory is based on interviews and studies conducted by researchers, from which Campbell produces the general notion that music has a "healing" quality to it and can be used to improve one's overall life.[footnoteRef:1] Campbell points to the 1993 study by psychologist Francis Rauscher, who showed that listening to Mozart's sonata for two pianos helped to improve the spatial-temporal skills of the listener for about the next ten to fifteen minutes after listening to the music.[footnoteRef:2] Rauscher's study spurred more researchers to examine the relationship between music and intelligence. Campbell's book is essentially an overview of these studies with some analysis about the way that Mozart and music in general can improve one's ability to think, reason, and enjoy mental health. [1: Don Campbell, The Mozart Effect (NY: HarperCollins, 2001), 4.] [2: Ibid, 15.]
Campbell's findings corroborate the conclusions reached by Kyziridis, who assessed the historical treatments of mental illness within various cultures. The Romans, he found valued the effect of music on the patient and philosophers as well as physicians advocated the usage of music as a tool in treating individuals under mental duress.[footnoteRef:3] Even Plato states that if you want to cure the body, you must begin by healing the soul.[footnoteRef:4] Thus, Campbell reiterates the classicists when he states in The Mozart Effect that "music can lift our soul. It awakens within us the spirit of prayer, compassion, and love. It clears our minds and has been known to make us smarter."[footnoteRef:5] Campbell traces out the research that supports such claims, from Rauscher to Alfred Tomatis, whose work "has established the healing and creative powers of sound and music."[footnoteRef:6] What was measured in each test was the effect of Mozart's music on the listener, as gauged by the listener's aptitude during intelligence examinations following the listening of the music. Results showed that Mozart had a positive effect on the listener, who scored better on tests after listening to a sonata. Campbell then goes on to stress the important role that Mozart in particular has on the mind and spirit of the listener and how his music can not only help strengthen one's intelligence but also uplift the very nature of man. [3: Theocharis Kyziridis, "Notes on the History of Schizophrenia," German Journal of Psychiatry, vol. 8 (2005): 8.] [4: Plato, Charmides, MIT. Web. 5 May 2015. ] [5: Campbell, The Mozart Effect, 1.] [6: Ibid, 17.]
Several researchers have since critiqued the Mozart Effect promoted by Campbell and their results have been used to develop different theories about why Mozart or any music in general stimulates parts of the brain that enable one to profit from a sort of short-term "inspiration" fueled by pleasure synapses in the brain. Jenkins for instance discussed the various results that researchers who have attempted to duplicate Rauscher's test have recorded. Following the publication of Campbell's book, Jenkins called for more in-depth study of the effect of music on listeners and especially the effects of long-term listening rather than a brief exposure to a short sonata.[footnoteRef:7] The criticism of Jenkins was that there was simply not enough conclusive evidence to support the wide claims made by Campbell. What Jenkins did conclude was that studies did indicate that music did help the spatial-temporal abilities of individual listeners. [7 J.S. Jenkins, "The Mozart Effect," Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, vol. 94, no. 4 (2001): 172.]
E. Glenn Schellenberg supports Jenkins view of the study of the Mozart Effect when he states that findings "are both disappointing as well as promising."[footnoteRef:8] Schellenberg argues that the research since Campbell's book does not support Campbell's claim that music or Mozart specifically "makes one smarter," however, Schellenberg does assert that music has the power to affect one's emotional state, which can then influence their cognitive ability. Essentially, Schellenberg agrees with Campbell that music has the ability to improve one's performance but where he disagrees with Campbell is on the "why" this happens. He states that it there is nothing specifically psychological that happens as a direct result of listening to music or Mozart but rather that music that is liked or pleasing by a listener can alter the listener's mood, which in turn helps the individual to focus more closely on a task or to engage more positively and productively than if the individual were in a less joyful or pleasant mood. Schellenberg's...
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