The Mozart Effect [38:50m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The Mozart Effect - almost everyone has heard about it, but is there really anything to it? Can the Mozart Effect increase your child’s IQ? Will listening to Mozart make you more creative? Does it have an effect on babies in utero? A lot has been claimed, but there is a lot of controversial research out there on the Mozart effect. In part one of my interview with one of the leading researchers and critics of the Mozart Effect - Dr. Kenneth Steele - you get the real story behind the hype.

Resources on The Mozart Effect

Today’s interviewee, Dr. Kenneth Steele, has conducted a great deal of research on the so-called “Mozart effect” and here is a link to his website where you can find links to download many of his research articles. Here are the ones I used in preparation for this episode:

• Steele, K. M. (2006). Unconvincing evidence that rats show a Mozart effect. Music Perception, 23, 455-458
• Steele, K. M. (2003). Do rats show a Mozart effect? Music Perception, 21, 251-265
• Steele, K. M. (2001). The “Mozart Effect”: An example of the scientific method in operation. Psychology Teacher Network, 11, 2-5
• Steele, K. M., Bass, K. E., & Crook, M. D. (1999). The mystery of the Mozart effect: Failure to replicate. Psychological Science, 10, 366-369
• Steele, K. M., Brown, J. D., & Stoecker, J. A. (1999). Failure to confirm the Rauscher and Shaw description of recovery of the Mozart effect. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 88, 843-848

Other Resources of Interest on the Mozart Effect:

• The originators of the mozart effect are Francis Rauscher and Gordon Shaw. Here is Francis Raucher’s website at the University of Wisconson OshKosh
• Thanks to Prof. Linda Holzer, Coordinator of Classical Piano Studies at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock for the Mozart piano music you hear underneath much of the interview.
• The actual piece of Mozart’s music played during Dr. Raucher’s studies is the first movement of Mozart’s Sonata for 2 pianos in D major, K. 448.
• The Skeptic’s Dictionary website (by Robert Carroll, Ph.D.) has an excellent article on the Mozart Effect.
• The Stanford Report wrote an excellent article about the dubious nature of the Mozart Effect.

Magician’s Penn and Teller like to debunk dubious ideas, and they address the Mozart Effect in this video, from YouTube. Warning: the video contains some strong language:

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