Effects of Listening to Mozart and Bach on the Performance of a Mathematical Test

Abstract

The purpose of the current study was to assess the effect of listening to Mozart and Bach on the immediate performance of a 10-min. mathematical test. The study consisted of 61 undergraduate participants. Participants were randomly assigned to a control group, a Mozart group, or a Bach group. Participants were then administered a mathematics pretest, listened to a selection of music for 10 min., and were then administered a mathematics posttest. The test was constructed to be similar to items taken from the University Mathematics Placement Examination. Analysis indicated no significant effect on the immediate mathematics test when participants listened to 10 min. of either Mozart or Bach. These findings suggest caution in measuring differences in various cognitive tasks as indicating increases in intelligence scores.