Customer center

We are a boutique essay service, not a mass production custom writing factory. Let us create a perfect paper for you today!

Example research essay topic: Listening To Music Iq Scores - 1,766 words

NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote

... x ation (That and Davis 210). This study was done under the understanding that stress is a major factor to health problems of the day. It is important to cut down on stress in our daily lives and any way that we can do that is beneficial to our health in some way or another. One way to try and cut down on stress in people's everyday lives is by listening to music. In past years, there has been quite a bit of music created for the sole purpose of relaxation and the reduction of stress.

The questions posed by this study were to determine whether relaxation tapes really work better than a person's personal preference in music or no music at all in reducing stress? The study found that all three ways worked well for relaxation and reducing tension, but listening to music proved a little bit more beneficial. Of the two music groups, it found that the relaxation tapes were equally as good as the subject-selected music, but were no Music is an invaluable tool when it comes to reaching students who fail to do well in school, or are at risk of learning. Scott Shuler, a music consultant in the Connecticut State Department of Education and adjunct professor in the Hard School of Music in West Hartford, Conn. describes at-risk students as students that express characteristics. These characteristics included academic underachievement, lack of self-esteem and self-respect, inability to communicate thought and feeling on an intimate level, limited conflict resolution and problem-solving skills, boredom with traditional schooling.

Additional tracks of the at risk students indicate a need for a supportive peer group with whom they can establish a social bond, learning styles that differ from those addressed by traditional modes of instruction, interest in artistic expression and eagerness to pursue tasks they find interesting, need for an experiential, hands on approach to learning, avoidance of academic risk taking, and need to experience success somewhere in the school setting (Shuler 31). Shuler proposes that there are two essential reasons why students fail in school. They lack an ability to learn or lack the desire to learn, while most students who fail have the ability to do well, they choose not to because their school experience doesn't At-risk students create an aversion to traditional styles of teaching and when attempts are made to cut out "nonessential" subjects from curricula, it only worsens the problem and further distances the at-risk student from the goal of becoming motivated to do better (30 - 31). For many reasons, music can be one of the most influential factors in getting at-risk students motivated.

Music related courses in curricula give students many of the important elements that will erase the characteristics of an at-risk student. Every student likes music if only one kind, and outside of school, most students seek out music pretty actively (31). Therapists use music to help severely handicapped individuals, so why can't schools do the same thing to help at-risk students? (31) Musical groups such as choir, orchestra or band help bring people together as well as improving communication skills, group work, and forming peer groups. Music creates a higher standard of performance of people. For example, if a math test grade of 90 % would be an "A", a 90 % grade on a musical performance would be quite bad (32). This study seems to suggest that music can provide a student with a level of individuality to learn in his / her own style.

Music education creates a much more well-rounded student that do much more and learn much Music can also have very interesting and beneficial effects on the mind. A study was conducted at the Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory at the University of California at Irvine by Frances H. Rauscher, Gordon L. Shaw and Katherine N. Ky. In the study, 36 college students listened to one of three listening condition for ten minutes and then took the Stanford-Binet intelligence test designed for abstract reasoning (Rauscher, Shaw and Ky 611).

The experiment was repeated for each of the three listening conditions and included listening to a Mozart piano sonata, a relaxation tape, and They found that the equivalent IQ scores were equal between listening to the relaxation tape and complete silence, but after listening to the Mozart piece, IQ scores were an average of eight to nine points higher than the others (611). The scientists explain, however, that enhancing effect doesn't last for more than ten to fifteen minutes after listening to the sample (611). They were able to develop some theories out of the results of this study, but much more testing is required for any solid conclusions to be made. They think that music which is without complexity or is highly repetitive will not enhance abstract reasoning, but rather interfere with it (611).

Their findings are put under scrutiny and criticism by Kristin Leutwyler, who tries to set the record straight about misinterpretations in the media regarding the findings of Rauscher, Shaw and Ky. She asserts that .".. the popular press have suggested that anyone can increase his or her IQ by listening to Mozart. This supposed quick fix is false" (28). She explains that the IQ scores were based solely on spatial ability and not other factors that IQ takes into account Leutwyler explains that Rauscher's work is .".. based on the premise that listening to music and performing a spatial task prime the same neural firing patterns.

But that's just a guess. " (28) Despite the skepticism of Leutwyler in the findings of the three scientists and the fact that more testing needs to be done to take into account different variables, the initial findings cannot be ignored. There is some correlation between listening to music and spatial reasoning and through it, there is some connection with IQ. A large study was done many years ago to test intelligence across a wide range of fields and subjects (Schoen 94). On the study, 205 college students were given the Minnesota College Ability Test, all of the Seashore tests for musical talent, and were rated on a scale for musical training (94). After the testing was complete, they separated out the top 25 and the bottom 25 to determine if there was a difference in musicality among them, but found none (94). Next, they excluded the 25 students with the greatest and least amount of musical training and found two interesting groups (94).

Of the two groups left, the top group's average student had taken music theory, private piano lessons for two years, voice and cello for four years while he / she had played in orchestras for four years, sung in choir for six years, had three musicians in the family, could read music and supply missing parts, and attended concerts regularly (94). The lower group's average student had never had any private lessons, didn't play an instrument, had no musicians in his / her family, and never attended operas or concerts (95). Music won't turn anyone into a genius, but it can have some substantial effects on bringing people above average at least. One thing that music does that cannot be ignored is it stimulates the brain- sometimes positively and sometimes negatively, but it effects the brain nonetheless.

Some positive effects on the brain can be seen from the study conducted by Rauscher, Shaw and Ky where they found a temporary increase in spatial reasoning after listening to a bit of Mozart. These findings are somewhat inconclusive, but cannot be ignored altogether. It shows how there is much more studying that needs to be done in the future on this subject. Music has been known to have a very direct effect on people's moods.

By just listening to music, people's moods are easily altered. Several studies were conducted to test people's mood changes after listening to certain kinds of music (Schoen 89 - 99). One large study of 20, 000 people showed music changes mood and the changes in mood were very uniform (89). A large number of people listened to classical music by various composers from various musical periods and were asked how the music made them feel. Another study showed that the effects of mood varied from person to person depending on their musicality. Non-musical people enjoy music rarely and when they do, the enjoyment is slight, while semi-musical people enjoy music quite often and when they do, it is enjoyable to them, while musical people enjoy music rarely, due to discriminating tastes, but when they do, it is with the greatest intensity (90).

These studies also showed that certain types of moods / emotions are characteristic with music while certain emotions are not such as anger, fear, jealousy, and envy (91). Certain emotions are more characteristic with vocal music because of the words such as: love, longing, reverence, devotion (91). Another study was done on 205 people testing the effects of major and minor modes. Minor mode gave the feelings of .".. melancholy, mournful, gloomy, depressing... " while major mode most often gave the feelings of .".. happy, sprightly, cheerful, joyous, and bright... " (99).

Music is an important and extremely useful tool in the way we learn and to deny its power is a waste of a truly wonderful resource. In recent years there have been concerns about some types of music such as street Rap having very negative effects on peoples minds and moods. This type of music imprints an extremely violent image into people's minds and there has been growing concern about it and tying it in with violent crimes. In cases like this, it only shows how much more we need to study music to fully understand its full impact on the human mind. In these days where cutbacks are always eminent in people's local schools, people need to fight to keep the music and art intact. Music and the arts are what make life worth living and without them, people lose hold of their culture and diversity.

The ideal way to learn in the future would be to fully incorporate music into the curriculum of every school. If every school supported and encouraged their students to freely pursue music with the culture of music in their everyday lives, people would become much more efficient in their learning and would become much better students on the whole. Music is a power too great for man to comprehend at this point but through further study man can learn how to better harness its power and use it to Bibliography:


Free research essays on topics related to: average student, risk students, listening to music, everyday lives, iq scores

Research essay sample on Listening To Music Iq Scores

Writing service prices per page

  • $18.85 - in 14 days
  • $19.95 - in 3 days
  • $23.95 - within 48 hours
  • $26.95 - within 24 hours
  • $29.95 - within 12 hours
  • $34.95 - within 6 hours
  • $39.95 - within 3 hours
  • Calculate total price

Our guarantee

  • 100% money back guarantee
  • plagiarism-free authentic works
  • completely confidential service
  • timely revisions until completely satisfied
  • 24/7 customer support
  • payments protected by PayPal

Secure payment

With EssayChief you get

  • Strict plagiarism detection regulations
  • 300+ words per page
  • Times New Roman font 12 pts, double-spaced
  • FREE abstract, outline, bibliography
  • Money back guarantee for missed deadline
  • Round-the-clock customer support
  • Complete anonymity of all our clients
  • Custom essays
  • Writing service

EssayChief can handle your

  • essays, term papers
  • book and movie reports
  • Power Point presentations
  • annotated bibliographies
  • theses, dissertations
  • exam preparations
  • editing and proofreading of your texts
  • academic ghostwriting of any kind

Free essay samples

Browse essays by topic:

Stay with EssayChief! We offer 10% discount to all our return customers. Once you place your order you will receive an email with the password. You can use this password for unlimited period and you can share it with your friends!

Academic ghostwriting

About us

© 2002-2024 EssayChief.com