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Classical Music and Cognitive Tasks

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Summary

Areas of Science
Difficulty
 
Time Required
Long (2-4 weeks)
*Note: For this science project you will need to develop your own experimental procedure. Use the information in the summary tab as a starting place. If you would like to discuss your ideas or need help troubleshooting, use the Ask An Expert forum. Our Experts won't do the work for you, but they will make suggestions and offer guidance if you come to them with specific questions.

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Abstract

Does listening to classical music help or hinder concentration and performance on cognitive tasks? You'll need help from a teacher to design two short, age-appropriate worksheet tests for this experiment. The tests should be of equal difficulty. You'll also need the cooperation of several additional classroom teachers in order to test enough students (at least 50-100, see the Science Buddies resource: How Many Participants Do I Need?). Half the students will take test A while listening to classical music and test B with no background music. The other half of the students will take test B while listening to classical music and test A with no background music. Analyze the scores to see if there are differences in performance between the music and non-music conditions. You should also be able to show that the two tests are equally difficult under the same conditions (or use the averaged results to correct for any difference in difficulty between the two tests). (Ritblatt, 2004)

Bibliography

Ritblatt, N.S., 2004. "How Does Classical Music Affect Cognitive Tasks in K–1st Grade Children?" California State Science Fair Abstract [accessed August 23, 2006] http://cssf.usc.edu/History/2004/Projects/J1716.pdf
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Global Connections

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) are a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.

This project explores topics key to Quality Education: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.

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General citation information is provided here. Be sure to check the formatting, including capitalization, for the method you are using and update your citation, as needed.

MLA Style

Science Buddies Staff. "Classical Music and Cognitive Tasks." Science Buddies, 28 July 2017, https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/Music_p003/music/classical-music-improve-cognitive-tasks. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

APA Style

Science Buddies Staff. (2017, July 28). Classical Music and Cognitive Tasks. Retrieved from https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/Music_p003/music/classical-music-improve-cognitive-tasks


Last edit date: 2017-07-28
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