A Comparison of the Effect of Major- Versus Minor-Keyed Music on Short-Term Cognitive Performance
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47611/jsrhs.v11i4.3598Keywords:
Music, Cognitive Performance, Major Key, Minor Key, Study Habits, Single-Subject Design, Alternating Treatments DesignAbstract
Music cognition is an interdisciplinary field combines music theory with cognitive science to maximize the brain’s potential. Several variables like tempo and instrumentation have been researched in music’s effect on cognition, but many, such as key, remain. This pilot study sought to initiate an effort towards: (a) examining the hypothesis that there is a difference between major- and minor-keyed music’s effect on cognitive performance, (b) utilizing a single-subject design to account for music cognition’s individual differences. Three participants listened to an instrumental excerpt in major key, minor key, and silence while completing elementary arithmetic tests as a metric of cognitive performance. The number of correct responses determined the participant’s cognitive performance for that session. Each participant’s responses were individually examined through a visual analysis. Two participants supported the hypothesis, favoring the major key; one performed best with the silent condition and demonstrated no distinction between the major and minor key. These results suggest individual differences are a key contributor to music’s effect on cognitive performance. Future studies should incorporate single-subject designs to account for these differences. Until future research is done to confirm major-minor’s relative efficacy, individuals should continue studying to the music (or lack of music) that confines to the variables already proven to increase cognition.
Downloads
References or Bibliography
Ali, S. O., & Peynircioǧlu, Z. F. (2010). Intensity of Emotions Conveyed and Elicited by Familiar and Unfamiliar Music. Music Perception: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 27(3), 177–182. https://doi.org/10.1525/MP.2010.27.3.177
Audacity Team (2021). Audacity®: Free Audio Editor and Recorder (Version 2.4.1) [Computer software]. Retrieved from http://audacity.sourceforge.net/.
Barlow, D. H., & Hayes, S. C. (1979). Alternating treatments design: One strategy for comparing the effects of two treatments in a single subject. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 12(2), 199–210. https://doi.org/10.1901%2Fjaba.1979.12-199
Barlow, D. H., Nock, M. K., & Hersen, M. (2008). Single case experimental designs: Strategies for studying behavior change (3rd Ed.). New York: Pearson.
Beauvais, Clémentine. (2015). The “Mozart Effect”: A Sociological Reappraisal. Cultural Sociology 9 (2): 185–202.
Blood, A. J., & Zatorre, R. J. (2001). Intensely pleasurable responses to music correlate with activity in brain regions implicated in reward and emotion. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 98(20), 11818–11823. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.191355898
Bottiroli, S., Rosi, A., Russo, R., Vecchi, T., & Cavallini, E. (2014). The cognitive effects of listening to background music on older adults: processing speed improves with upbeat music, while memory seems to benefit from both upbeat and downbeat music. Frontiers in aging neuroscience, 6, 284. https://doi.org/10.3389%2Ffnagi.2014.00284
Chabris, C. F. (1999). Prelude or requiem for the “Mozart Effect”? Nature, 400: 826-827. https://doi.org/10.1038/23608
Chalmers, L., Olson, M. R., & Zurkowski, J. K. (1999). Music as a Classroom Tool. Intervention in School and Clinic, 35(1), 43–52. https://doi.org/10.1177/105345129903500108
Chopin, F. (1840). Nocturne in G Minor, Op, 39, No.1 [Piano score.] E. Troupenas.
Cook, N. D. (2006). A Psychophysical Explanation for Why Major Chords are “Bright” and Minor Chords are “Dark.”. In Proceedings of the First International Conference on Kansei (pp. 45-48).
Dolegui, A. S. (2013). The Impact of Listening to Music on Cognitive Performance. Inquiries Journal/Student Pulse, 5(09).
Endler, A., Rey, G. D., & Butz, M. V. (2012). Towards motivation-based adaptation of difficulty in e-learning programs. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 28(7). https://doi.org/10.14742/ajet.792
Fairfield, B., Mammarella, N., & Cesare, C. (2007). Does music enhance cognitive performance in healthy older adults? The Vivaldi effect. Aging Clinical and Experimental Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf03324720
Goltz, F., & Sadakata, M. (2021). Do you listen to music while studying? A portrait of how people use music to optimize their cognitive performance. Acta psychologica, 220, 103417. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2021.103417
Giles, M. (1991). A little background music please. Principle, November, 71(2), 41-44
Hallam, S., Price, J., & Katsarou, G. (2002). The effects of background music on primary school pupils' task performance. Educational Studies, 28(2), 111–122. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1080/03055690220124551
Hetland, L. (2000). Listening to Music Enhances Spatial-Temporal Reasoning: Evidence for the “Mozart Effect.” Journal of Aesthetic Education, 34(3/4), 105–148. https://doi.org/10.2307/3333640
Holcombe, A., Wolery, M.R., & Gast, D.L. (1994). Comparative Single-Subject Research. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 14, 119 - 145. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F027112149401400111
Huron, D. (2008). A Comparison of Average Pitch Height and Interval Size in Major- and Minor-key Themes: Evidence Consistent with Affect-related Pitch Prosody. Empirical Musicology Review, 3, 59-63.
Ivanov, V. K., & Geake, J. G. (2003). The Mozart Effect and primary school children. Psychology of Music, 31(4), 405–413
Jackson, M. L., & Van Dongen, H. P. A. (2011). Cognitive effects of sleepiness. In Sleepiness: Causes, Consequences and Treatment (pp. 72-81). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511762697.009
Kavanagh, D. J. (1987). Mood, persistence, and success. Australian Journal of Psychology, 39(3), 307–318. https://doi.org/10.1080/00049538708259055
Kazdin, A. E. (2011). Single-Case Research Designs, Second Edition., Child & Family Behavior Therapy, 34:1, 76-79, https://doi.org/10.1080/07317107.2012.654458
Kazdin, A. E. (2011). Single-Case Research Designs: Methods for Clincal and Applied Settings (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.
Kolchinsky, A., Dhande, N., Park, K., & Ahn, Y. Y. (2017). The Minor fall, the Major lift: inferring emotional valence of musical chords through lyrics. Royal Society open science, 4(11). https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.170952
Leng, X. & Shaw, G. L. (1991). Toward a neural theory of higher brain function using music as a window. Concepts in Neuroscience, 2 (2), 229-258.
Levitin, D. J. (2006). This is your brain on music: The science of a human obsession. Dutton/Penguin Books.
Manolov, R., & Onghena, P. (2018). Analyzing data from single-case alternating treatments designs. Psychological methods, 23(3), 480–504. https://doi.org/10.1037/met0000133
McConnell, M. M., & Shore, D. I. (2011). Upbeat and happy: arousal as an important factor in studying attention. Cognition & emotion, 25(7), 1184–1195. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2010.524396
Montague, M., & Dietz, S. (2009). Evaluating the Evidence Base for Cognitive Strategy Instruction and Mathematical Problem Solving. Exceptional Children, 75(3), 285–302. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F001440290907500302
Mozart, W. A., Perahia, M., Lupu, R., & Schubert, F. (1985). Sonata in D major, K. 448, for two pianos. New York, N.Y: CBS Masterworks. (Originally published in 1795)
Nantais, K. M., & Schellenberg, E. G. (1999). The Mozart effect: An artifact of preference. Psychological Science, 10(4), 370–373. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1111/1467-9280.00170
Niemiec, T., & Lachowicz-Tabaczek, K. (2015). The moderating role of specific self-efficacy in the impact of positive mood on cognitive performance. Motivation & Emotion, 39(4), 498–505. https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs11031-014-9469-3
Oliver, M. D., Levy, J. J., & Baldwin, D. R. (2021). Examining the effects of musical type and intensity in performing the flanker task: A test of attentional control theory applied to non-emotional distractions. Psychology of Music, 49(4), 1017–1026. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0305735620922599
Parncutt, R. (2014). The emotional connotations of major versus minor tonality: One or more origins? Musicae Scientiae, 18(3), 324–353. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1029864914542842
Patston, L. L. M., & Tippett, L. J. (2011). The effect of background music on cognitive performance in musicians and nonmusicians. Music Perception: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 29(2), 173–183.
Price, P. C. (2012) Research Methods in Psychology. Saylor Academy.
Rauscher, F. H., Shaw, G. L., & Ky, K. N. (1993). Music and spatial task performance. Nature, 365(6447), 611. https://doi.org/10.1038/365611a0
Rauscher, F. H., Shaw, G. L., & Ky, K. N. (1995). Listening to Mozart enhances spatial-temporal reasoning: Towards a neurophysiological basis. Neuroscience Letters, 185, 44-47. https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-3940(94)11221-4
Saarikallio, S. (2012). Development and Validation of the Brief Music in Mood Regulation Scale (B-MMR). Music Perception: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 30(1), 97–105. https://doi.org/10.1525/mp.2012.30.1.97
Sayar, A. (2018). Comparison of the Effect of Major- Versus Minor-Keyed Music on Long-Term Declarative Memory in High School Students. IU Journal of Undergraduate Research, 4(1), 97–106. https://doi.org/10.14434/iujur.v4i1.24524
Schäfer, T., Sedlmeier, P., Städtler, C., & Huron, D. (2013). The psychological functions of music listening. Frontiers in psychology, 4, 511. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00511
Schellenberg, E. G., & Hallam, S. (2005). Music listening and cognitive abilities in 10- and 11-year-olds: the blur effect. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1060, 202–209. https://doi.org/10.1196/annals.1360.013
Schellenberg, E.G., Nakata, T., Hunter, P.G., & Tamoto, S. (2007). Exposure to music and cognitive performance: tests of children and adults. Psychology of Music, 35, 19 - 5. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0305735607068885
Schellenberg, E. G., & Weiss, M. W. (2013). Music and cognitive abilities. In D. Deutsch (Ed.), The psychology of music (pp. 499–550). Elsevier Academic Press. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1016/B978-0-12-381460-9.00012-2
Schubart, C. F. D., & DuBois, T. (2004). On the Human Voice and the Characteristics of the Musical Keys. New England Review, 25(1/2), 166–171. (Original work published in 1785)
Sindelar, P. T., Rosenberg, M. S., & Wilson, R. J. (1985). An Adapted Alternating Treatments Design For Instructional Research. Education and Treatment of Children, 8(1), 67–76.
Staubli, R. (2021). The Character of the Keys in the Music of the Classical and Romantic Period. Series Musicologica Balcanica, 1(2), 66-84. https://doi.org/10.26262/smb.v1i2.7934
Steele, K. M., Bass, K. E., & Crook, M. D. (1999). The Mystery of the Mozart Effect: Failure to Replicate. Psychological Science, 10(4), 366–369. https://doi.org/10.1111%2F1467-9280.00169
Tay, R.Y.L., Ng, B.C. (2019) Effects of affective priming through music on the use of emotion words. PLOS ONE, 14(4): e0214482. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0214482
Wechsler, D. (1997). Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (3rd ed.). Psychological Corporation.
White, K.N. (2007). The Effects of Background Music in the Classroom on the Productivity, Motivation, and Behavior of Fourth Grade Students.
Wolery, M., Gast, D. L., Hammond, D. (2010). Comparative intervention designs. In Gast, D. (Ed.), Single subject research methodology in behavioral sciences (pp. 327-381). New York, NY: Routledge
Yerkes, R.M., & Dodson, J.D. (1908). The Relation of Strength of Stimulus to Rapidity of Habit Formation. Journal of Comparative Neurology & Psychology, 18, 459–482. https://doi.org/10.1002/cne.920180503
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Copyright (c) 2022 Ryann Schaffer; Dr. Luciana Lang-Taylor
![Creative Commons License](http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-sa/4.0/88x31.png)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Copyright holder(s) granted JSR a perpetual, non-exclusive license to distriute & display this article.