With the slogan "Don't let the child lose at the starting line", the dazzling prenatal education products justifiably took money out of the pockets of the expectant mothers and fathers. The world-famous "Mozart effect" - improving children's IQ, making parents overexcited. Let me tell you, these are just bullshit.
Rumor: Mozart's music, as prenatal music, can improve children's IQ.
Source: In October 1993, Frances Rauscher (Frances Rauscher) of the University of California published a paper in the famous "Nature" magazine [1], listening to Mozart music can improve students' IQ. The following year, The New York Times praised Mozart's music based on this [2]. Astute businessmen smelled the benefits and began to promote the magic of the Mozart effect. The music CDs sold in audio-visual stores are the proof. It reads: As long as mothers-to-be listen to these music, they can subtly promote the intellectual development of the fetus in the womb. Since then, a whirlwind of Mozart effect has been blowing around the world.
The truth
First, Rauscher's experiment was not conducted on expectant mothers or children at all, and it cannot be concluded that music can improve children's IQ; It's not about half a dime; finally, after Rauscher's study, most of the research conducted by other scientists has basically poured cold water on this miraculous effect. "The enhancement of cognitive ability by Mozart music is limited, and does not improve IQ or general reasoning ability." Even better, involving only a single type of task, which can be explained by neuropsychological methods, namely "enjoyment of awakening". In short, this is a bit similar to "working together with men and women is not tiring", the key is whether you can enjoy the process - the enjoyer, the more benefit.
So, can the baby in the womb hear the sound? What happens? In theory, at least in the first half of pregnancy, the fetus is unlikely to hear the sound. Because until the 20th week of pregnancy, the development of the inner ear is not basically complete. [4] The effect of music on the fetus is also uncertain until the sound can be heard. Scientists played music to pregnant mothers over 28 weeks and found that there was no clear relationship between the fetal heartbeat, the way the fetus moved and the sound. [5] The legend that "listening to Mozart can improve children's IQ" has not been scientifically tested.
Although numerous studies have shown that letting children listen to music does not confer any cognitive advantages. But in fact, there are still many parents who really believe that listening to music makes their children smarter.
Conclusion
Rumors debunked. Enjoy the joy of music, and forget about raising your IQ.
References:
[1] Rauscher F.H., Shaw G.L., Ky K.N. Music and spatial task performance. Nature, 365, 611.(14 October 1993)
[2] New York Times
[3] Steele K.M., Bella S.D., Peretz I., Dunlop T., Dawe L.A., Humphrey G.K., Shannon R.A.,Kirby J.L., Olmstead C.G. Prelude or requiem for the 'Mozart effect'? Nature 400, 827-827 (26 August 1999)
[4] "Seven-year planning textbook - Histology and Embryology" published by People's Medical Publishing House
[5] a)SONTAG L.W., STEELE W.G., LEWIS M. The foetal cardiac response to environmental stress. Human Devlop. 12, I (1969).b) Jean- Pierre LECANUET and Benoist SCHAAL. sensory performances in the human foetus: a brief summary of research.Intellectica, 2002/1,34,pp.29-56
