How We Study Development

 R&D - Mod4: How We Study Development

 You read in a parenting magazine that hearing the music of Mozart might enhance young children's cognitive abilities and improve performance on intelligence tests (often termed "The Mozart Effect"). How could you design a study to investigate the credibility of this claim? As you describe your study, be sure to specify the following:

1.     The research design - experimental or correlational? If experimental, remember to state the IVs and DVs.

This research is correlational and experimental, the testing is needed to draw conclusions and is the DV. The children all being 6 years old are the IV.

2. The methodology (How old will your participants be? What will participants do?  What data will you collect and how?)

My participants would be 6 years old so that the children are all on the same playing field in the control. I will have them split into two classes and they will study for an hour listening to a playlist made up of lo-fi beats, essentially calming music. This will take place for a week. What I’m looking for is if relieving stress during the studying process for a test, that would take place in a couple of weeks, would be beneficial than just studying for the test in the other group with no extraneous noise or music. I would have essays from all the students in the two classes. I would have a short essay asking how they felt studying for this test as well as their test results. I would issue a standardized test. The test would be administered with the same settings as they have been accustomed to for the week that following Monday.

3.     How will "cognitive abilities" be operationalized in your study?

We would monitor their classrooms with close circuit cameras being able to zoom in on faces, postures, and attention spans as they study to be able to record observations of the students. I would like to know; do the students with the music appear on the outside while studying more focused and peaceful?

4. How do issues of reliability and validity apply?

The issues of reliability and validity would be taken care of because they would all take the same test, amount of time and be given 1 hour of studying time each day in school with or without music.

5. What are the ethical considerations at play here?

I don’t believe there are any ethical problems, the lo-fi beats type of music from my experience is very relaxing allowing the mind to be able to be stimulated in the process. There are very few lyrics involved and we can listen ahead of time to music to see if there are inappropriate lyrics that may arise.

I really wish I had chosen a psychological research field and epigenetics field as well. I think it would be interesting the findings or lack of in research. This will satisfy my study lust haha.