Mozart Effect

In a 1993 study, researchers Raushecher, shaw, and Ky found that college students who listened to about 10 minutes of a Mozart piano sonata showed a significant improvement on spatial reasoning task compared with a group of student who listened to a relaxation tape. This phenomenon was dubbed the "Mozart Effect." Our book describes the Mozart Effect as, " The supposed enhancement in intelligence after listening to classical music" (Lilienfeld 377).
Although the popular media ran wild with this theory, including marketing scores of CDs targeted toward babies, these findings have yet to be replicated. Those who found similar effects only saw very low magnitudes and durations only lasting an hour or less.
An explanation for such an effect could be that listening to such music elicits greater emotional arousal. Another study done found that subjects who watched a scary movie before memorization found similar effects to those who listened to classical music. Perhaps anything that boosts emotional arousal can increase spatial memory and long-term memory.
From now on when i try to block out my roommates nonsense while studying, i will switch from a white noise generator, to perhaps some classy classical!