SAT OwlQuestion bank / Cross-Text Connections
Text 1: In a widely publicized 1993 study, college students who listened to ten minutes of a Mozart sonata performed better on a spatial reasoning task than students who sat in silence or listened to relaxation instructions. The finding inspired popular claims that listening to classical music could make people smarter.
Text 2: Later researchers pointed out that the improvement lasted only about fifteen minutes. They also found that it was not unique to Mozart: students who listened to an upbeat piece by another composer, or to a recorded story they enjoyed, showed similar gains. The researchers concluded that any experience that leaves people alert and in a good mood can briefly improve performance on such tasks.
Based on the texts, how would the researchers in Text 2 most likely respond to the popular claims described in Text 1?
They would argue that the claims mistake a brief effect of mood and alertness for evidence that a particular kind of music increases intelligence.
They would argue that the 1993 study found no improvement in spatial reasoning after students listened to Mozart.
They would suggest that the claims are correct but apply to all classical composers rather than to Mozart alone.
They would claim that listening to stories improves spatial reasoning more than listening to music does.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A
The popular claims say classical music makes people smarter. Text 2 shows the improvement was short-lived and also came from other upbeat music and enjoyable stories, so the cause is mood and alertness, not classical music in particular. Choice A states this response.
Choice C is tempting because other music also produced gains, but the gains were brief and also came from stories, so the researchers would not say classical music makes people smarter.
Why the other choices are wrong
- B. Text 2 accepts that an improvement occurred, noting only that it lasted about fifteen minutes and also followed other enjoyable experiences. The researchers dispute what caused the gain, not whether it happened.
- C. This option incorrectly assumes the researchers support the idea that music increases intelligence. Text 2 attributes the gains to mood and alertness, not the music itself.
- D. The texts state that stories and music produced similar gains. There is no evidence in the passage to suggest that stories improve reasoning more than music does.
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