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Human Behavior Science Fair Project

Music Genres and Relaxation in Autism

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Music Genres and Relaxation in Autism | Science Fair Projects | STEM Projects
Can music help a person with autism stay calm longer? You play three types of music for three participants with autism. Each person hears classical one day and piano the next. Pop music is played on the third day. You time how long they remain relaxed during each 15-minute session. On a fourth day, you repeat the test in silence. All three participants stayed calm the longest during classical music. Without music, they stayed calm for less than a minute.

Hypothesis

The hypothesis is that autistic children will be more relaxed and calm when music is played in the background.

Method & Materials

You will test 3 autistic children with classical music, piano instrumental music, and pop songs. You will use a stopwatch to record the time the autistic child remains calm.
You will need 3 autistic children aged 10 to 12 years old, approval of their parents, 1 classical music CD, 1 piano instrumental music CD, 1 pop song CD, 1 CD player, and 1 stopwatch.

Results

The results showed that the autistic children were able to relax longer when music was played in the background. They were able to remain calm the longest when classical music was played.

Why do this project?

This science project is interesting because it explores the effects of music on autistic children, who are often unable to communicate verbally.

Also Consider

To improve the reliability and accuracy of the results, a larger sample of participants should be used. This science project may also be repeated, using different types of music like rock, jazz or country.

Full project details

Additional information and source material for this project are available below.

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