Markdown lines 1077–1264 · Part 4 of 6
Frequency-Following Response (FFR) and is a powerful form of brai-wnave entrainment (Edrington,
& Allen, 1985). The FFR can easily take a subject into Beta, Alpha, Theta, or Delta brain wave states
and help them maintain those states.
By using only audio stimulation for brain wave training, the financial access to the benefits of brain-
wave training is improved. Equipment is reduced to a simple tape and personal stereo tape player. In
the classroom, access is improved by use of open air speakers which prevents the subjects from
having to wear any equipment at all and thus does not interfere with the normal structure of a class
(Edrington, 1985). But are BBS’s as effective as other means of brain-wave training? In an
educational setting, if one did want to facilitate memory and learning, how effective would BBS’s be?
Existing research has shown that teachers who have used BBS’s in their classrooms have reported a
decrease in student distractibility and an increase in academic performance (Owens, 1984). A study
conducted with an introductory psychology class found significantly higher scores in the experimental
group on five out of six tests (Edrington 1983). A study conducted at a government training center
found an increase in scores by 30% for Morse code students (Waldkoetter, 1982a) and 75% on
mental-motor skills (Waldkoetter, 1982b) using BBS’s in addition to standard teaching procedures.
The US Army has also reported positive results in using BBS’s, in this case to improve acquisition of
a second language (Pawelek, & Larson). Such findings would seem to indicate that in these settings
the BBS’s are an effective and worthwhile intervention for improving a student’s educational level
functioning.
Variables in This Study
The Independent variable was the presence of BBS’s on the instrumental music tape the
experimental group listens to; and the absence of the BBS’s on the same instrumental music tape
heard by the control group.
Four dependent variables were used to obtain more data on the types of memory facilitated by BBS’s.
These dependent variables were tests administered to 50 undergraduate students of West Georgia
College. The students were randomly assigned with a double-blind methodology to the experimental
or control groups. Each student listened to a tape of music (Independent Variable) while being
administered a free recall word list test, a novel word recognition/recall test, and two subtests of the
WAIS-R (the digit symbol, and digit span). The four tests administered were the Dependent Variables
measuring an effect of the Independent Variable on memory.
For the purposes of this study, memory will be defined as “the ability to reproduce or recount
information that was experienced at an earlier time” (Domjan, M., & Burkhard, B., 1982, p. 308).
Operationally, memory will be defined by the subject’s ability to reproduce on each of four subtests
the information that was presented to them. The more information a subject is able to reproduce, the
higher the subject’s score on that test, and the more “memory” that will be considered to have been
recorded.
Based upon the existing research, I hypothesized that the experimental group would display a
statistically significant improvement in recall over the control group. I made this hypothesis on the
basis of the success of previous less rigorous studies on BBS’s and on the basis of the success of
other forms of beta brain-wave training in the facilitation of human memory and learning.
Purpose and Rationale of This Study
None of the previous research on BBS’s have provided adequate controls for other variables, which
might account for the improvement in performance on memory and learning tasks. Improvements in
memory have been demonstrated with proper controls with other forms of brain-wave training, but this
data is lacking for binaural-beat signals. This study is a step toward filling in that gap.
Were the observed results with binaural-beat signals in previous research the result of placebo
effects, a confounding variable or the binaural-beat signals? If the BBS’s do facilitate memory, do
they also facilitate an increased ability to attend as reported by Edrington?
This study is an attempt to demonstrate, in a repeatable manner, the facilitation of memory with the
use of BBS’s under conditions which attempt to control for confounding variables.
METHOD
Subjects
50 undergraduate students at West Georgia College participated in the study. Some, if not most of
the students participated for extra credit, or to meet a course requirement. Five graduate students
also participated in the study but the results of their tests were discarded to prevent skewing of the
results.
Design
A between-groups design, also known as an independent subject design was used in the study.
Subjects were randomly assigned with a double-blind methodology to experimental and control
groups. A .05 or less significance level was used to determine whether or not to accept the null
hypothesis (p>.05) or reject it (p<=.05) in favor of the research hypothesis.
The experimental group contained 27 subjects who were presented with a music tape bearing
binaural-beat audio signals while performing four different learning tasks.
The control group contained 23 subjects who performed the same four learning tasks as the
experimental group. The music tape that the control group listened to did not contain the BBSs but
was otherwise identical to the tape the experimental group was presented with.
Latin Squares
In order to counterbalance any effect of practice or fatigue, the order of the four learning tasks was
presented on a rotating basis known as “Latin Squares” (Puff, 1982). This was done to insure the
even distribution of any carryover effects from one learning task to another.
Subject five was returned to the test order presented for subject one, subject six the same as subject
two, ect.. Each group had its own supply of test packets. This was to maintain rotation of the learning
tasks within each group to ensure the even distribution across subjects of any carryover effects from
one task to another.
Apparatus The Independent Variable
The BBS’s used in the study for beta brain- wave training were provided by The Monroe Institute.
There were two tapes, an instrumental music tape for the control group, and the same tape with
BBS’s for the experimental group. The presence or absence of the binaural-beat audio signals was
the Independent Variable.
The tapes were presented via headphones and stereo tape player at a low volume. The researcher
maintained control over the tape volume to prevent any possible confounding of the results by varied
volume levels.
The Dependent Variables
The subjects were presented with four different learning tasks: word list recall (appendix B), German
vocabulary list recognition/recall (appendix C), and from the WAIS-R (1981) the Digit Span, and Digit
Symbol subtests. There are 25 items on both the word list recall, and the German language
vocabulary recognition/recall. The scores on the Digit Span and Digit Symbol subtests were scaled by
age in accordance with the procedures given in the WAIS-R manual. These four subtests were the
dependent variables in the study.
Procedure Informed Consent of Research Subjects
The experimenter presented each subject with a consent form in compliance with the West Georgia
Institutional Review Board procedure for research with human subjects. Each subject was instructed
to completely read the consent form, including the description of the experiment, before signing and
proceeding with their participation in the study.
It was explained to the subjects that the purpose of the experiment was to determine what effect, if
any, listening to these tapes at a low volume has on memory tasks. It was explained that the tapes do
not contain any subliminal messages, that there will be four separate memory tasks, and that the
whole process should take no more than 45 minutes.
The subjects were also informed that if they were interested in the results of the study or their
personal scores, those would be available to them after the completion of the study.
Each subject was instructed to ask the experimenter if they had any questions, and if not, to sign the
consent form if they were still interested in participating in the study.
Assignment of Subjects and Pre-Test Period
Each subject was then randomly assigned to the control or experimental group by a coin toss. The
tapes were labeled K1 and K2 for experimental and control group respectively. A result of heads
resulted in the subject being assigned to K1, and a result of tails in their being assigned to K2. At the
time of the collection of the data, neither the experimenter nor subject knew which tape was for the
experimental group, and which was for the control group.
Once the subject was assigned to a group, the appropriate tape was placed in the tape player, and
the subject was asked to listen to the tape for fifteen minutes. The fifteen minute period of listening to
the tape was to allow time for the entrainment of the brain waves of the subjects in the experimental
group.
While the subject was listening to the tape their name was placed on a list for their professor if they
were participating in the study for extra-credit. They were given a subject number which was placed
on the front of their test packet. Each test packet was also marked for the sex of the subject, position
in latin square rotation, and group.
Presentation of the Four Tests
At the end of the fifteen minutes of listening to the tape, each subject was instructed to continue
listening to the tape while being presented with each of the four subtests. Each subject was
presented with the learning tasks in as uniform a manner as possible.
The Word List Recall Test
For the word list recall subtest (appendix B), the subject was told, “I would like you to take two
minutes and look at the words I am about to give you. When I say “stop” please turn the sheet over. I
will provide you with a second sheet of paper on which I would like for you to reproduce as many of
the words as you can. After five minutes I will again say “stop,” at which time I would like for you to
stop working. If you have any questions I can repeat these instructions, would you like for me to do
that, or do you want to proceed?”
If needed the researcher repeated the instructions. When the subject indicated their understanding of
the directions the researcher stated, “Ok, let’s proceed.” The researcher then presented the subject
with the word list, and timed for three minutes. At the end of three minutes the researcher stated
“stop,” and replaced the word list with a blank piece of paper. At the end of five minutes the
researcher again stated “stop,” and collected the recalled list from the subject.
The German Vocabulary Recognition/Recall Test
For the German vocabulary recognition/recall list (appendix C), the subject was told “I would like you
to take three minutes and look at the words and definitions I am about to give you. When I say “stop”
please turn the sheet over. I will provide you with a second sheet of paper on which I would like for
you to fill as many definitions of the words as you can. After three minutes I will again say “stop,” at
which time I would like for you to stop working. If you have any questions I can repeat these
instructions. Would you like for me to do that, or do you want to proceed?” If requested to do so, the
researcher repeated the instructions.
When the subject indicated their understanding of the directions the researcher stated, “Ok, let’s
proceed.” The researcher then presented the subject with the German vocabulary recognition/recall
list and timed for three minutes. At the end of three minutes the researcher stated “stop” and placed a
list of the words without definitions in front of the subject while retrieving the original word and