SOUZA, V. H. P. A contribution to study the influence of music on hyperactivity: the rock music Trilogy on the body movement of the hiperactive boy and the effiency of the observation data as the criteria for defining the parameters for the measurament of hiperactivity. Tese (Doutorado). São Paulo, 1995. Instituto de Psicologia da Universidade de São Paulo.

 

ABSTRACT

This research was designed to study the effect of the rock music Trilogy, by Malmsteen, upon hyperactive children's body movement. Teachers of three schools in São Paulo identified 17 restless boys and 32 others considered normal. They were all video-taped during a Non-Verbal Task performance. The following body movement dimensions were observed: quantity, alternation, rhythm and Task functionality; space occupation, posture, and nature of the movements. A neuropediatrician diagnosed the restless boys with hyperactivity.

Restless' body movement was measured in comparison to the 32 normal boys. This procedure contributed to the development of the CARELLI norm and the NOTA K considering the indexes of Movement, Alternation and Rhythm. Sixteen of these 32 subjects were part of the control group.

The scores of the 17 identified boys were contrasted to the 32 normal. Among the individuals, 11 (64.70%) placed between the indicator and the norm, forming the hyperactive group (10 subjects according to the indications of the teacher, the neuropediatrician and the norm).

The effect upon the hyperactive and control groups was studied Before, During and After the Music. The analysis of variance (MANOVA) revealed meaningful results (5%) between the groups in all the indexes and situations. It also legitimized the quantitative and qualitative indexes, and the CARELLI norm. The hyperactive boys showed less movement During the Music, extending to After. The descriptive functional movement analysis revealed that hyperactive subjects "looked at the notebook" and "wrote" more During the Music than Before.

Results indicated that the music benefited movement reduction in the classroom, focusing it on the Task. It is essential to search for procedures which systematize the phenomenon qualitatively and analyse the structure of the music used.

Keywords: behavior’s observation; music and hyperactivity; hyperactivity in the classroom; hyperactive behavior; hyperactivity measurement indexes.