BY WILLIAM MCDONUGH, STAFF WRITER
A senior capstone psychology study based around meditation and music is being performed on campus and is seeking Bonaventure students for research. Conducted by Nathaniel McClure, Savannah Damon, Grant Davis and Dr. Althea Kaminske, the study is intended to “Assess the effects that music and mindfulness meditation have on attention and memory.”
“The study was approved through the International Review Board. However, there was a problem with the title of the application to the IRB, the study was set almost a month behind,” said McClure, a senior biochemistry major and key researcher of the study.
This study will have students meditate for 25 minutes a week for three weeks and check in with the researcher twice per week, according to the survey description. Some students will be given music playlists to go alongside the meditation and every participant will participate in a memory check after the three week period is over.
“Benefits of this study allow for students to potentially understand the effects that music and mindfulness meditation may have on their own attention and memory skills,” reads the study description. “In addition, it will also reinforce the field of psychology about how music and mindfulness meditation affect attention and memory.”
John Ancillotti, a junior journalism major, said he didn’t believe that the concept behind the experiment was original.
“I feel like that’s why music was invented, or why they kept going with it when it was discovered,” said Ancillotti. “In a world where music is an almost six-billion dollar industry, the effects of music on humans is bound to be studied in depth.”
Students interested in participating in the survey can contact McClure at mcclurn18@bonaventure.edu, Damon at damonsn20@bonaventure.edu, Davis at davisgt18@bonaventure.edu or Kaminske at (716) 375-2505 or akaminsk@sbu.edu.
mcdonowo19@bonaventure.edu
