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The Mozart effect is one that has been around for a long time. Studies suggest that when a child under age 3 is subject to the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, their brain development is increased.Whether or not the stories and studies prove anything, the question remains: Does music have an effect on people?Psychology professor Jan Berkhout conducted several studies relating to the effects of music on people. One of her studies tested to see if music affected the way people drive. Berkhout said the main idea was to see if music made people drive more dangerously.While the subjects were in the driving simulator, Berkhout played unfamiliar loud rock music in order to see if the drivers would develop road rage or sloppy driving. “There is some evidence that rock music can do this,” Berkhout said.After playing the loud rock music, the drivers were allowed to bring their own music selections to play during the tests. While driving in the simulator, Berkhout blasted the familiar music at them. The familiar music didn’t have a bad response from the people behind the wheel. “If it was their own favorite music, their driving didn’t get at all sloppier, and they certainly didn’t exhibit road rage,” Berkhout said. “Subjects in such studies get enraged only when you blast them with music they don’t like.”Aside from just resulting in possible hard feelings, certain types of music can also help students in other ways.Freshman Bill Muller says he believes music has an effect on his mood and work ethic. When he has to sit down to do homework, he puts music on to make him work harder, he said. “I put music on to distract me from how much time I actually spend when I’m doing the work,” Muller said.Pre-physical therapy major sophomore Beth Guthmiller also said that she listens to music for activies like working out. When working out, she usually chooses something from the rap or hard rock genres, but has to slow the tempo down during other activities.