title: Lost in the Rhythm: Effects of Rhythm on Subsequent Interpersonal Coordination.
abstract: Music is a natural human expression present in all cultures, but the functions it serves are still debated. Previous research indicates that rhythm, an essential feature of music, can enhance coordination of movement and increase social bonding. However, the prolonged effects of rhythm have not yet been investigated. In this study, pairs of participants were exposed to one of three kinds of auditory stimuli (rhythmic, arrhythmic, or white-noise) and subsequently engaged in five trials of a joint-action task demanding interpersonal coordination. We show that when compared with the other two stimuli, exposure to the rhythmic beat reduced the practice effect in task performance. Analysis of the behavioral data suggests that this reduction results from more temporally coupled motor movements over successive trials and that shared exposure to rhythm facilitates interpersonal motor coupling, which in this context serves to impede the attainment of necessary dynamic coordination. We propose that rhythm has the potential to enhance interpersonal motor coupling, which might serve as a mechanism behind its facilitation of positive social attitudes.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for the Experimental Research of Religion, Masaryk University. martin.lang@uconn.edu.|Department of Anthropology, University of Connecticut. martin.lang@uconn.edu.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lang
authors.affiliation: Behavioural and Social Neuroscience Group, CEITEC, Masaryk University.
authors.forename: Daniel J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Shaw
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for the Experimental Research of Religion, Masaryk University.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Reddish
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for the Experimental Research of Religion, Masaryk University.|Interacting Minds Centre, Aarhus University.
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wallot
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for the Experimental Research of Religion, Masaryk University.|Interacting Minds Centre, Aarhus University.|Center for Advanced Hindsight, Social Science Research Institute, Duke University.|Interdisciplinary Centre for Organizational Architecture, Aarhus University.
authors.forename: Panagiotis
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mitkidis
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for the Experimental Research of Religion, Masaryk University.|Department of Anthropology, University of Connecticut.|Interacting Minds Centre, Aarhus University.
authors.forename: Dimitris
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Xygalatas
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000328:Adult; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena / Q000502:physiology; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D009146:Music; D010507:Periodicity; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Interpersonal coordination; Motor coupling; Rhythm; Social bonding