Singing Promotes Cooperation in a Diverse Group of Children
Abstract
Abstract. Previous research involving preschool children and adults suggests that moving in synchrony with others can foster cooperation. Song provides a rich oscillatory framework that supports synchronous movement and may thus be considered a powerful agent of positive social relations. In the current study, we assessed this hypothesis in a group of primary-school aged children with diverse ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. Children participated in one of three activity conditions: group singing, group art, or competitive games. They were then asked to play a prisoner’s dilemma game as a measure of cooperation. Results showed that children who engaged in group singing were more cooperative than children who engaged in group art or competitive games.
References
1988). Children and prejudice. New York, NY: Blackwell.
(1988). The influence of group singing on trust and cooperation. Journal of Music Therapy, 25, 145–155. doi: 10.1093/jmt/25.3.145
(1981). The evolution of cooperation. Science, 211, 1390–1396.
(1988). Coordinated movement and rapport in teacher-student interactions. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 12, 120–138. doi: 10.1007/BF00986930
(1989). Selfishness examined: Cooperation in the absence of egoistic incentives. The Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 12, 683–699. doi: 10.1017/S0140525X00025292
(2014). Interpersonal synchrony increases prosocial behavior in infants. Developmental Science, 17, 1003–1011. doi: 10.1111/desc.12193
(2012). Rocking to the beat: Effects of music and partner’s movements on spontaneous interpersonal coordination. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 141, 49–53. doi: 10.1037/ a0023843
(2016). Morphometric differences of vocal tract articulators in different loudness conditions in singing. PLoS One, 11, e0153792. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0153792
(2009). It’s all in the timing: Interpersonal synchrony increases affiliation. Social Cognition, 27, 949–960. doi: 10.1521/soco.2009.27.6.949
(2001). Is music an evolutionary adaptation? Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 930, 43–61. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2001.tb05724.x
(2010). Joint music making promotes prosocial behavior in 4-year-old children. Evolution and Human Behavior, 31, 354–364. doi: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2010.04.004
(2011). Synchronized drumming enhances activity in the caudate and facilitates prosocial commitment – If the rhythm comes easily. PLoS One, 6, e27272. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0027272
(2009). Social connection through joint action and interpersonal coordination. Topics in Cognitive Science, 1, 320–339. doi: 10.1111/j.17568765.2009.01022.x
(1986). Preschoolers’ moral actions and emotions in prisoner’s dilemma. Developmental Psychology, 22, 663–670. doi: 10.1037/0012-1649.22.5.663
(1995). Keeping together in time: Dance and drill in human history. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
(2009). The rhythm of rapport: Interpersonal synchrony and social perception. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45, 585–589. doi: 10.1016/j.jesp.2009.02.002
(2011). Cardiac and respiratory patterns synchronize between persons during choir singing. PLoS One, 6, e24893. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0024893
(1999).
(Social identity and ethnic prejudice in children . In P. MartinW. NobleEds., Psychology and society (pp. 92–110). Brisbane: Australian Academic Press.1999). Children’s developmental understanding of ethnicity and race. Applied and Preventive Psychology, 7, 27–45. doi: 10.1016/S0962-1849(98)80020-6
(2007). Racial and ethnic identity: Developmental perspectives and research. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 54, 259–270. doi: 10.1037/0022-0167.54.3.259
(2015). Synchronous rhythmic interaction enhances children’s perceived similarity and closeness towards each other. PLoS One, 10, e0120878. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0120878
(1984). The search for a survival value of music. Music Perception: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 1, 350–356. doi: 10.2307/40285265
(2007). Facing the music. Psychological Science, 18, 756–757. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.01973.x
(2015). Rock with me: The role of movement synchrony in infants’ social and nonsocial choices. Child Development, 86, 976–984. doi: 10.1111/cdev.12354
(2011). Synchrony and the social tuning of compassion. Emotion, 11, 262–266. doi: 10.1037/a0021302
(2010). The rhythm of joint action: Synchrony promotes cooperative ability. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 46, 693–695. doi: 10.1016/j.jesp.2010.03.004
(2009). Synchrony and cooperation. Psychological Science, 20, 1–5. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02253.x
(