Name:Aksharaa Ray

School/Affiliation:McMaster University , McMaster University

Co-Authors:Daniel Cameron2, Laurel Trainor2

Virtual or In-person:In-person

Abstract:

Introduction:
Musical rhythms with a moderate amount of syncopation tend to elicit a greater urge to move than rhythms with low or high amounts of syncopation in adults. This study examines whether this movement bias is present in infants.

Methods:
We conducted two online experiments in which infants (n = 79; 6-18 months) were video recorded while watching a video of an experimenter drumming to the beat of low or moderately syncopated rhythms. In experiment 1, infants watched and listened and were free to move. In the second experiment, infants were also encouraged to drum, and the rhythms were repeated alongside a still image of the experimenter. Raters viewed silent videos of each trial and assessed infants’ movement, smiling, and focus. We used repeated measures ANOVAs to test whether ratings differed between syncopation level and the two experiments. Age, gender, parental musical expertise, and infants’ musical exposure were also examined as possible influences on movement biases for syncopation.

Results:
Infants moved more for moderate than low syncopation rhythms (p .05).

Implications
Infants’ movement bias for syncopation suggests that the motivational function of rhythmic complexity is a fundamental part of rhythm perception and precedes the ability to move in synchrony with rhythms.