Isabella Liu 1007476152 PSY 210 Assignment Topic 1: Interpersonal synchrony increases prosocial behavior in infants. In the two news articles, we see the general idea that interpersonal synchrony in music can have influence on the prosocial behavior of infants. The CTV News article tested 68 children by bouncing them in accord with music. They then found that the babies who were bounced were 20% more likely to help pick up a fallen object than those who were bounced offbeat. The study simply ended here and did not go much further into analysis or explanations. It was accurate to a certain extent, but the sample size is not large, and the scope is narrow to a small situation which cannot be expanded to other contexts. The other article conducted at McMaster University coming from Psychology Today goes more in depth and presents the study in a more descriptive manner. After performing the experiment, they concluded that babies bounced in a synchronous way were more likely to be altruistic than those who were bounced asynchronously. If we contrast the two articles, we find that the Psychology Today article is a more complete version of the previous article. I say this because after reaching a conclusion of the effect of baby-bouncing, it goes further into the aspects of emotional and social effects. In other words, it unravels the details beneath the iceberg better than the other article did. It extents the study to every day life instances, such as dancing together, or walking down the street in step with a friend, or being with your marching members. We can appreciate it more because of its applications. Furthermore, it ends of with tips for parenting, and recommends the magic of music and movement during infant growth. What is not omitted in this article offers a contrast. While the Psychology Today article was more appropriately nuanced, the CTV article may be more appealing to a general audience. It is simple, to the point, the pulls out facts to support its Isabella Liu 1007476152 validity. If someone were rushing to their bus stop and just wanted to read and find out whether musical movements can affect their child’s altruistic behavior, then I would suggest that reading the CTV news article is more appropriate. It is also a lost shorter to skim over, and may be more suitable for people who are in a rush, have little time to spare, or are simply mildly curious about the subject. This sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Most people are falling into that category nowadays. Few truly want to delve deeper and analyze the psychological depths of the phenomenon, which includes emotions and social behaviors. Scratching the surface should suffice for them, and once the facts are met, they are satisfied. So if you’re easily satisfied, then go and read the CTV news article. Much time is to be saved. Moving into the journal article, we can see that the same trial is carried out where the babies are bounced either synchronously or asynchronously to music. Afterwards, they are tested by seeing how they will react to a dropping object. It is found that most babies who have experienced bouncing to synchronous music will in fact be more geared to help pick up the object. How can we extend this study from infancy to adulthood? And what are the causes of this phenomenon? Obviously, we can already see the correlation between synchronous bouncing and altruism in infants. But what about adults? Do we still experience similar phenomena later on in life? I am not here to conduct my own research studies, but I will make some hypotheses. In one of the articles, we have already seen that corporate activities such as dancing and walking together can nurture altruism in human beings. Actually, the article did not link these activities as having direct correlations with altruism in adults; they simply stated that a sense of “camaraderie” was formed. What does this mean? If I were to connect the dots, I would start with this motor and psychological phenomenon of being in sync with something or someone. Isabella Liu 1007476152 This seems to trigger an effect on us emotionally, which then motivates us to become more kind and helpful human beings. How do we make sense of this? For example, let’s say Sally joins the swim team and enjoys being in sync with her team mates. This allows her to have camaraderie and boosts her emotional confidence. When her friend asks her for advice over a life crisis later that night, she is more capable and willing to help her out. There is some sort of correlation between the sync, the emotions, and the altruism. I would argue that this can happen both individually and corporately. For Sally, it was a social aspect, but let’s say Bobby was listening to music that same night and danced in sync to the beats. He then gained a lot of emotional boosting, and when his mom asked him to do the dishes later on that night, he gladly agreed to do it. Isn’t it the same phenomenon? Thus, what is most nebulous and mysterious to me at this point is the phenomenon of the sync. Why and how does synchrony trigger all these effects? It seems that synchrony leads to emotional health and then to altruism both on an individual and corporate level. It is almost as if there is a rhythm of harmony in this universe that our spirit is searching to keep in step with. But bringing it all back down to earth, what are we talking about? It seems to me that synchrony has to do with our enjoyment of something. If something is in sync, we are more likely to enjoy it. Music is a key example, and so is dancing and walking. Imagine a song that is out of beat, and a dance that just doesn’t fit the song. The more in sync something is, the more likely it will lead to emotional boosts, camaraderie, and eventually, altruism. Isabella Liu 1007476152 References Journal article: Cirelli, L. K., Einarson, K. M., & Trainor, L. J. (2014). Interpersonal synchrony increases prosocial behavior in infants. Developmental Science, 17(6), 1003–1011. doi:10.1111/desc.12193 CTV News: https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/dancing-in-sync-with-others-may-help-babies-bemore-helpful-mcmaster-study-1.1891065 Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/your-musical-self/201407/canmoving-together-rhythmically-combat-toddler-selfishness
