Singing in Tune – Being in Tune: Relationship Between Maternal Playful Singing and Interpersonal Synchrony

Gabriela Markova, Trinh Nguyen, Christina Maria Schätz, Martina De Eccher

Publications: Contribution to journalArticlePeer Reviewed

Abstract

While interpersonal synchrony is regarded as a defining characteristic of early social exchanges between infants and their caregivers, the mechanisms facilitating synchronous interactions are poorly understood. The goal of the present study was to examine the relationship between maternal playful singing and interpersonal synchrony of the mother-infant dyad. Overall, 56 mothers and their 4-month-old infants were observed during natural interactions that were then micro-coded for maternal and infant social behaviours as well as maternal singing and rhyming in the context of social game routines. Results showed that 38 dyads spontaneously engaged in social game routines. In these dyads, both playful singing and rhyming were positively associated with dyadic gaze synchrony, while only playful singing was also positively correlated with affect synchrony of the dyad. These findings suggest that rhythms, in general, may have important implications for the establishment of interpersonal synchrony in infant-caregiver dyads. However, musical rhythms seem to be particularly emotionally-salient and thus attune both interactional partners to the affective content of their social exchanges.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)89-107
Number of pages19
JournalEnfance
Volume1
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 7 Apr 2020

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

  • 501005 Developmental psychology

Keywords

  • maternal singing
  • interpersonal synchrony
  • social game routines
  • early mother-infant interactions
  • Early mother-infant interactions
  • Interpersonal synchrony
  • Social game routines
  • Maternal singing

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