Description
Objectives: Music is practiced by almost all cultures across the world and is believed to foster group cooperation, but the mechanisms are unclear. This study aimed to explore whether positive mood rather than music per se promotes cooperation. In addition, music is often practiced together. Hence, the study also aimed to explore whether greater synchrony enhances cooperation.Design: The study followed a between-subjects design with half of the participants clapping along to happy, and the other half to neutral music with the experimenter. Afterwards, they participated in an economic trust game to measure cooperation.
Methods: Fifty-four participants (ages of three to six) firstly engaged in the music part of the study, which was recorded for later analyses. They then played a game, where pulling one rope resulted in a single sticker reward and pulling the other sent three stickers to the experimenter, who may or may not send them back to the participant. The choices of the child across six trials were recorded.
Results: Data analysis is ongoing, and we predict (i) happy music to result in more cooperative decisions in the trust game and (ii) greater synchrony of claps between child and experimenter to be positively correlated with more cooperative decisions.
Conclusions: This study will elucidate the underlying mechanisms that are responsible for the positive effect of music on cooperation levels. In addition, the findings could be used to foster cooperation and inclusion in nurseries and kindergartens.
| Period | 1 Apr 2023 |
|---|---|
| Event title | BPS Scottish Undergraduate Conference |
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | DundeeShow on map |