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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 29, 2026

fMRI Mapping of Brain Activity Associated with the Vocal Production of Consonant and Dissonant Intervals

fMRI Mapping of Brain Activity Associated with the Vocal Production of Consonant and Dissonant Intervals

Published on: May 23, 2017

Chicks like consonant music.

Cinzia Chiandetti¹, Giorgio Vallortigara

¹Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy. cinzia.chiandetti@unitn.it

Psychological Science

|September 22, 2011

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Newborn chicks prefer consonant sounds over dissonant ones, suggesting a biological basis for music preference. This innate preference may stem from the natural acoustic properties of biological sounds.

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Area of Science:

Auditory perception
Bioacoustics
Comparative psychology

Background:

The origin of music preference, specifically for consonance over dissonance, remains debated.
While human infants show early preferences, the role of enculturation versus innate biological predispositions is unclear.
Controlled animal studies offer a method to differentiate learned behaviors from inherent predispositions.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the innate preference for consonant versus dissonant sound intervals in a non-human animal model.
To explore the potential biological underpinnings of auditory preferences, independent of complex cultural influences.

Main Methods:

Utilized a controlled-rearing approach with newly hatched domestic chicks.
Assessed spontaneous behavioral preferences using a visual imprinting paradigm.
Associated visual stimuli with either consonant or dissonant sound intervals.

Main Results:

Chicks demonstrated a significant spontaneous preference for a visual object linked with consonant sound intervals.
This preference was observed in newly hatched chicks, indicating a lack of prior extensive auditory learning.
The findings suggest an innate predisposition towards harmonic relationships in sound.

Conclusions:

The study provides evidence for a biological basis of consonance preference, observable early in development.
Harmonic relationships in sound may be favored due to their prevalence in biologically relevant sounds.
This research contributes to understanding the evolutionary roots of auditory perception and aesthetic preferences.