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Vocal interaction during rhythmic joint action stabilizes interpersonal coordination and individual movement timing
Kohei Miyata1, Manuel Varlet2, Akito Miura3
1Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.
Journal of Experimental Psychology. General
|August 14, 2020
Summary
Singing together improves coordination and individual motor timing. Vocal interaction enhances rhythmic synchronization and task performance, while visual contact can disrupt individual timing.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Social Neuroscience
- Human Motor Control
Background:
- Work songs are common globally, suggesting benefits for joint action and individual performance.
- Rhythmic vocal interaction may enhance coordination and motor timing in collaborative tasks.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how interpersonal rhythmic vocal interaction affects interpersonal coordination and individual motor timing.
- To examine the influence of visual contact on these interactive and individual performance aspects.
Main Methods:
- Participants performed a synchronization-continuation task involving whole-body movement.
- Vocal interaction was manipulated (singing 'tah' vs. silence).
- Visual interaction was manipulated (facing partner vs. facing away).
Main Results:
- Spontaneous interpersonal coordination (phase relations near 0° and less variable) occurred with both visual and vocal interaction.
- Visual interaction increased motor timing variability during synchronization but not continuation.
- Vocal interaction decreased motor timing variability during both synchronization and continuation.
Conclusions:
- Vocal interaction improves individual motor timing performance.
- Visual interaction can degrade individual motor timing.
- Auditory communication may compensate for destabilizing effects of visual contact in naturalistic settings.
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