Why did humans invent music? Charles Darwin believed music was created as a sexual come-on. His idea
Why did humans invent music? Charles Darwin believed music was created as a sexual come-on. His idea is given credence by the universally acclaimed song of the summer, “Blurred Lines." Other theorists believe music was an attempt at social glue, a way to bring early humans together into a close-knit community. Chris Loersch, a senior research associate in psychology and neuroscience at the University of Colorado, likes that idea, and he’s done research to try and prove it. He and Nathan Arbuckle, from the Department of Social Sciences and Humanities at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, designed a series of studies to bolster it. "This hypothesis centers on music’s unique ability to influence the mood and behavior of many people at once,” they write, “helping to mold individual beings into a coordinated group.” They cite the power of military music, music played at sports games, and “ritualized drumming” as examples. In a series of seven studies, the two looked at the “emotional reactions” to music of 879 individuals from U.S. universities and from abroad. They also asked the respondents how much they identify with an in-group. The subjects who said they were most affected by the music they heard had a “higher need to belong." Loersch, whom we interviewed about the research, is quick to admit that this is not definitive proof but does help bolster the theory that "music evolved in service of group living.” -- source link
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