Children infer the behavioral contexts of unfamiliar foreign songs.

ABSTRACT: Music commonly appears in behavioral contexts in which it can be seen as playing a functional role, as when a parent sings a lullaby with the goal of soothing a baby. Humans readily make inferences, based on the sounds they hear, regarding the behavioral contexts associated with music. These inferences tend to be accurate, even if the songs are in foreign languages or unfamiliar musical idioms; upon hearing a Blackfoot lullaby, a Korean listener with no experience of Blackfoot music, language, or broader culture is far more likely to judge the music's function as "used to soothe a baby" than "used for dancing". Are such inferences shaped by musical exposure or does the human mind naturally detect links between musical form and function of these kinds? Children's developing experience of mu

SUBMITTER: Hilton CB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10083193 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature