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    Infant Spontaneous Motor Tempo

    Rocha, Sinead - Elouise and Southgate, Victoria and Mareschal, Denis (2021) Infant Spontaneous Motor Tempo. Developmental Science 24 (2), e13032. ISSN 1363-755x.

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    Abstract

    Spontaneous Motor Tempo (SMT) is influenced by individual differences in age and body size. We present the first data documenting the SMT of infants from five- to 37-months-of-age using a simple drumming task. As in late childhood and adulthood, we predicted that infant SMT would slow across the first years of life. However, we find that older infants drum more quickly than younger infants. Further, studies of adults suggest larger bodies prefer slower rhythms. This relationship may be the product of biomechanical resonance, or, effects may be driven by rhythmic experience, such as of locomotion. We used infants, whose body size is dissociated from their predominant experience of locomotion as their parent often carries them, to test this argument. We reveal that infant SMT is predicted by parent, but not own, body size, supporting a passive experience-based argument, and propose that early rhythm may be set by repetitive vestibular stimulation when carried by the caregiver.

    Metadata

    Item Type: Article
    Additional Information: This is the peer reviewed version of the article, which has been published in final form at the link above. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.
    Keyword(s) / Subject(s): Rhythm, Spontaneous Motor Tempo, Infant Development, Vestibular, Body Size, Locomotion
    School: Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science > School of Psychological Sciences
    Depositing User: Administrator
    Date Deposited: 01 Sep 2020 15:41
    Last Modified: 02 Aug 2023 18:04
    URI: https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/40702

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