The ice-breaker effect: Singing mediates fast social bonding

It has been proposed that singing evolved to facilitate social cohesion. However, it remains unclear whether bonding arises out of properties intrinsic to singing or whether any social engagement can have a similar effect. Furthermore, previous research has used one-off singing sessions without exploring the emergence of social bonding over time. In this semi-naturalistic study, we followed newly formed singing and non-singing (crafts or creative writing) adult education classes over seven months. Participants rated their closeness to their group and their affect, and were given a proxy measure of endorphin release, before and after their class, at three timepoints (months 1, 3 and 7). We show that although singers and non-singers felt equally connected by timepoint 3, singers experienced much faster bonding: singers demonstrated a significantly greater increase in closeness at timepoint 1, but the more gradual increase shown by non-singers caught up over time. This represents the first evidence for an ‘ice-breaker effect’ of singing in promoting fast cohesion between unfamiliar individuals, which bypasses the need for personal knowledge of group members gained through prolonged interaction. We argue that singing may have evolved to quickly bond large human groups of relative strangers, potentially through encouraging willingness to coordinate by enhancing positive affect

The perceived effects of singing on the health and wellbeing of wives and partners of members of the British Armed Forces: a cross-sectional survey

Objectives A survey to explore the extent to which a choir programme associated with the British Armed Forces provides benefits of wives and partners and families of military personnel. Study design A cross-sectional survey. Method Online self-completion questionnaires to survey 464 choir members and 173 committee members who were also participants in the choirs. Results Large majorities of participants report personal and social benefits from their engagement in choirs, as well as benefits for their health and wellbeing. Challenges facing choirs were also identified associated with performance demands and inter-personal relationships within choirs. Conclusions Group singing generates a range of personal, social and health benefits for wives and partners of armed services personnel. The study reveals some challenges arising in all female choirs in military settings and suggests potential areas for further research

Hyperbrain features of team mental models within a juggling paradigm: a proof of concept

Background Research on cooperative behavior and the social brain exists, but little research has focused on real-time motor cooperative behavior and its neural correlates. In this proof of concept study, we explored the conceptual notion of shared and complementary mental models through EEG mapping of two brains performing a real-world interactive motor task of increasing difficulty. We used the recently introduced participative “juggling paradigm,” and collected neuro-physiological and psycho-social data. We were interested in analyzing the between-brains coupling during a dyadic juggling task, and in exploring the relationship between the motor task execution, the jugglers’skill level and the task difficulty. We also investigated how this relationship could be mirrored in the coupled functional organization of the interacting brains. Methods To capture the neural schemas underlying the notion of shared and complementary mental models, we examined the functional connectivity patterns and hyperbrain features of a juggling dyad involved in cooperative motor tasks of increasing difficulty. Jugglers’ cortical activity was measured using two synchronized 32-channel EEG systems during dyadic juggling performed with 3, 4, 5 and 6 balls. Individual and hyperbrain functional connections were quantified through coherence maps calculated across all electrode pairs in the theta and alpha bands (4–8 and 8–12 Hz). Graph metrics were used to typify the global topology and efficiency of the functional networks for the four difficulty levels in the theta and alpha bands. Results Results indicated that, as task difficulty increased, the cortical functional organization of the more skilled juggler became progressively more segregated in both frequency bands, with a small-world organization in the theta band during easier tasks, indicative of a flow-like state in line with the neural efficiency hypothesis. Conversely, more integrated functional patterns were observed for the less skilled juggler in both frequency bands, possibly related to cognitive overload due to the difficulty of the task at hand (reinvestment hypothesis). At the hyperbrain level, a segregated functional organization involving areas of the visuo-attentional networks of both jugglers was observed in both frequency bands and for the easier task only. Discussion These results suggest that cooperative juggling is supported by integrated activity of specialized cortical areas from both brains only during easier tasks, whereas it relies on individual skills, mirrored in uncorrelated individual brain activations, during more difficult tasks. These findings suggest that task difficulty and jugglers’ personal skills may influence the features of the hyperbrain network in its shared/integrative and complementary/segregative tendencies

Exploring the potential of virtual reality technology to investigate the health and well being benefits of group singing

There is a growing body of academic research aiming to quantify and understand the associated health and well being benefits of group singing. The social interaction is known to strongly contribute to perceived improvements to mental and physical health but there are also indications that singing together elicits better well being outcomes that other community activities. This paper introduces the Vocal Interaction in an Immersive Virtual Acoustic (VIIVA) system, which allows the user to take part in a group singing activity in 360 degree virtual reality, hearing themselves in the recorded venue alongside the other singers. The VIIVA is intended to make group singing accessible to those unable to attend real community choirs but also as a tool for experimental research into the health and well being benefits of group singing. This paper describes the system and presents a number of methodologies and applications which are discussed in relation to three ongoing research projects. Preliminary work indicates that the VIIVA system and the devised setups provide a promising tool with which to study the health and well being benefits of group singing, and in particular to control for the social interactions inherent in real group singing activities

The calming effect of a new wearable device during the anticipation of public speech

We assessed the calming effect of doppel, a wearable device that delivers heartbeat-like tactile stimulation on the wrist. We tested whether the use of doppel would have a calming effect on physiological arousal and subjective reports of state anxiety during the anticipation of public speech, a validated experimental task that is known to induce anxiety. Two groups of participants were tested in a single-blind design. Both groups wore the device on their wrist during the anticipation of public speech, and were given the cover story that the device was measuring blood pressure. For only one group, the device was turned on and delivered a slow heartbeat-like vibration. Participants in the doppel active condition displayed lower increases in skin conductance responses relative to baseline and reported lower anxiety levels compared to the control group. Therefore, the presence, as opposed to its absence, of a slow rhythm, which in the present study was instantiated as an auxiliary slow heartbeat delivered through doppel, had a significant calming effect on physiological arousal and subjective experience during a socially stressful situation. This finding is discussed in relation to past research on responses and entrainment to rhythms, and their effects on arousal and mood

13 Ghosts : En filmanalys av 13 Ghosts (1960) och Thir13en Ghosts (2001)

Syftet och frågeställningarna med uppsatsen är att fastsälla vilka de betydelsebärande skillnaderna är i filmerna 13 Ghosts (1960) och Thir13en Ghosts (2001) gällande hur kvinnor framställs i aspekterna våld, scener med övernaturligt innehåll samt sexualitet. Syftet är även att ta reda på hur övernaturlighet och våldsscener skiljer sig från varandra mellan filmerna utan att väga in ett genusperspektiv, samt vad det finns för stora skillnader i hur kvinnor framställs i förhållande till männen med betoning på remaken.Teorier hämtas från Karen Boyle och Göran Bolins teorier om våld i film och feministisk filmteoretisk forskning med namn som Marianne Kleberg, Elisabeth Cowie, Laura Mulvey och Shohini Chaudhuri, där sexualitet och objektifiering av kvinnokroppen står i centrum. Vidare behandlas teorier av Emely D. Edwards, Carrol F. Fry, Marina Warner samt Tom Ruffles angående populärkultur och andlighet.Metoden som används i denna studie är en semiotisk analys, där Roland Barthes beteckningar denotation, konnotation och myt agerat grundpelare.Resultat påvisar att filmerna skiljer sig till stor del inom alla aspekter och att kvinnor i remaken oftare är mer stereotypa i sina framställningar. Analysen visar att kvinnors roll i scener med våld tenderar att sexualiseras, ofta har de inte samma mål med sina ockulta praktiker som männen samt att det har skett en stor ökning i nyinspelningen vad gäller objektifiering och sexuella anspelningar på kvinnokroppen. Det har även skett en stor ökning av scener med våldsinnehåll och det är dessutom ett brutalare sådant, samt att det övernaturliga ges betydligt mycket mer utrymme i remaken.Det kan i slutsatsen konstateras att filmer idag innehåller mer av allt inom de aspekter som jag hade för avsikt att undersöka i den här studien, och att detta i sin tur kan relateras till en något mer avtrubbad publik idag som möjligtvis kräver att filmer ska vara mer övertydliga i sin framtoning