The biological origins of rituals: An interdisciplinary perspective

Tonna, Matteo; Marchesi, Carlo; Parmigiani, Stefano

doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.12.031

Cited by 35 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 137 publications

(213 reference statements)

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“…Thus, motherese ritualizes mother-infant interaction in a way that resembles animal rituals, described by ethologists and known for their stability. Motherese shares many patterns of encoding with animal communication [517]. Auditory, visual, and locomotive cues in parent-child interaction are coordinated based on instinctive impulses rather than learned conventions [518].…”

Section: Stage 3: Pitch-oriented Musicmentioning

confidence: 99%

The evolution of human music in light of increased prosocial behavior: a new model

Nikolsky¹,

Benítez‐Burraco²

2022

Preprint

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Together with language, music is perhaps our most distinctive behavioral trait. Following the lead of paleolinguistic research, different hypotheses have been proposed to explain why only humans perform music and how this ability might have evolved in the species. In this paper, we advance a new model of music evolution that builds on the theory of self-domestication, according to which the human phenotype is, at least in part, the outcome of a process similar to mammal domestication, triggered by a progressive reduction in reactive aggression levels in response to environmental changes. In the paper, we specifically argue that changes in aggression management through the course of human cultural evolution can account for the behaviors conducive to the emergence and evolution of music. We hypothesize 4 stages in the evolutionary development of music under the influence of environmental changes and evolution of social organization: starting from musilanguage, proto-music gave rise to personal and private forms of timbre-oriented music, then to small-group ensembles of pitch-oriented music, at first of indefinite and then definite pitch, and finally to collective (tonal) music. These stages parallel what has been hypothesized for languages and encompass the diversity of music types and genres described worldwide. Overall, music complexity emerges in a gradual fashion under the effects of enhanced abilities for cultural niche construction, resulting from the stable trend of reduction in reactive aggression towards the end of the Pleistocene, leading to the rise of hospitality codes, and succeeded by increase in proactive aggression from the beginning of the Holocene onward. This paper addresses numerous controversies in the literature on the evolution of music by providing a clear structural definition of music, identifying its structural features that distinguish it from oral language, and summarizing the typology of operational functions of music and formats of its transmission. The proposed framework of structural approach to music arms a researcher with means to identify and comparatively analyze different schemes of tonal organization of music, placing them in the context of human social and cultural evolution. Especially valuable contribution to the understanding of transition from animal communication to human music and language is the theory of so-called “personal song”, described and analyzed here from ethological, social, cultural, cognitive, and musicological perspectives. The emergence of personal song and its development into a social institution are interlinked with the evolution of kinship and placed into the timeline of cultural evolution, based on totality of ethnographic, archaeological, anthropological, genetic, and paleoclimatic data.

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Section: Stage 3: Pitch-oriented Musicmentioning

confidence: 99%

The evolution of human music in light of increased prosocial behavior: a new model

Nikolsky¹,

Benítez‐Burraco²

2022

Preprint

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“…The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI, Spielberger, 2007) is a questionnaire containing 40 items, divided in two parts, which allow the assessment of anxiety both as a transitory affective state and as a trait, representing the tendency to experience anxiety in general. The respondents have to choose from four answer variants, and a total score is calculated for the two sections, each with 20 items.…”

Section: Instrumentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This pandemic may transform the routine of washing hands in a compulsive ritual meant to decrease anxiety, without confronting the actual stressor. Routines have been mentioned to be transformed into rituals in order to deal with environmental unpredictability, especially in non-social contexts, when the person has trouble identifying the stressor, while non-verbal synchronization increases group cohesion (Tonna, Marchesi, & Parmigiani, 2019). "Private social meetings of individuals are small markets where individuals exchange the need to talk about self and the need to be listened with the others' need to be offered the same opportunity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anxiety and Aggression During Social Distancing Imposed by the Covid-19 Pandemic

Chiru¹,

Răban-Motounu²

2020

CTNS

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The relationship between anxiety and anger or aggressiveness is well known, and much is done at the level of each community and at a global level to prevent violence and other forms of aggression. The paper proposes an analysis of the manifestations of aggression, in conditions of heightened anxiety and physical social distance, imposed by legal measures during the COVID-19 pandemic, compared to the associations between the variables prior to the pandemic, while patterns of social relating remain as internal values and less conscious connection with others. Depriving the person from the social support, which buffers the effects of existential isolation, the lack of activity and stimulation, the information in the media, and interpersonal conflicts tend to maintain or increase anxiety. In a correlational study we have investigated the associations of anxiety, state or trait, with different manifestations of anger, and its interior or exterior control. Furthermore, a qualitative study addresses the personal reactions and actions people have used to face the challenge of physical distancing and that of a possible infection. The article comes with alternatives such as mobilization of personal resources, creative expression, activities purposefully enhancing well-being, but also the tendency to rely on quality relationships for satisfying the affective and belonging needs, and avoidance of superficial ones, suggesting that social isolation allows people to be more emotionally aware and to focus more on the quality relating with self or others.

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“…Ritual is a loose term used to describe series of actions that are repeated over time in rigid, stereotyped manner, and whose function and/or meaning goes beyond their immediate appearance. Repetitive behaviors mostly involve the cortical-striatal-thalamic network associated with habits formation (Graybiel, 2008 ), a pattern largely conserved across evolution, indicating its robust ecological function (Turbott, 1997 ; Tonna et al, 2019 ). In all species, collective rituals contribute to maintaining social norms, strengthen emotional bonding, and promote cooperation (Rossano, 2012 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vulnerability factors and neuropsychiatric disorders: What could be learned from individual variability in cognitive functions

Daprati

Nico

2022

Front. Psychol.

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The biological origins of rituals: An interdisciplinary perspective

Cited by 35 publications

References 137 publications

The evolution of human music in light of increased prosocial behavior: a new model

The evolution of human music in light of increased prosocial behavior: a new model

Anxiety and Aggression During Social Distancing Imposed by the Covid-19 Pandemic

Vulnerability factors and neuropsychiatric disorders: What could be learned from individual variability in cognitive functions

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