Rhythm in dyadic interactions

Abstract

This review paper discusses rhythmic interactions and distinguishes them from non-rhythmic interactions. We report on communicative behaviours in social and sexual contexts, as found in dyads of humans, non-human primates, non-primate mammals, birds, anurans and insects. We discuss observed instances of rhythm in dyadic interactions, identify knowledge gaps and propose suggestions for future research. We find that most studies on rhythmicity in interactive signals mainly focus on one modality (acoustic or visual) and we suggest more work should be performed on multimodal signals. Although the social functions of interactive rhythms have been fairly well described, developmental research on rhythms used to regulate social interactions is still lacking. Future work should also focus on identifying the exact timing mechanisms involved. Rhythmic signalling behaviours are widespread and critical in regulating social interactions across taxa, but many questions remain unexplored. A multidisciplinary, comparative cross-species approach may help provide answers. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Synchrony and rhythm interaction: from the brain to behavioural ecology’.

Rhythmic abilities in humans and non-human animals: a review and recommendations from a methodological perspective

“…The SMS-like behaviour observed in insects and frogs is reminiscent of SMS in humans, primates and birds, with the calls of other individuals serving as the pacing signal for the synchronizing animal. However, it must be noted that this behaviour typically occurs within the context of natural or simulated signal exchanges, and may, therefore, be more comparable with studies of interpersonal synchronization in humans, as discussed elsewhere (see [131], this volume).…”

Species relationships in the extremes and their influence on community stability

“…For instance, one paper in this special issue develops newly detailed frequency-specific descriptions of a kind of synchrony, and then uses them to make new inferences about musical and rhythmic behaviour in humans [37]. The examples of [38] on the interactive vocalizations of primates are also enhanced by a frequency-specific perspective: fig. 1C of [38] shows coordination of not only the timings but also the pitches of the calls of a pair of indris, a feature which would not be revealed without the additional statistical detail provided by the frequency-specific techniques of that paper (spectrograms).…”

“…The examples of [38] on the interactive vocalizations of primates are also enhanced by a frequency-specific perspective: fig. 1C of [38] shows coordination of not only the timings but also the pitches of the calls of a pair of indris, a feature which would not be revealed without the additional statistical detail provided by the frequency-specific techniques of that paper (spectrograms). Sheppard, Zhao and colleagues [26,39,40] developed detailed frequency-specific measures of synchrony in population ecology which provided major inferential benefits.…”

A systematic review and Bayesian meta‐analysis of the development of turn taking in adult–child vocal interactions

“…Other studies have identified vocal turn‐taking in meerkats (Demartsev et al, 2018) and some primate species (e.g., Lepilemur edwardsi , Méndez‐Cárdenas & Zimmermann, 2009). These findings have been used to suggest that turn‐taking is one of the basic foundations of social communication across a variety of different species (de Reus et al, 2021).…”