Tal-Chen is working in Cambridge towards a PhD. Her
research explores the social nature of musical group interaction in
children and the ways in which it can be directed towards the long-term
enhancement of emotional empathy. This work explores experimentally the
effects of musical group interaction on children’s every day capacity for
empathy, and in particular, the emotional impact of synchronization during
musical interaction. Her research suggests that music promotes empathy.
She
says her metaphor for empathy is like closing the distance between people
and merging while the opposite is distance and a wall. Sub Conferences:
Scienceand
Arts
This panel of guest artists
from the fields of dance, music, theater, and design, shared their
personal insights of how empathy plays a vital part in their
various art forms. The artists also outlined how they would make
empathy front and center in our culture through their art form.
(Video
Transcriptions: If you would like to take empathic action
and create a transcription of this video, check
the volunteers page. The transcriptions will make it easier for
other viewers to quickly see the content of this video.)
"Music can make us feel nostalgic, melancholy, or energized. It can make
us want to dance. And, a new study suggests, it can make us feel more
connected to other people, especially when we play music together. The
study, recently published online inPsychology
of Music, suggests that interacting with others through music makes
us more emotionally attuned to other people, even beyond the musical
setting."
2012-04-23 -
Why Would Making Music Together Increase Empathy More
Than Other Group Activities?
In sum, musical group interaction requires from its
interacting individuals a unique combination of social and emotional
capacities and skills that can potentially contribute to an enhanced
capacity for empathy.In
a recent study,
we have put these ideas to the test, running a musical group interaction
program during an entire school year.
Music education produces myriad benefits, strengthening
kids’ abilities in reading, math, and verbal intelligence. New British
research suggests it may also teach something less tangible, but
arguably just as important: The ability to empathize."
Papers and
presentations
From Shared Intentionality to Empathy in Children’s Musical Interaction
at the ‘New Perspectives on Joint Action
and Task Sharing’ young researcher’s workshop;
Max Plank Institute for
Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences Leipzig, Germany, 8-9 September,
2010.
Musical Group Interaction in Children Can Promote Empathy Through Shared
Cognitive Mechanisms
(oral presentation) at the 11th International Conference on Music
Perception and Cognition (ICMPC11);
University of Washington, Seattle, USA, 23-27 August, 2010.
...
