Music's impact on social behavior: a comparative study between children and chimpanzees

One proposed function of music is social bonding, a mechanism that promotes social cohesion. A comparative approach across species offers a powerful means of testing this hypothesis, while allowing the identification of shared evolutionary and developmental mechanisms underlying social behavior. The present study employed a comparative design in which children (aged 32–48 months) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) were compared. Both were observed under Music and No-Music conditions using the same experimental design. African percussion-based rhythmic stimuli were played during the Music condition, while the No-Music condition served as a baseline. Music significantly increased cooperation and gestures in children. In chimpanzees, music was associated with a trend in social grooming—the primary affiliative behavior in this species— though this did not reach significance. Findings suggest that rhythmic music promotes social behavior in both humans and chimpanzees, supporting the view that music’s social bonding function may be grounded in shared evolutionary history.