Edited by: Catherine (Kate) J. Stevens, University of Western Sydney, Australia
Reviewed by: Cosimo Urgesi, University of Udine, Italy; Alessio Avenanti, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, Italy
*Correspondence: Corinne Jola, Division of Psychology, University of Abertay Dundee, Bell Street, DD1 1HG Dundee, UK e-mail:
This article was submitted to the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.
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Music is an integral part of dance. Over the last 10 years, however, dance stimuli (without music) have been repeatedly used to study action observation processes, increasing our understanding of the influence of observer’s physical abilities on action perception. Moreover, beyond trained skills and empathy traits, very little has been investigated on how other observer or spectators’ properties modulate action observation and action preference. Since strong correlations have been shown between music and personality traits, here we aim to investigate how personality traits shape the appreciation of dance when this is presented with three different music/sounds. Therefore, we investigated the relationship between personality traits and the subjective esthetic experience of 52 spectators watching a 24 min lasting contemporary dance performance projected on a big screen containing three movement phrases performed to three different sound scores: classical music (i.e., Bach), an electronic sound-score, and a section without music but where the breathing of the performers was audible. We found that first, spectators rated the experience of watching dance without music significantly different from with music. Second, we found that the higher spectators scored on the Big Five personality factor openness, the more they liked the no-music section. Third, spectators’ physical experience with dance was not linked to their appreciation but was significantly related to high average extravert scores. For the first time, we showed that spectators’ reported entrainment to watching dance movements without music is strongly related to their personality and thus may need to be considered when using dance as a means to investigate action observation processes and esthetic preferences.
Dance is a multisensory performative art form that combines a number of elements, so-called strands. While the core strand of dance is movement, music is a fundamental companion. In fact, the genre of music defines the choreographic style (Jordan,
Research on the effect of music on movement in general, suggests that the coupling of music and movement is a “natural” process, which enhances the perception of emotion (e.g., Sievers et al.,
Studies investigating movement observation in general and dance perception in particular (without music), have followed an ideomotor approach, whereby observers perceive and simulate others’ actions based on their own action repertoire (see Knoblich and Sebanz,
Factors that point towards underlying entrainment contingency in dance spectators were described in regards to the appreciation of dance. These are embodied verticality of dance stimuli (Calvo-Merino et al.,
While some dance studies in neuroscience integrated a musical component (Brown et al.,
Music in itself has repeatedly been shown to affect listeners’ emotional and neural responses (for a thorough review see Juslin and Sloboda,
Meanwhile, effects of individuals’ personality dispositions on action observation processes and/or action understanding have predominantly focused on empathic ability. Strong evidence in support of a positive correlation between empathic abilities and enhanced internal sensorimotor resonance as part of the mirror neuron system ranges from visual observation of simple finger actions (Lepage et al.,
We set out to explore the effects of spectators’ personality on their appreciation of specific combinations of music and movement. While the movement sequence was identical across conditions, the accompanied music was according to Rentfrow et al. (
We collected responses in three separate experimental groups with psychology staff and students either from the University of Glasgow or the Open University. We did not have any restrictions on participation and grouped participants according to their dancing experience
Neither the number of males nor females differed significantly across the three presentation groups: Chi-square, df(2) = 2.324,
The majority of the participants (72.9%) had a University degree (MA or PhD), 20.8% had a postgraduate degree or further education and for only 6.25% the most recent education was secondary school (education information was missing for four subjects). While few participants had some physical or visual experience in dance (see below), none of them were professional dancers.
Of all participants, two did not hand back the personality questionnaire and one participant did not provide information on visual experience. We thus had a remaining 49 participants. Of these, 25 participants had some physical experience in a variety of recreational dance styles and 24 indicated to have never taken any dance classes. In both of these groups, 10 participants had no previous experience in watching dance performances. We thus have a between-subjects factor “experience” with four groups: Physical and visual experience (
Participants were asked to watch the dance piece “Double Points: 3×”, choreographed a dance piece by Rosie Kay, on a big screen. The piece was performed by the choreographer and a male dancer, Morgan Cloud and was a modification of an earlier version created in cooperation with the researchers of the Watching Dance Project
Double Points: 3× consists of an identical movement phrase repeated three times to different soundscapes danced between a short prelude and an epilog. The soundscapes that accompanied the movement phrases were Bach’s “Concerto for Oboe and Violin in C Minor, Allegro (condition “classical”), breathing (condition “no-music”, where no sound other than produced by the performers was audible), and an electronic sound-score composed by Ian Wallman (condition “electro”). The dance performance can be viewed in full length on http://paco.psy.gla.ac.uk/watchingdance. As can be seen in the video, the recording of the performance was a stable front recording capturing the whole stage with a Sony XDCAM PMW-EX1 in NTSC High Quality format of 1280 × 720 with 59.94 progressive frames per second. This setting was chosen to capture quick movements in best quality and the stable front recording allows the spectator to select their object of attention as in a life performance.
The digital recording of the live performance was then edited in order to balance the succession of the sound conditions across three spectator groups. The editing was possible without noticeable disruption, since the start and end body positions of a section were identical. The length of each section lasted 6 min and due to its length and complexity, spectators did not immediately recognize that the same movement phrase was repeated three times within the full performance.
All participants watched the video recording of the performance collectively as part of one of three groups in a dedicated darkened auditorium, projected on a screen of at least 177 × 175 cm, from a distance of at least 3 meters. After the screening of the full performance, participants were handed out a questionnaire including items on personal preferences, demographics, and motivations to watch dance. Participants scored how much they liked watching the performance on a 5 point Likert scale ranging from 1 for “strongly dislike”, to 2 for “dislike”, to 3 for “neither like nor dislike”, to 4 for “like”, and to 5 “strongly like” as a whole, as well as how much they liked watching the individual movement parts, i.e., the movement phrase performed to classical music, without music, and to an electronic sound-score. For each question, participants were asked to describe their experience in a few words.
Spectators’ personality characteristics were measured by means of the “NEO-FFI”, a questionnaire that assesses the “Big Five” personality dimensions, which have been found to be measurable and reliable (e.g., McCrae and Costa,
The five “core” dimensions of the NEO-FFI are
The NEO-FFI was handed out together with the other questionnaires after audiences watched the full performance on screen. The questions were answered on a 5-point Likert scale from strongly disagree (0) to strongly agree (4). The reliability (cronbach’s alpha) of the Big Five factors each consisting of 12 items in our tested sample (
Since Likert scale data are essentially ordinal, we first inspected the liking ratings in regards to the frequency distribution of the individual scales. According to a recent critical review by Norman (
We further tested for statistically significant correlations between the three combinations personality factors, ability, and liking ratings. In order to compare the relative appreciation of the three sound conditions Bach, electro, and no-music all spectators, we based our correlation analyses on the liking ratings of the three different sound conditions (classical, no-music, electro) on within-subjects standardized scores. We thus calculated individual subjects’ liking scores based on their mean and standard deviations, i.e.,
Only three subjects rated all sound conditions equally; hence, they received a score of zero for all three conditions. Since participants’ ipsatisation scores deviated significantly from a normal distribution for all conditions (df(49) = 0.85,
The average liking rating for the performance as a whole across all participants was 3.43 (±1.00 SD) on a scale from 1 (strongly dislike) to 5 (strongly like). On average, the dance movements performed to classical music received with 3.69 (±0.98 SD) the highest rating. The no-music condition was rated lowest with 2.67 (±1.30 SD), whereas the electro was rated 3.33 (±1.13 SD). It is important to note that whilst the no-music condition was indeed rated to be liked the least on average, the distribution of the ratings was large (Figure
As can be seen in Figure
Bonferroni corrected paired samples
Repeated measures ANCOVA for the grouping factor sound (classic, no-music, electro) on the ranked dependent variables liking and the personality traits covariances (Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness) showed a significant main effect for the factor sound,
Non-parametric analysis on the link between experience and personality showed that only the personality factor Extraversion is significantly related to experience, Chi-Square, df(3) = 15.05,
We investigated the effect of three types of audio stimulation on spectators’ entrainment with dance movements presented within a continuous dance performance. The effect was studied in consideration of spectators’ personality (i.e., in form of the Big Five personality traits) and their ability (i.e., in form of visual and/or physical dance experience). Spectators were asked to rate on a 5-point Likert scale how much they liked the dance movements performed to classical music, performed without music but audible breathing, and performed to an electronic sound-score. Given previous research on personality and musical preferences, we expected spectators’ appreciation of watching dance to be modulated by their personality scores. In particular, if music is dominating the perception of watching dance moves, spectators with high scores on Openness or Neuroticism were expected to enjoy it more when classical music accompanied the movements; and spectators with high scores on Extraversion or Agreeableness to enjoy it more when an electronic sound-score was played. In line with previous research, we also explored whether physical and/or visual experience enhances motor entrainment and esthetic appreciation.
Overall, we found evidence that watching dance accompanied by different types of audio scores significantly modifies spectators’ experience. Our audiences showed a general preference for the dance movements when accompanied by classical music. When the identical movement sequence was performed by the very same performers to an electronic sound-score or without music, the average enjoyment ratings across all participants were significantly lower. One could therefore suggest that the particular types of movements performed to Bach’s Concerto for Oboe and Violin in C Minor built a coherent whole that was most popular across our audience. The idea that there is a hierarchy of musical styles with classical music being at the top is prevalent in western-industrialized countries (Martin,
Yet, beyond the effect of music, our spectators’ appreciation of watching dance movements did not reveal strong links between either their experience and enjoyment or their personality and music (i.e., classical or electronic music). In fact, the personality factor Openness showed a trend for a negative correlation with how much spectators liked watching the movements performed to classical music. This negative correlation may be explained by the unconventional pairing of classical music with contemporary dance. Moreover, some spectators who highly enjoyed the movements performed to classical music emphasized the enjoyment over the type of music above movement indicating a more conventional (i.e., less open to new experiences) rating style.
Notably, however, the condition with no music, where performers’ breathing was audible, showed two relevant significant effects. First, watching dance performed live without music (no-music condition) led to
As Reason and Reynolds (
Our spectators’ subjective descriptions provided in addition to their Likert-scale judgments showed a similar disparity between their experiences: They either expressed strong negative or positive attributions to the thrill and excitement they experienced when sensing the performers’ physicality through the audible breathing. Spectators who disliked the no-music condition state that they found it “disturbing”, “eerie” and that it made them feel “anxious”, “uncomfortable”, “awkward”. Spectators who liked to hear the breathing stated it was “fabulous”, “impressive”, and they “enjoyed the enhanced sensory experience”. We describe this differential experience with the metaphor “some like it hot”, which is a widely used expression to describe the positive response of some audience members who enjoy the thrill and excitement of a specific emotionally charged genre of jazz music whereas another group of audience members do not enjoy their responses to a performance that is too lively (i.e., visceral).
The peculiar response to the no-music condition with audible respiration has potentially huge theoretical impact on the interpretation of existing and future research as most studies on spectators’ responses to watching dance are based on action observation without music or sound. In fact, it has previously been shown that hearing the sound of motor actions is sufficient to trigger motor resonance of the actions in the passive listener (e.g., Gazzola et al.,
The personality factor Openness measures the extent to which somebody is prepared to expose themselves to new sensory experiences and further underlies spectators’ evaluation of their experience of intensity and intimacy created by the audible breathing. Moreover, individuals with high scores on Openness have an increased tendency to fantasize and daydream, notably with the aim to intensify their experiences. Spectators who scored high on the fantasy subscale of the emotional quotient have previously been found to show increased motor resonance when watching Indian dance with music (Jola et al.,
An alternative explanation of our findings is that the no-music condition was perceived as more novel than the music conditions and thus exciting. Individuals with high scores on Openness do indeed prefer novelty and variety over familiarity and routine. Although few spectators mentioned the unconvential combination of movements with breathing, our design and results do not fully support an effect of familiarity/novelty. Importantly, the sound conditions were counterbalanced and thus the combination of movement and music/no music conditions were seen in different order of appearance. Notably, we found no order effect as it would be expected if familiarity or novelty during the experimental procedure would play a role. Moreover, while “Openness personalities” have a deep appreciation for art and beauty, are moved by poetry, and intrigued by art, importantly, one characteristic of Openness is that they are often found to be absorbed in music. We therefore propose that hearing the performers’ breathing divides spectators’ appreciation in two groups, those “who like it hot”, and those who don’t. In other words, the positive or negative valence spectators give to the sensation of experiencing the excitement and thrill through the performers’ breathing (through internal entrainment), dictates their appreciation and potentially their motor resonance. For example, Nummenmaa et al. (
While our findings open new avenues to discuss how individual differences affect spectators’ entrainment and motor resonance mechanism, one crucial limitation is that we have no direct evidence of spectators’ entrainment. Measuring neuronal or physiological coupling between performers and spectators is a difficult undertaking. A number of studies showed evidence in support of links between motor resonance and personality traits. First, motor cortex excitability (which is related to “entrainment” in action observation processes) was found to be correlated with personality traits (anxiety-related personality; Wassermann et al.,
A further limitation of our study is related to the measurement scale. Correlation analyses on the basis of 5-point Likert scales are not adequately discriminative. We thus transformed the ordinal data into ipsatisation scores, which make the conditions notably dependent from one another. While we believe that the inter-dependence of the standardized scores require consideration in the interpretation of the data, we do not assume that participants—as they saw one whole performance—rated the conditions independently, with the potential exception of the most experienced group. Although not significantly different, the ratings of the participants with both visual and physical experience rated the three identical movement sequences as more equally pleasing, showing a more expert-holistic rating of the performance as a whole, independent of the accompanying sound/music—whereas the other groups contrasted the three conditions with each other. The relationship between holistic perception and expertise has been already suggested in other studies using dance experts (Calvo-Merino et al.,
Notably, we found that spectators’ experience was significantly related to the personality factor Extraversion. Spectators’ who reported physical experience only, scored significantly higher on Extraversion than spectators who had visual experience. Individuals with high scores on Extraversion are active individuals who seek interactions with the environment and enjoy social groups. They do not mind to expose themselves to others. These are clearly all characteristics that are needed in dance practice. Based on the knowledge that dancers share genetic predispositions that are linked to personality types (Bachner-Melman et al.,
One important aspect of our study is that the emotional content of our stimuli is ambiguous and thus open to audiences’ interpretation. Most studies on action observation are designed to elicit emotionally reactive empathy (e.g., viewing painful stimuli). For example, evidence for the relationship of entrainment and personality traits was shown in non-artistic actions (Liuzza et al.,
A limiting factor is that we tested spectators’ responses to previously recorded video. It is well known that personality and the experience of presence in virtual environment are related (Baños et al.,
In contrast to music (e.g., Brattico and Jacobsen,
To summarize, for the first time, we showed empirical evidence that the accompanying sound or music has a strong effect on how otherwise identical dance movements are enjoyed. Based on the audiences’ verbal reports and our knowledge on motor entrainment to auditory and visual rhythmic stimuli, we propose that enhanced or reduced internal entrainment underlies the subjective ratings. We suggest that our understanding of spectators’ responses to watching dance may benefit from paradigms and interpretations dissociating entrainment and motor resonance, and considering how these processes may be also modulated by personality.
Spectators are aware that dance is intrinsically liked to music. The impact of our findings is thus twofold, with important theoretical and practical implications. A better understanding of personality effects on spectators’ internal entrainment with dance has a strong real-life applied potential by informing artistic management on how audiences’ can be targeted based on their personality for specific performance types. The knowledge on effects of personality should allow audiences to make more informed choices when buying tickets. Then, our finding also points towards the necessity of a careful re-evaluation of the theory of a general multisensory expertise-related motor resonance in action observation. This is in particular evident as most action observation studies presented actions in absence of sound.
Our study extends previous findings on the conditions that facilitate or inhibit motor simulation of spectators in response to complex natural, multi-sensory stimulation. A better understanding of these conditions will increase predictability of whether people will oppose or engage with other peoples’ actions, which is of huge relevance in planning successful social interactions. Future research investigating cognitive and neural responses related to watching dance, or associated processes, should therefore take into consideration the presentation or absence of music, and how spectators’ personality may modulate neuronal responses. Spectators may reveal different degrees of embodiment during dance and/or action observation dependent on their personality, which demands careful consideration of experimental group homogeneity in future studies.
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
This research was funded predominantly by the AHRC
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