EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY OFTEN does not sufficiently document the innate constr aint and domain specificity required for strong adaptationist argument. We develop these criteria within the domain of music. First, we advocate combining computational, developmental, cross-cultural, and neuroscience research to address the ways in which a domain is innately constrained. Candidate constraints in music include the importance of the octave and other simple pitch ratios, the categorization of the octave into tones, the importance of melodic contour, tonal hierarchies, and principles of grouping and meter. Second, we advocate combining psychological, neuroscience, and genetic research across cognitive domains to address the domain specificity of such constraints. Currently available evidence suggests that the innate constraints in music are not specific to that domain, making it unclear which domain(s) provided the relevant selection pressures.
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September 2005
Research Article|
September 01 2005
FUNDAMENTAL ISSUES IN THE EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY OF MUSIC: Assessing Innateness and Domain Specificity
TIMOTHY JUSTUS,
University of California, Berkeley
Address correspondence to: Timothy Justus, Department of Experimental Psychology,
University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3UD, UK
. E-MAIL tjustus@ebire.org
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JEFFREY J. HUTSLER
JEFFREY J. HUTSLER
University of Michigan
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Address correspondence to: Timothy Justus, Department of Experimental Psychology,
University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3UD, UK
. E-MAIL tjustus@ebire.org
Music Perception (2005) 23 (1): 1–27.
Article history
Received:
September 18 2003
Accepted:
May 22 2004
Citation
TIMOTHY JUSTUS, JEFFREY J. HUTSLER; FUNDAMENTAL ISSUES IN THE EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY OF MUSIC: Assessing Innateness and Domain Specificity. Music Perception 1 September 2005; 23 (1): 1–27. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/mp.2005.23.1.1
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