This open access article piqued my interest. I have long been aware of studies that showed that infants are basically altruistic. This is the first one I came across that shows that infant “Spontaneous Motor Tempo” (SMT) is something that can be measured. Here’s the link:
Infant Spontaneous Motor Tempo
From the abstract:
We present the first data documenting the SMT of infants from 5 to 37 months of age using a simple drumming task. As in late childhood and adulthood, we predicted that infant SMT would slow across the first years of life. However, we find that older infants drum more quickly than younger infants. Furthermore, studies of adults suggest larger bodies prefer slower rhythms.
(emphasis added to quote) … which explains why this is the first time I’ve heard about infant SMT. A couple of their research highlights:
- SMT can be measured at 5 months old using a simple drumming task
- Infant drumming gets faster and more regular as they get older
Kinda makes you want to read the whole article…
or sing along to the title to this post: