How characteristics of work songs facilitate tempo-keeping in social interactions

Abstract Across cultures, people have long sung while working together—yet potential functional benefits of singing work songs have rarely been investigated experimentally. Rhythmic joint actions such as rowing, hammering or clapping tend to accelerate over time, a phenomenon known as joint rushing, which can undermine coordinated joint performance. Here, we examine whether features typical of traditional work songs help prevent joint rushing. In three experiments, pairs of participants performe