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25 AUGUST 2008

NO 1338

Rhythmicity

Rhythmicity as a potent ingredient in everyday life has long been sensed and drawn upon. Only in the past decades, however, has rhythmicity been "discovered" scientifically for its intrinsic power in human relations. In a sense this recent documentation reflected self-evident phenomena. Life itself entails a spectrum of natural rhythm like the regularity of the heartbeat or the alteration between day and night. What is old can indeed be new! A whole new branch of psychology has been established (Birdwhistle, 1970; Brazelton, Koslowski and Main, 1974; Byers,1972; Condon,1970; Davis,1982; Hall, 1976; Whitehead, 1974). Studies of rhythms in kinesthetics and especially in the rhythmic pulse of human contacts have spawned original scientific concepts, enhancing the spectrum for understanding human behavior and development.

Interestingly, Paul Byers, one of the pioneers of this group of researchers, became so excited by their discoveries that he thought that they had located "the molecules of human behaviors" (Byers,1972, p. 1). They discerned in their specialized and highly technical research, based upon electronic and pictorial measurements, that rhythmic interactions are revealed in an "unconscious undercurrent of synchronized movements" (Hall, 1976, p. 66). William Condon in turn demonstrated that there is synchronization "between the body movements of the listener and the articulatory structures of the speaker's speech" (Condon, 1975, p. 85). Their empirical research established that these "molecules of human behavior" occur even in film frames of 1/64 per second. Such startling revelations imply that our human communication is joined together by its rhythmic fit – a challenging message for all human relation efforts. Edward Hall explains further:

When two people talk to each other their movements are synchronized. Sometimes this occurs in barely perceptible ways, when finger, eyelid (blinking), and head movements occur simultaneously in sync with specific parts of the verbal code (the words with pitches and stresses). In other cases, the whole body moves as though the two were under the control of a master choreographer. ...Viewing movies [of the details of human communication] in very slow motion, looking for synchrony, one realizes that what we know as dance is really a slowed-down stylized version of what human beings do whenever they interact (Hall, 1976, p. 72).

Rhythmicity probably is not the sole mainspring of human behavior as hailed by this new brand of psychology. However, research contains ample, promising new data, pertinent for all of us in search of more skillful and effective efforts for working with children and adults amid relevant social context.

This research and practice is in line with today's recent scientific emphasis upon nonlinear perspectives (Kuhn, 1976, p. 49). Moreover, an exploration of the forces of rhythmicity reflects also the notion of "chaos theory" (Gleick, 1987) with its stress upon minutiae as the key elements of energy and change: be it the quartz, the inherent minute constellation of the gene, or the little recognized pulse of human interactions. These more recent perspectives upon life steer us away from a Darwinian obsession with locating and pursuing a single hierarchical superstructure for human existence and move us toward the diversity of life with each person's multipotentials. And for the human relation fields, these studies can add much to our own search for developmentally sound and situationally competent care practice.

HENRY W. MAIER

Maier, Henry W. (1992). Rhythmicity – a powerful force for experienceing unity and personal connections. Journal of Child and Youth Care Work, 8. pp. 8-9.

REFERENCES

Birdwhistle, R. L. (1970). Kinesics and context. Philadelphia. University Press.

Brazelton, T. B., Koslowski, B. and Main, M. (1974). The origin of reciprocity: The early mother-infant. In M. Lewis and L. A. Rosenblum (Eds.). The effects of the infant on its caregiver (pp. 44-76). New York. Wiley & Sons.

Byers, P. (1972). From biological rhythm to cultural pattern: A studyof minimal units. Columbia University. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation.

Condon, W. S. (1970). Methods of micro-analysis of sound films of behavior. Behavioral Research Method and Instruments, 2, 2. pp. 51-54.

Condon, W. S. (1975). Speech makes babies move. In R. Lewin (Ed.). Child alive (pp. 77-85). New York. Doubleday.

Davis, M., (Ed.). (1982). Interaction: Periodicity in communicative behavior. New York: Human Science Press.

Gleick, J. (1987). Chaos: Making a new science. New York. Penguin Books.

Hall, E. (1976). Beyond culture. Garden City, NY. Anchor Books.

Kuhn, T. S. (1976). The structure of scientific revolutions. Chicago. The University of Chicago Press.

Whitehead, A. N. (1974). The rhythm of education. In T. Talbot (Ed.). The world of the child (pp. 398-411). New York. Jason Aronson.

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