Lullaby and Affective Touch Tempo: A Comparative Study of Soothing Behaviours

This study investigates the tempo of lullabies and love songs across different cultures to explore their potential universal features and underlying biological functions. By comparing the tempo of these song types in a cross-cultural context, the research seeks to uncover whether these musical forms, particularly lullabies, share a biologically embedded function in regulating emotions and fostering social bonds. The study further explores the interplay between music and affective touch, hypothesising that these caregiving behaviours may be functionally coupled through temporal synchrony. Utilising experimental data and repository data from various continents, the research examines tempo variances and their alignment with the optimal tempo for affective touch, contributing to a broader understanding of music's role in infant care and its implications for therapeutic applications. The findings suggest that lullabies exhibit less tempo variance and are generally slower than love songs across cultures, reinforcing their role in soothing and emotional regulation. This research highlights the importance of tempo in music and its potential evolutionary connection to caregiving behaviours, with implications for future studies and practical applications in neonatal care.