Does tapping in sync reflect cognitive control? Links between sensorimotor synchronization, social context, and executive function in early childhood

Varying rhythmic contexts impose distinct cognitive and sensorimotor demands. This study investigated the effects of social scaffolding on children's sensorimotor synchronization (SMS) across different contexts and examined the association between SMS and executive function (EF). A total of 140 children aged 4-5 years participated in tapping tasks using a developmentally appropriate sensor-embedded drum platform. The results indicated that tapping synchronization at 150 bpm, children's typical spontaneous motor tempo (SMT), improved significantly in the presence of a tapping partner, whereas other conditions showed no such effect. Notably, beat synchronization at 50 bpm, a slow tempo outside their SMT, showed a tentative but specific association with EF, particularly inhibitory control and overall executive function, but only in the solo condition. Findings suggest that social scaffolding benefits are most evident in tasks aligned with children's SMT, whereas tasks with different temporal structures and cognitive demands appear to selectively engage top-down processing during early childhood.