In ancient Greece, women were already considered muses - divine inspiration for creative endeavors of all kinds. Later, Charles Darwin speculated that making music in songbirds and humans contributes to attractiveness and evolution through sexual selection. Do romantic motives enhance creativity, and what music increases attractiveness?
The "Muse" - Effect
In ancient Greece, women were considered muses - divine inspiration for creative endeavors of all kinds. The nine Muses of Greek mythology, daughters of Zeus and the goddess of memory, Mnemosyne, were guided by Apollo, the god of the arts. Throughout history, real individuals, mostly women, have been referred to as muses, inspiring artists, mostly men, through their personality, charisma, gentleness, or romantic/erotic relationships.
Several studies conducted by the research group led by Vladas Griskevicius examined the effect of romantic or sexual motives on creativity in both men and women. The researchers presented participants with images of attractive or neutral-looking individuals of the opposite sex. Subsequently, participants were asked to write short stories, which were then evaluated by a jury. Romantic motivation, triggered in the group exposed to attractive individuals, unconsciously increased creativity only in men - specifically in terms of the quality, not quantity, of short stories.
In another study, women and men were required to complete a standardized creativity test after imagining either a short-term romantic interaction (e.g., date, one-night stand) or a long-term partnership. Such a romantic motive increased performance in the creativity test for both men and women. While, for men, the type of relationship (short-term or long-term) didn't matter, the 'Muse' effect on creativity in women was present only when considering the motive of a long-term romantic relationship. Even a condition with monetary incentives could not surpass the impact of romantic motivation on creativity.
What musical compositions do fertile women prefer?
About 10 years ago, scientist Benjamin D. Charlton sought to delve deeper into the theory of musical evolution through sexual selection. He conducted a scientific study involving a total of 1465 women in both fertile and less fertile phases of their menstrual cycles. In his experiment, he had a group of women compare four differently complex, newly composed piano compositions. They were tasked with selecting, from each pair of short compositions, the one that was perceived as more complex. B.D. Charlton ensured that the compositions he chose were perceived as distinctly different in complexity. As expected, rhythmically and harmonically more complex compositions – i.e., those with more diverse chords (2, 3, 6 versus 7 different chords) and syncopations (occurring only in specific measures or distributed across the entire piece and both hands) – were rated as more complex.
„These results suggest, that women may acquire genetic benefits for offspring by selecting musicians able to create more complex music as sexual partners.“ - Benjamin D. Charlton
He ultimately utilized this complexity ranking for the second crucial study. With a new, unbiased group of participants, he asked, for each pair of melodies, whether they would prefer the composer of one melody over the other as a partner. He inquired about preferences for both short-term and long-term partnerships, revealing a significant distinction: during their fertile phase, women significantly favored composers of harmonically and rhythmically complex music for short-term partnerships. However, the complexity of compositions played no role in their preference for long-term partnerships. In the non-fertile phase, there was generally no preference for composers of more or less complex music. Benjamin Charlton concludes that women do not universally prefer creative partners, but during their fertile phase, they are particularly attracted to indicators of genetic quality – in this case, creative intelligence and cognitive abilities enabling the composition and performance of complex music.
Musical Attraction - The Theory of Sexual Selection
Why does music hold such a high significance for humans and continue to be passed down and developed across generations, even when, at first glance, it doesn't seem to provide an obvious evolutionary advantage for the survival of humanity?
„Music notes and rhythm were first acquired by the male or female progenitors of mankind for the sake of charming the opposite sex“ - Charles Darwin
Approximately 150 years ago, Charles Darwin proposed the theory of sexual selection in the evolution of music in his work 'The Descent of Man: and Selection in Relation to Sex' (1871). Initially, music does not seem to offer an obvious adaptive advantage in evolution. It neither nourishes the body nor helps in defeating enemies or visually hiding from them. Charles Darwin speculated that bird song and human-made music contribute to attractiveness, serving as a means of attraction to potential partners. Thus, it contributes to sexual selection through the factor of attractiveness, similar to behaviors such as courtship dances or other gestural displays in animals that facilitate courtship and ultimately reproduction. For example, the research group led by Martie Haselton and Geoffrey Miller demonstrated that creative intelligence is particularly attractive to women during the fertile phase of the menstrual cycle.
Beyond Sexual Attractiveness - Other Theories of Musical Evolution
The theory of sexual selection is, of course, not the only theory attempting to explain the evolution of music. Another well-known theory suggests that music evolved as a byproduct of the evolution of language. This intuitively makes sense, as many people perceive music as non-verbal communication of emotions and moods. Not to be overlooked is the significant role of vocal music, especially in early music history. Related to this is another theory stating that music, through child-directed songs (e.g., lullabies), plays a crucial role in mother-child interaction. The currently most popular theory of musical evolution combines aspects of these three theories: the theory of social bonding through music. Numerous studies have shown that making music in a group strengthens the sense of community and leads to the release of the bonding hormone oxytocin. Also known as the 'cuddle hormone,' oxytocin is released significantly during childbirth, breastfeeding, general human physical contact, and after sexual intercourse. Since social bonding and group affiliation are central survival advantages for humans, this effect could represent the evolutionary advantage of music.
Conclusion & Critique
Although Benjamin Charlton's study cannot provide evidence for the theory of sexual selection, according to the scientist, it indicates that women may use the complexity of music as a criterion for attractiveness, potentially contributing to the evolution of increasingly complex music.
However, it must be emphasized that in our contemporary society, the sole consideration of monogamous, heterosexual attractiveness is no longer appropriate, as it is by no means the only lifestyle of humans. Additionally, women have been actively participating in both professional and musical life for decades. While there is still a long way to go for true equality and equal rights, it can be clearly stated that the life purpose of women nowadays is no longer predominantly centered around partnership and child-rearing. Furthermore, there is no measurable difference in the cognitive or musical potential between women and men. Therefore, it could be just as interesting to investigate the extent to which complex compositions enhance the musical attraction of female composers and musicians.
Sources & further reading
Charlton, Benjamin D. "Menstrual cycle phase alters women's sexual preferences for composers of more complex music." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 281, no. 1784 (2014): 20140403.
Charlton, B. D., Filippi, P., & Fitch, W. T. (2012). Do women prefer more complex music around ovulation?. PLoS One, 7(4), e35626.
Darwin, C. (1888). The descent of man: and selection in relation to sex. John Murray, Albemarle Street.
Haselton, M. G., & Miller, G. F. (2006). Women’s fertility across the cycle increases the short-term attractiveness of creative intelligence. Human nature, 17, 50-73.
Vladas Griskevicius, Robert Cialdini, and Douglas Kenrick (2007) ,"The Muse Effect: When Romantic Motives Create Creativity", in NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 34, eds. Gavan Fitzsimons and Vicki Morwitz, Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 15.
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