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Beyond “consistent with” adaptation: Is there a robust test for music adaptation?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 September 2021

Parker Tichko
Affiliation:
Department of Music, Northeastern University, Boston, MA02115, [email protected]
Kevin A. Bird
Affiliation:
Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI48823, [email protected] Ecology, Evolutionary Biology and Behavior Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI48823, USA
Gregory Kohn
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of North Florida, Jacksonville, FL32224, [email protected]

Abstract

In their article, Mehr et al. conclude that the design features of music are consistent with adaptations for credible signaling. Although appealing to design may seem like a plausible basis for identifying adaptations, probing adaptive theories of music must be done at the genomic level and will require a functional understanding of the genomic, phenotypic, and fitness properties of music.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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