Department of Psychology, Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, 267 Cousteau Place, Davis, CA 95618, USA.
J Exp Psychol Gen. 2012 Feb;141(1):54-75. doi: 10.1037/a0024208. Epub 2011 Jul 18.
The urge to move in response to music, combined with the positive affect associated with the coupling of sensory and motor processes while engaging with music (referred to as sensorimotor coupling) in a seemingly effortless way, is commonly described as the feeling of being in the groove. Here, we systematically explore this compelling phenomenon in a population of young adults. We utilize multiple levels of analysis, comprising phenomenological, behavioral, and computational techniques. Specifically, we show (a) that the concept of the groove is widely appreciated and understood in terms of a pleasurable drive toward action, (b) that a broad range of musical excerpts can be appraised reliably for the degree of perceived groove, (c) that the degree of experienced groove is inversely related to experienced difficulty of bimanual sensorimotor coupling under tapping regimes with varying levels of expressive constraint, (d) that high-groove stimuli elicit spontaneous rhythmic movements, and (e) that quantifiable measures of the quality of sensorimotor coupling predict the degree of experienced groove. Our results complement traditional discourse regarding the groove, which has tended to take the psychological phenomenon for granted and has focused instead on the musical and especially the rhythmic qualities of particular genres of music that lead to the perception of groove. We conclude that groove can be treated as a psychological construct and model system that allows for experimental exploration of the relationship between sensorimotor coupling with music and emotion.
人们在听到音乐时会产生一种强烈的运动冲动，这种冲动与感官和运动过程的积极影响相结合，同时以一种看似毫不费力的方式与音乐产生耦合（被称为感觉运动耦合），这种体验通常被描述为“进入凹槽”的感觉。在这里，我们在一群年轻人中系统地探索了这种引人入胜的现象。我们利用多种分析层次，包括现象学、行为和计算技术。具体来说，我们表明：(a) 凹槽的概念在很大程度上被理解为一种愉悦的行动驱动力；(b) 广泛的音乐片段可以可靠地评估其凹槽感知程度；(c) 凹槽体验的程度与在具有不同表达约束的敲击模式下双手指感运动耦合的体验难度成反比；(d) 高凹槽刺激会引发自发的节奏运动；(e) 传感器运动耦合质量的可量化指标可以预测凹槽体验的程度。我们的结果补充了传统的凹槽论述，传统论述往往认为这种心理现象是理所当然的，而是专注于导致凹槽感知的特定音乐流派的音乐和特别是节奏特征。我们得出结论，凹槽可以被视为一种心理结构和模型系统，允许对音乐和情感之间的感觉运动耦合关系进行实验探索。
