EXAMPLE 13.7

We got the beat? When we hear music that is familiar to us, we can quickly pick up the beat, and our mind synchronizes with the music. However, if the music is unfamiliar, it takes us longer to synchronize. In a study that investigated the theoretical framework for this phenomenon, French and Tunisian nationals listened to French and Tunisian music.⁵ Each subject was asked to tap in time with the music being played. A synchronization score, recorded in milliseconds, measured how well the subjects synchronized with the music. A higher score indicates better synchronization. Six songs of each music type were used. Here are the means:

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The means are plotted in Figure 13.3. In the study, the researchers were not interested in main effects. Their theory predicted the interaction that we see in the figure. Subjects synchronize better with music from their own culture. The main effects, on the other hand, suggest that Tunisians sychronize better than the French (regardless of music type) and that it is easier to synchronize to Tunisian music (regardless of nationality).