It is speculated that certain listeners' misattribution of anger in the music of avant garde jazz saxophonists could be explained by the activity of mirror neurons. There is a neurological basis for the human tendency to imitate what is perceived in another person. This may lead to an inference that whatever comparable activity would be required to achieve a similar condition in the imitator is the condition being experienced by the person being imitated.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
ChartrandT. L.BarghJ. A. (1999) The chameleon effect: the perception-behavior link and social interaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 893–910.
2.
ChartrandT. L.ChengC. M.JefferisV. E. (2002) You're just a chameleon: the automatic nature and social significance of mimicry. In JarmowiczM.OhmeR. K. (Eds.), Nature of automaticity. Warsaw: IPPAN & SWPS. Pp. 19–24.
3.
ColtraneJ. (1960) Interview by Carl-Erik Lindgren. March 22; available on the album Miles Davis & John Coltrane: Live in Stockholm, 1960, Dragon DRLP 90/91, copyright 1985, Stockholm, Sweden.
4.
DeMichaelD. (1962) John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy answer their critics. Down Beat, April 12, 20–23.
5.
FadigaL.CraigheroL. (2004) Electrophysiology of action representation. Journal of Clinical Neurophysiology, 21, 100–106.
6.
GalleseV.GoldmanA. (1998) Mirror neurons and the simulation theory of mind reading. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 12, 493–501.
7.
GitlerI. (1958) Trane on the track. Down Beat, October, 16, 16.
8.
GoldD. (1958) Newport Jazz 1958. Down Beat, August 7, 16. Coltrane's playing at the concert, characterized in this article as “angry young tenor,” was recorded and is available on the album Miles & Monk at Newport (Columbia PC 8978).
9.
GoldbergJ. (1965) Jazz masters of the fifties. New York: Macmillan. Pp. 209, “the rage in his playing.”
10.
HeiderF. (1958) The psychology of interpersonal relations. New York: Wiley.
11.
KellyH. H. (1967) Attribution theory in social psychology. In LevineD. (Ed.), Nebraska symposium on motivation. Lincoln, NE: Univer. of Nebraska. Pp. 192–240.
LaFranceM. (1982) Posture mirroring and rapport. In DavisM. (Ed.), Interaction rhythms: periodicity in communicative behavior. New York: Human Services Press. Pp. 279–298.
14.
MeltzoffA. N.MooreM. K. (1977) Imitation of facial and manual gestures by human neonates. Science, 198, 75–78.
15.
MeltzoffA. N.PrinzW. (2002) The imitative mind: development, evolution, and brain bases. West Nyack, NY: Cambridge Univer. Press.
16.
RizzolattiG.ArbibM. A. (1998) Language within our grasp. Trends in Neurosciences, 21, 188–194.
17.
RizzolattiG.FadigaL.GalleseV.FogassiL. (1996) Pre-motor cortex and the recognition of motor actions. Cognitive Brain Research, 3, 131–141.
18.
RosenhanD. L. (1973) On being sane in insane places. Science, 179, 250–258.
19.
WilmerV. (1962) Conversation with Coltrane. Jazz Journal, January, 2.