- Postdoctoral researcher, University of Oxford
Originally from Perth, Western Australia, I grew up in a household full of birds, fish, reptiles, two dogs, and my biologist parents. My first job was as a chorus singer with the West Australian Opera company, but I've always been fascinated by the social effects of music. This interest led me to complete a doctorate at the University of Oxford where I studied the cognitive processes underlying the synchrony-bonding effect. In my research, I like to combine multidisciplinary perspectives from psychology, biology and anthropology, to understand why people make music together.
I am currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Centre of Excellence in Music, Mind, Body and Brain (University of Jyväskylä, Finland) and also a research affiliate with the Social Body Lab at the Centre for the Study of Social Cohesion (University of Oxford, UK).
Experience
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2023–presentPostdoctoral researcher, University of Jyväskylä
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2023–presentPostdoctoral affiliate, University of Oxford
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2020–2021Visiting researcher, University of Western Australia
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2016–2017Research assistant, University of Vienna
Education
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2023University of Oxford, DPhil in Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology
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2017University of Jyväskylä, MA in Music, Mind and Technology
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2014University of Western Australia, BSc/BMus(Hons) in Psychology and Musicology
Publications
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2024Love songs and serenades: a theoretical review of music and romantic relationships, Frontiers in Psychology
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2023Turning heads on the dance floor: synchrony and social interaction using a silent disco paradigm, Music & Science
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2023The synchrony-prosociality link cannot be explained away as expectancy effect: response to Atwood et al. (2022), Open Mind
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2021Cochlear SGN neurons elevate pain thresholds in response to music, Scientific Reports
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2021A crowd-sourced database of coronamusic: documenting online making and sharing of music during the COVID-19 pandemic, Frontiers in Psychology
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2019Trait empathy associated with agreeableness and rhythmic entrainment in a spontaneous movement to music task: preliminary exploratory investigations, Musicae Scientiae
Professional Memberships
- European Society for the Cognitive Sciences of Music (ESCOM)
- Australian Music & Psychology Society (AMPS)
Contact Joshua for
- General
- Media request
- Speaking request
- Consulting / Advising
- Research collaboration
- Research supervision
- Location: Jyväskylä, Finland
- Website
- X (formerly Twitter): @js_bamford
- Article Feed
- ORCID
- Joined