Human talkers change their voices to elicit specific trait percepts

• Verfasst von: Guldner, Stella [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: Lavan, Nadine [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: Lally, Clare [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: Wittmann, Lisa [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: Nees, Frauke [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: Flor, Herta [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: McGettigan, Carolyn [VerfasserIn]
• Titel: Human talkers change their voices to elicit specific trait percepts
• Titelzusatz: brief report
• Verf.angabe: Stella Guldner, Nadine Lavan, Clare Lally, Lisa Wittmann, Frauke Nees, Herta Flor & Carolyn McGettigan
• E-Jahr: 2024
• Jahr: February 2024
• Umfang: 14 S.
• Illustrationen: Illustrationen
• Fussnoten: Online veröffentlicht: 28. Juli 2023 ; Gesehen am 21.02.2024
• Titel Quelle: Enthalten in: Psychonomic bulletin & review
• Ort Quelle: New York, NY : Springer, 1994
• Jahr Quelle: 2024
• Band/Heft Quelle: 31(2024), 1 vom: Feb., Seite 209-222
• ISSN Quelle: 1531-5320
• DOI: doi:10.3758/s13423-023-02333-y
• Datenträger: Online-Ressource
• Sprache: eng
• Sach-SW: Communication
• Sach-SW: Impressions
• Sach-SW: Self-presentation
• Sach-SW: Social interactions
• Sach-SW: Voice production
• K10plus-PPN: 1881324761

Abstract

The voice is a variable and dynamic social tool with functional relevance for self-presentation, for example, during a job interview or courtship. Talkers adjust their voices flexibly to their situational or social environment. Here, we investigated how effectively intentional voice modulations can evoke trait impressions in listeners (Experiment 1), whether these trait impressions are recognizable (Experiment 2), and whether they meaningfully influence social interactions (Experiment 3). We recorded 40 healthy adult speakers’ whilst speaking neutrally and whilst producing vocal expressions of six social traits (e.g., likeability, confidence). Multivariate ratings of 40 listeners showed that vocal modulations amplified specific trait percepts (Experiments 1 and 2), which could be explained by two principal components relating to perceived affiliation and competence. Moreover, vocal modulations increased the likelihood of listeners choosing the voice to be suitable for corresponding social goals (i.e., a confident rather than likeable voice to negotiate a promotion, Experiment 3). These results indicate that talkers modulate their voice along a common trait space for social navigation. Moreover, beyond reactive voice changes, vocal behaviour can be strategically used by talkers to communicate subtle information about themselves to listeners. These findings advance our understanding of non-verbal vocal behaviour for social communication.