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Tanriverdi V, Yurdagül A, Tulum EA, Ozbilgin MF. Watch the tone of your voice! An exploration of dehumanization of women by gender nonconformity based on tone of voice, occupation and appearance. Front Psychol 2024; 15:1387876. [PMID: 38813556 PMCID: PMC11135130 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1387876] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2024] [Accepted: 04/30/2024] [Indexed: 05/31/2024] Open
Abstract
Dehumanization refers to the act of likening others to objects or animals. This, in turn, mitigates feelings of conscience, guilt, and moral obligation in the face of behaviors such as violence, mistreatment, or discrimination against the dehumanized individuals. The aim of this study is to determine the extent of which women with mismatching vocal tone, occupation and appearance to their gender expectations are dehumanized by others. To achieve this, we conducted a between-groups factorial design experiment. In the experiment, participants looked at the photo and listened to the voice of a target woman with either a gender congruent or incongruent vocal tone, occupation, or appearance. Participants indicated the extent to which human attributes were appropriate for this individual. The results revealed that the main effects of vocal tone and occupation were significant for both mechanistic and animalistic dehumanization. A target woman with a mismatched vocal tone and occupation was more dehumanized compared to those with a matched vocal tone and occupation. However, the interaction effect of vocal tone, occupation type, and appearance was found to be significant only for mechanistic dehumanization. Our study provides evidence to recent concerns that women may experience dehumanization due to their vocal tone and occupation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Veysi Tanriverdi
- Department of Psychology, Bülent Ecevit University, Zonguldak, Türkiye
| | - Aydan Yurdagül
- Department of Psychology, Bülent Ecevit University, Zonguldak, Türkiye
| | - Ezgi Aze Tulum
- Department of Psychology, Bülent Ecevit University, Zonguldak, Türkiye
| | - Mustafa F. Ozbilgin
- Brunel Business School, College of Business, Arts and Social Sciences, Brunel University London, London, United Kingdom
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Keller PE, Lee J, König R, Novembre G. Sex-related communicative functions of voice spectral energy in human chorusing. Biol Lett 2023; 19:20230326. [PMID: 37935372 PMCID: PMC10645082 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2023.0326] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 11/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Music is a human communicative art whose evolutionary origins may lie in capacities that support cooperation and/or competition. A mixed account favouring simultaneous cooperation and competition draws on analogous interactive displays produced by collectively signalling non-human animals (e.g. crickets and frogs). In these displays, rhythmically coordinated calls serve as a beacon whereby groups of males 'cooperatively' attract potential female mates, while the likelihood of each male competitively attracting an actual mate depends on the precedence of his signal. Human behaviour consistent with the mixed account was previously observed in a renowned boys choir, where the basses-the oldest boys with the deepest voices-boosted their acoustic prominence by increasing energy in a high-frequency band of the vocal spectrum when girls were in an otherwise male audience. The current study tested female and male sensitivity and preferences for this subtle vocal modulation in online listening tasks. Results indicate that while female and male listeners are similarly sensitive to enhanced high-spectral energy elicited by the presence of girls in the audience, only female listeners exhibit a reliable preference for it. Findings suggest that human chorusing is a flexible form of social communicative behaviour that allows simultaneous group cohesion and sexually motivated competition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter E. Keller
- Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus 8000, Denmark
- The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Penrith South, Australia
| | - Jennifer Lee
- Queensland Aphasia Research Centre, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | | | - Giacomo Novembre
- Neuroscience of Perception and Action Lab, Italian Institute of Technology, Rome, Italy
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3
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Guyer JJ, Briñol P, Vaughan-Johnston TI, Fabrigar LR, Moreno L, Paredes B, Petty RE. Pitch as a Recipient, Channel, and Context Factor Affecting Thought Reliance and Persuasion. PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN 2023:1461672231197547. [PMID: 37876177 DOI: 10.1177/01461672231197547] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2023]
Abstract
Three experiments tested how low versus high pitch generated from sources beyond a message communicator can affect reliance on thoughts and influence recipients' attitudes. First, participants wrote positive or negative thoughts about an exam proposal (Experiments 1, 2) or their academic abilities (Experiment 3). Then, pitch from the message recipient (Experiment 1), channel (Experiment 2), or context (Experiment 3) was manipulated to be high or low. Experiment 1 showed that when participants vocally expressed their thoughts using low (vs. high) pitch, thoughts had a greater effect on attitudes toward exams. Experiment 2 revealed low (vs. high) pitch sounds from the keyboard participants used to write their thoughts produced the same effect on thought usage. Experiment 3 demonstrated that thoughts influenced attitudes more when listed while background music was low (vs. high) Pitch can influence attitudes through a meta-cognitive thought reliance process whether emerging from the recipient, channel, or context.
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Wu C, Liang X, Duan Y, Gong L, Zhang W, He M, He X, Ouyang Y. The Voice of Morality: The Two-Way Relationship Between the Beauty of Voice and Moral Goodness. J Voice 2022:S0892-1997(22)00135-7. [PMID: 35788279 DOI: 10.1016/j.jvoice.2022.05.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2022] [Revised: 05/01/2022] [Accepted: 05/02/2022] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Morality is a point of great concern to us in our social interactions. We also assess people's morality based on a variety of external factors. Research has found that the beauty of faces can influence people's moral assessments, and that moral assessments can in turn influence our judgments about the beauty of faces. In real life, the voice is a very important communication mediu. People can gain knowledge of individuals through their voices. However, the relationship between voice beauty and moral goodness has never been investigated. OBJECTIVES So, the present study investigated the two-way relationship between voice beauty and moral goodness traits during impression formation. METHOD We collected empirical data from 32 college students in China followed the impression formation paradigm in Experiment 1 and collected empirical data from 32 college students in China followed moral priming paradigm. RESULTS The results of Experiment 1 showed that high attractive voices were more likely to be judged to have higher moral goodness levels. Conversely, the results of Experiment 2 showed that the moral priming condition revealed a higher score for the voice than the immoral condition. The results showed that the bidirectional validation of voice beauty-moral goodness was significant, that is, participants tend to rate high attractive voices with higher moral goodness levels, and rate moral people's voices with higher beauty. CONCLUSION Based on these results, we found a two-way relationship between the beauty of voice and morality, and once again demonstrated the role of voice in message transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chenjing Wu
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education, School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiaoling Liang
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education, School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yan Duan
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education, School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Lulu Gong
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education, School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Wei Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education, School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Mingcheng He
- College of Education Science, Hubei Normal University, Huangshi, China
| | - Xianyou He
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education, School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.
| | - Yiting Ouyang
- School of psychology, The University of Melbourne, VIC, 3010
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5
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Szczuka JM. Flirting With or Through Media: How the Communication Partners' Ontological Class and Sexual Priming Affect Heterosexual Males' Interest in Flirtatious Messages and Their Perception of the Source. Front Psychol 2022; 13:719008. [PMID: 35273536 PMCID: PMC8902147 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.719008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2021] [Accepted: 01/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Because technologies are frequently used for sexual gratification it seems plausible that artificial communication partners, such as voice assistants, could be used to fulfill sexual needs. While the idea of sexualized interaction with voice assistants has been portrayed in movies (e.g., "Her"), there is a lack of empirical research on the effect of the ontological class (human versus artificial) on the voice's potential to evoke interest in a sexualized interaction and its perception in terms of sexual attractiveness. The Sexual Interaction Illusion Model (SIIM), which emphasizes influences on sensations evoked by artificial interaction partners, furthermore suggests that there may be contextual influences, especially sexual arousal, that may be crucial for the question of engaging in a sexualized interaction with an artificial entity. To empirically investigate whether the ontological class of the speaker (computer-mediated human in comparison to voice assistants) and the level of sexual arousal affects the heterosexual males' interest in hearing more flirtatious messages and the perception of the communication partner's sexual attractiveness, an online experiment with between subject design was conducted. Two hundred and fifty seven respondents were confronted with at least four, and voluntarily six messages from either a computer-mediated human or a flirtatious voice assistant, in interaction with being previously primed sexually or neutrally. The results demonstrated that the effect of sexual arousal was not prevailing on the interest in further messages and the attractiveness perception of the interaction partners, while the ontological class did so. Here, the voice assistant evoked more interest in further messages and the technology itself, while the computer mediated human was perceived to be more sexually attractive and flirtatious, and evoked more social presence. The communication partners social presence was shown to be the predictor with most explanatory power for the interaction partners perceived sexual attractiveness, regardless of whether it was human or artificial. The results underline differences between artificial and human interaction partners, but also underline that especially social presence and the feeling that the user is addressed (in terms of flirtatiousness) is crucial in digitalized intimacy regardless of the ontological class.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica M Szczuka
- Social Psychology: Media and Communication, University of Duisburg-Essen, Duisburg, Germany
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6
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Leongómez JD, Havlíček J, Roberts SC. Musicality in human vocal communication: an evolutionary perspective. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20200391. [PMID: 34775823 PMCID: PMC8591388 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2021] [Accepted: 07/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies show that specific vocal modulations, akin to those of infant-directed speech (IDS) and perhaps music, play a role in communicating intentions and mental states during human social interaction. Based on this, we propose a model for the evolution of musicality-the capacity to process musical information-in relation to human vocal communication. We suggest that a complex social environment, with strong social bonds, promoted the appearance of musicality-related abilities. These social bonds were not limited to those between offspring and mothers or other carers, although these may have been especially influential in view of altriciality of human infants. The model can be further tested in other species by comparing levels of sociality and complexity of vocal communication. By integrating several theories, our model presents a radically different view of musicality, not limited to specifically musical scenarios, but one in which this capacity originally evolved to aid parent-infant communication and bonding, and even today plays a role not only in music but also in IDS, as well as in some adult-directed speech contexts. This article is part of the theme issue 'Voice modulation: from origin and mechanism to social impact (Part II)'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan David Leongómez
- Human Behaviour Lab, Faculty of Psychology, Universidad El Bosque, Bogota, Colombia
| | - Jan Havlíček
- Department of Zoology, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - S. Craig Roberts
- Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, UK
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7
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Hughes SM, Puts DA. Vocal modulation in human mating and competition. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20200388. [PMID: 34719246 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0388] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The human voice is dynamic, and people modulate their voices across different social interactions. This article presents a review of the literature examining natural vocal modulation in social contexts relevant to human mating and intrasexual competition. Altering acoustic parameters during speech, particularly pitch, in response to mating and competitive contexts can influence social perception and indicate certain qualities of the speaker. For instance, a lowered voice pitch is often used to exert dominance, display status and compete with rivals. Changes in voice can also serve as a salient medium for signalling a person's attraction to another, and there is evidence to support the notion that attraction and/or romantic interest can be distinguished through vocal tones alone. Individuals can purposely change their vocal behaviour in attempt to sound more attractive and to facilitate courtship success. Several findings also point to the effectiveness of vocal change as a mechanism for communicating relationship status. As future studies continue to explore vocal modulation in the arena of human mating, we will gain a better understanding of how and why vocal modulation varies across social contexts and its impact on receiver psychology. This article is part of the theme issue 'Voice modulation: from origin and mechanism to social impact (Part I)'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan M Hughes
- Psychology Department, Albright College, Reading, PA 19612, USA
| | - David A Puts
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
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Leongómez JD, Sánchez OR, Vásquez-Amézquita M, Roberts SC. Contextualising courtship: Exploring male body odour effects on vocal modulation. Behav Processes 2021; 193:104531. [PMID: 34655713 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2021.104531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2020] [Revised: 06/26/2020] [Accepted: 10/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Voice characteristics are important to communicate socially relevant information. Recent research has shown that individuals alter their voices depending on the context of social interactions and perceived characteristics of the audience, and this affects how they are perceived. Numerous studies have also shown that the presence of bodily odours can elicit psychological changes in people. Here, we tested whether the presence of male axillary odour would influence vocal modulations in courtship contexts. We analysed differences in vocal parameters and attractiveness ratings across 950 recordings from 80 participants as they responded to opposite-sex target stimuli. Using these, we tested whether men's and women's vocal parameters and perceived stimuli attractiveness differed in the presence or absence of the odour. We expected women to speak with increased voice F0, and men to lower their pitch, when exposed to male body odour, especially if it were of high quality. However, neither the presence of male odour, its quality, nor the addition of androstadienone produced any consistent changes in vocal parameters. Nevertheless, rated stimulus attractiveness was predicted by F0 and especially F0 variability, suggesting that this is a key parameter in signalling attraction during human courtship, and supporting the idea that vocal modulations are context-sensitive.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan David Leongómez
- Human Behaviour Lab, Faculty of Psychology, Universidad El Bosque, Bogota 110121, Colombia; Division of Psychology, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, UK.
| | - Oscar R Sánchez
- Human Behaviour Lab, Faculty of Psychology, Universidad El Bosque, Bogota 110121, Colombia.
| | - Milena Vásquez-Amézquita
- Experimental Psychology Lab, Faculty of Psychology, Universidad El Bosque, Bogota 110121, Colombia.
| | - S Craig Roberts
- Division of Psychology, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, UK.
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9
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Roth TS, Samara I, Kret ME. Multimodal mate choice: Exploring the effects of sight, sound, and scent on partner choice in a speed-date paradigm. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2021.04.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
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Guyer JJ, Briñol P, Vaughan-Johnston TI, Fabrigar LR, Moreno L, Petty RE. Paralinguistic Features Communicated through Voice can Affect Appraisals of Confidence and Evaluative Judgments. JOURNAL OF NONVERBAL BEHAVIOR 2021; 45:479-504. [PMID: 34744233 PMCID: PMC8553728 DOI: 10.1007/s10919-021-00374-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
This article unpacks the basic mechanisms by which paralinguistic features communicated through the voice can affect evaluative judgments and persuasion. Special emphasis is placed on exploring the rapidly emerging literature on vocal features linked to appraisals of confidence (e.g., vocal pitch, intonation, speech rate, loudness, etc.), and their subsequent impact on information processing and meta-cognitive processes of attitude change. The main goal of this review is to advance understanding of the different psychological processes by which paralinguistic markers of confidence can affect attitude change, specifying the conditions under which they are more likely to operate. In sum, we highlight the importance of considering basic mechanisms of attitude change to predict when and why appraisals of paralinguistic markers of confidence can lead to more or less persuasion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua J. Guyer
- Department of Social Psychology and Methodology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Pablo Briñol
- Department of Social Psychology and Methodology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | | | | | - Lorena Moreno
- Department of Social Psychology and Methodology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Richard E. Petty
- Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, USA
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12
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Voice Pitch – A Valid Indicator of One’s Unfaithfulness in Committed Relationships? ADAPTIVE HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND PHYSIOLOGY 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s40750-020-00154-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Objectives
When judging a male speakers’ likelihood to act sexually unfaithful in a committed relationship, listeners rely on the speakers’ voice pitch such that lower voice pitch is perceived as indicating being more unfaithful. In line with this finding, a recent study (Schild et al. Behavioral Ecology, 2020) provided first evidence that voice pitch might indeed be a valid cue to sexual infidelity in men. In this study, male speakers with lower voice pitch, as indicated by lower mean fundamental frequency (mean F0), were actually more likely to report having been sexually unfaithful in the past. Although these results fit the literature on vocal perceptions in contexts of sexual selection, the study was, as stated by the authors, underpowered. Further, the study solely focused on male speakers, which leaves it open whether these findings are also transferable to female speakers.
Methods
We reanalyzed three datasets (Asendorpf et al. European Journal of Personality, 25, 16–30, 2011; Penke and Asendorpf Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95, 1113–1135, 2008; Stern et al. 2020) that include voice recordings and infidelity data of overall 865 individuals (63,36% female) in order to test the replicability of and further extend past research.
Results
A significant negative link between mean F0 and self-reported infidelity was found in only one out of two datasets for men and only one out of three datasets for women. Two meta-analyses (accounting for the sample sizes and including data of Schild et al. 2020), however, suggest that lower mean F0 might be a valid indicator of higher probability of self-reported infidelity in both men and women.
Conclusions
In line with prior research, higher masculinity, as indicated by lower mean F0, seems to be linked to self-reported infidelity in both men and women. However, given methodological shortcomings, future studies should set out to further delve into these findings.
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Daniele M, Fasoli F, Antonio R, Sulpizio S, Maass A. Gay Voice: Stable Marker of Sexual Orientation or Flexible Communication Device? ARCHIVES OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR 2020; 49:2585-2600. [PMID: 32617773 DOI: 10.1007/s10508-020-01771-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2018] [Revised: 06/02/2020] [Accepted: 06/10/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Listeners rely on vocal features when guessing others' sexual orientation. What is less clear is whether speakers modulate their voice to emphasize or to conceal their sexual orientation. We hypothesized that gay individuals adapt their voices to the social context, either emphasizing or disguising their sexual orientation. In Study 1 (n = 20 speakers, n = 383 Italian listeners and n = 373 British listeners), using a simulated conversation paradigm, we found that gay speakers modulated their voices depending on the interlocutor, sounding more gay when speaking to a person with whom they have had an easy (vs. difficult or no) coming out. Although straight speakers were always clearly perceived as heterosexual, their voice perception also varied depending on the interlocutor. Study 2 (n = 14 speakers and n = 309 listeners), comparing the voices of young YouTubers before and after their public coming out, showed a voice modulation as a function of coming out. The voices of gay YouTubers sounded more gay after coming out, whereas those of age-matched straight control male speakers sounded increasingly heterosexual over time. Combining experimental and archival methods, this research suggests that gay speakers modulate their voices flexibly depending on their relation with the interlocutor and as a consequence of their public coming out.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maddalena Daniele
- Dipartimento di Psicologia dello Sviluppo e della Socializzazione, University of Padova, Via Venezia 8, 35122, Padua, Italy.
| | - Fabio Fasoli
- School of Psychology, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK
- Centro de Investigação e Intervenção Social, Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL), Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Raquel Antonio
- Centro de Investigação e Intervenção Social, Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL), Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Simone Sulpizio
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Anne Maass
- Dipartimento di Psicologia dello Sviluppo e della Socializzazione, University of Padova, Via Venezia 8, 35122, Padua, Italy
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Millen AE, Hope L, Hillstrom AP. Eye spy a liar: assessing the utility of eye fixations and confidence judgments for detecting concealed recognition of faces, scenes and objects. COGNITIVE RESEARCH-PRINCIPLES AND IMPLICATIONS 2020; 5:38. [PMID: 32797306 PMCID: PMC7427826 DOI: 10.1186/s41235-020-00227-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2018] [Accepted: 05/08/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND In criminal investigations, uncooperative witnesses might deny knowing a perpetrator, the location of a murder scene or knowledge of a weapon. We sought to identify markers of recognition in eye fixations and confidence judgments whilst participants told the truth and lied about recognising faces (Experiment 1) and scenes and objects (Experiment 2) that varied in familiarity. To detect recognition we calculated effect size differences in markers of recognition between familiar and unfamiliar items that varied in familiarity (personally familiar, newly learned). RESULTS In Experiment 1, recognition of personally familiar faces was reliably detected across multiple fixation markers (e.g. fewer fixations, fewer interest areas viewed, fewer return fixations) during honest and concealed recognition. In Experiment 2, recognition of personally familiar non-face items (scenes and objects) was detected solely by fewer fixations during honest and concealed recognition; differences in other fixation measures were not consistent. In both experiments, fewer fixations exposed concealed recognition of newly learned faces, scenes and objects, but the same pattern was not observed during honest recognition. Confidence ratings were higher for recognition of personally familiar faces than for unfamiliar faces. CONCLUSIONS Robust memories of personally familiar faces were detected in patterns of fixations and confidence ratings, irrespective of task demands required to conceal recognition. Crucially, we demonstrate that newly learned faces should not be used as a proxy for real-world familiarity, and that conclusions should not be generalised across different types of familiarity or stimulus class.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ailsa E Millen
- Department of Psychology, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, England, UK.
| | - Lorraine Hope
- Department of Psychology, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, England, UK
| | - Anne P Hillstrom
- Department of Psychology, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, England, UK
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15
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Cartei V, Banerjee R, Garnham A, Oakhill J, Roberts L, Anns S, Bond R, Reby D. Physiological and perceptual correlates of masculinity in children's voices. Horm Behav 2020; 117:104616. [PMID: 31644889 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2019.104616] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2019] [Revised: 10/06/2019] [Accepted: 10/12/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Low frequency components (i.e. a low pitch (F0) and low formant spacing (ΔF)) signal high salivary testosterone and height in adult male voices and are associated with high masculinity attributions by unfamiliar listeners (in both men and women). However, the relation between the physiological, acoustic and perceptual dimensions of speakers' masculinity prior to puberty remains unknown. In this study, 110 pre-pubertal children (58 girls), aged 3 to 10, were recorded as they described a cartoon picture. 315 adults (182 women) rated children's perceived masculinity from the voice only after listening to the speakers' audio recordings. On the basis of their voices alone, boys who had higher salivary testosterone levels were rated as more masculine and the relation between testosterone and perceived masculinity was partially mediated by F0. The voices of taller boys were also rated as more masculine, but the relation between height and perceived masculinity was not mediated by the considered acoustic parameters, indicating that acoustic cues other than F0 and ΔF may signal stature. Both boys and girls who had lower F0, were also rated as more masculine, while ΔF did not affect ratings. These findings highlight the interdependence of physiological, acoustic and perceptual dimensions, and suggest that inter-individual variation in male voices, particularly F0, may advertise hormonal masculinity from a very early age.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Robin Banerjee
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
| | - Alan Garnham
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
| | - Jane Oakhill
- Equipe Neuro-Ethologie Sensorielle, ENES/CRNL, CNRS UMR5292, INSERM UMR_S 1028, University of Lyon, Saint-Etienne, France
| | - Lucy Roberts
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
| | - Sophie Anns
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
| | - Rod Bond
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
| | - David Reby
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK; Equipe Neuro-Ethologie Sensorielle, ENES/CRNL, CNRS UMR5292, INSERM UMR_S 1028, University of Lyon, Saint-Etienne, France
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16
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Tognetti A, Durand V, Barkat-Defradas M, Hopfensitz A. Does he sound cooperative? Acoustic correlates of cooperativeness. Br J Psychol 2019; 111:823-839. [PMID: 31820449 DOI: 10.1111/bjop.12437] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2019] [Revised: 10/28/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The sound of the voice has several acoustic features that influence the perception of how cooperative the speaker is. It remains unknown, however, whether these acoustic features are associated with actual cooperative behaviour. This issue is crucial to disentangle whether inferences of traits from voices are based on stereotypes, or facilitate the detection of cooperative partners. The latter is likely due to the pleiotropic effect that testosterone has on both cooperative behaviours and acoustic features. In the present study, we quantified the cooperativeness of native French-speaking men in a one-shot public good game. We also measured mean fundamental frequency, pitch variations, roughness, and breathiness from spontaneous speech recordings of the same men and collected saliva samples to measure their testosterone levels. Our results showed that men with lower-pitched voices and greater pitch variations were more cooperative. However, testosterone did not influence cooperative behaviours or acoustic features. Our finding provides the first evidence of the acoustic correlates of cooperative behaviour. When considered in combination with the literature on the detection of cooperativeness from faces, the results imply that assessment of cooperative behaviour would be improved by simultaneous consideration of visual and auditory cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arnaud Tognetti
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.,Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, France
| | | | | | - Astrid Hopfensitz
- Toulouse School of Economics, Université Toulouse 1 Capitole, France
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17
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Valentova JV, Tureček P, Varella MAC, Šebesta P, Mendes FDC, Pereira KJ, Kubicová L, Stolařová P, Havlíček J. Vocal Parameters of Speech and Singing Covary and Are Related to Vocal Attractiveness, Body Measures, and Sociosexuality: A Cross-Cultural Study. Front Psychol 2019; 10:2029. [PMID: 31695631 PMCID: PMC6817625 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2018] [Accepted: 08/20/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Perceived vocal attractiveness and measured sex-dimorphic vocal parameters are both associated with underlying individual qualities. Research tends to focus on speech but singing is another highly evolved communication system that has distinct and universal features with analogs in other species, and it is relevant in mating. Both speaking and singing voice provides relevant information about its producer. We tested whether speech and singing function as "backup signals" that indicate similar underlying qualities. Using a sample of 81 men and 86 women from Brazil and the Czech Republic, we investigated vocal attractiveness rated from speech and singing and its association with fundamental frequency (F0), apparent vocal tract length (VTL), body characteristics, and sociosexuality. F0, VTL, and rated attractiveness of singing and speaking voice strongly correlated within the same individual. Lower-pitched speech in men, higher-pitched speech and singing in women, individuals who like to sing more, and singing of individuals with a higher pitch modulation were perceived as more attractive. In men, physical size positively predicted speech and singing attractiveness. Male speech but not singing attractiveness was associated with higher sociosexuality. Lower-pitched male speech was related to higher sociosexuality, while lower-pitched male singing was linked to lower sociosexuality. Similarly, shorter speech VTL and longer singing VTL predicted higher sociosexuality in women. Different vocal displays function as "backup signals" cueing to attractiveness and body size, but their relation to sexual strategies in men and women differs. Both singing and speech may indicate evolutionarily relevant individual qualities shaped by sexual selection.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Petr Tureček
- Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | | | - Pavel Šebesta
- Faculty of Humanities, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | | | - Kamila Janaina Pereira
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Institute of Psychology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Lydie Kubicová
- Faculty of Humanities, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | | | - Jan Havlíček
- Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
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18
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Schild C, Stern J, Zettler I. Linking men's voice pitch to actual and perceived trustworthiness across domains. Behav Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arz173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Previous research suggests that judgments about a male speaker's trustworthiness vary due to the speaker's voice pitch (mean F0) and differ across domains. However, mixed results in terms of the direction and extent of such effects have been reported. Moreover, no study so far has investigated whether men's mean F0 is, indeed, a valid cue to their self-reported and behavioral trustworthiness, and whether trustworthiness judgments are accurate. We tested the relation between mean F0 and actual general, economic, and mating-related trustworthiness in 181 men, as well as trustworthiness judgments of 95 perceivers across all three domains. Analyses show that men's mean F0 is not related to Honesty–Humility (as a trait indicator of general trustworthiness), trustworthy intentions, or trust game behavior, suggesting no relation of mean F0 to general or economic trustworthiness. In contrast, results suggest that mean F0 might be related to mating-related trustworthiness (as indicated by self-reported relationship infidelity). However, lower mean F0 was judged as more trustworthy in economic but less trustworthy in mating-related domains and rather weakly related to judgments of general trustworthiness. Trustworthiness judgments were not accurate for general or economic trustworthiness, but exploratory analyses suggest that women might be able to accurately judge men's relationship infidelity based on their voice pitch. Next to these analyses, we report exploratory analyses involving and controlling for additional voice parameters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christoph Schild
- Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Øster Farimagsgade, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Julia Stern
- Department of Psychology and Leibniz Science Campus Primate Cognition, University of Goettingen, Gosslerstrasse, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Ingo Zettler
- Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Øster Farimagsgade, Copenhagen, Denmark
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19
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Pisanski K, Oleszkiewicz A, Plachetka J, Gmiterek M, Reby D. Voice pitch modulation in human mate choice. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 285:20181634. [PMID: 30963886 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.1634] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Inter-individual differences in human fundamental frequency ( F0, perceived as voice pitch) predict mate quality and reproductive success, and affect listeners' social attributions. Although humans can readily and volitionally manipulate their vocal apparatus and resultant voice pitch, for instance, in the production of speech sounds and singing, little is known about whether humans exploit this capacity to adjust the non-verbal dimensions of their voices during social (including sexual) interactions. Here, we recorded full-length conversations of 30 adult men and women taking part in real speed-dating events and tested whether their voice pitch (mean, range and variability) changed with their personal mate choice preferences and the overall desirability of each dating partner. Within-individual analyses indicated that men lowered the minimum pitch of their voices when interacting with women who were overall highly desired by other men. Men also lowered their mean voice pitch on dates with women they selected as potential mates, particularly those who indicated a mutual preference (matches). Interestingly, although women spoke with a higher and more variable voice pitch towards men they selected as potential mates, women lowered both voice pitch parameters towards men who were most desired by other women and whom they also personally preferred. Between-individual analyses indicated that men in turn preferred women with lower-pitched voices, wherein women's minimum voice pitch explained up to 55% of the variance in men's mate preferences. These results, derived in an ecologically valid setting, show that individual- and group-level mate preferences can interact to affect vocal behaviour, and support the hypothesis that human voice modulation functions in non-verbal communication to elicit favourable judgements and behaviours from others, including potential mates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katarzyna Pisanski
- 1 School of Psychology, University of Sussex , Brighton , UK.,2 Institute of Psychology, University of Wroclaw , Wrocław , Poland
| | - Anna Oleszkiewicz
- 2 Institute of Psychology, University of Wroclaw , Wrocław , Poland.,3 Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Taste and Smell Centre, Technische Universität Dresden , Dresden , Germany
| | - Justyna Plachetka
- 4 SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities , Wroclaw , Poland
| | - Marzena Gmiterek
- 2 Institute of Psychology, University of Wroclaw , Wrocław , Poland
| | - David Reby
- 1 School of Psychology, University of Sussex , Brighton , UK
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20
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Oesch N. Music and Language in Social Interaction: Synchrony, Antiphony, and Functional Origins. Front Psychol 2019; 10:1514. [PMID: 31312163 PMCID: PMC6614337 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2019] [Accepted: 06/17/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Music and language are universal human abilities with many apparent similarities relating to their acoustics, structure, and frequent use in social situations. We might therefore expect them to be understood and processed similarly, and indeed an emerging body of research suggests that this is the case. But the focus has historically been on the individual, looking at the passive listener or the isolated speaker or performer, even though social interaction is the primary site of use for both domains. Nonetheless, an important goal of emerging research is to compare music and language in terms of acoustics and structure, social interaction, and functional origins to develop parallel accounts across the two domains. Indeed, a central aim of both of evolutionary musicology and language evolution research is to understand the adaptive significance or functional origin of human music and language. An influential proposal to emerge in recent years has been referred to as the social bonding hypothesis. Here, within a comparative approach to animal communication systems, I review empirical studies in support of the social bonding hypothesis in humans, non-human primates, songbirds, and various other mammals. In support of this hypothesis, I review six research fields: (i) the functional origins of music; (ii) the functional origins of language; (iii) mechanisms of social synchrony for human social bonding; (iv) language and social bonding in humans; (v) music and social bonding in humans; and (vi) pitch, tone and emotional expression in human speech and music. I conclude that the comparative study of complex vocalizations and behaviors in various extant species can provide important insights into the adaptive function(s) of these traits in these species, as well as offer evidence-based speculations for the existence of "musilanguage" in our primate ancestors, and thus inform our understanding of the biology and evolution of human music and language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan Oesch
- Music and Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology, The Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, ON, Canada
- Cognitive Neuroscience of Communication and Hearing (CoNCH) Lab, Department of Psychology, The Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, ON, Canada
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21
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Suire A, Raymond M, Barkat-Defradas M. Male Vocal Quality and Its Relation to Females' Preferences. EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY 2019; 17:1474704919874675. [PMID: 31564128 PMCID: PMC10367192 DOI: 10.1177/1474704919874675] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2019] [Accepted: 08/16/2019] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
In both correlational and experimental settings, studies on women's vocal preferences have reported negative relationships between perceived attractiveness and men's vocal pitch, emphasizing the idea of an adaptive preference. However, such consensus on vocal attractiveness has been mostly conducted with native English speakers, but a few evidence suggest that it may be culture-dependent. Moreover, other overlooked acoustic components of vocal quality, such as intonation, perceived breathiness and roughness, may influence vocal attractiveness. In this context, the present study aims to contribute to the literature by investigating vocal attractiveness in an underrepresented language (i.e., French) as well as shedding light on its relationship with understudied acoustic components of vocal quality. More specifically, we investigated the relationships between attractiveness ratings as assessed by female raters and male voice pitch, its variation, the formants' dispersion and position, and the harmonics-to-noise and jitter ratios. Results show that women were significantly more attracted to lower vocal pitch and higher intonation patterns. However, they did not show any directional preferences for all the other acoustic features. We discuss our results in light of the adaptive functions of vocal preferences in a mate choice context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandre Suire
- ISEM, University Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Michel Raymond
- ISEM, University Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
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22
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Voice of Authority: Professionals Lower Their Vocal Frequencies When Giving Expert Advice. JOURNAL OF NONVERBAL BEHAVIOR 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s10919-019-00307-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
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23
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Schild C, Feinberg DR, Puts DA, Jünger J, Fasolt V, Holzleitner I, O'Shea K, Lai R, Arslan R, Hahn A, Cárdenas RA, DeBruine LM, Jones BC. TEMPORARY REMOVAL: Are attractive female voices really best characterized by feminine fundamental and formant frequencies? EVOL HUM BEHAV 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2019.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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24
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Abstract
The field of nonverbal communication (NVC) has a long history involving many cue modalities, including face, voice, body, touch, and interpersonal space; different levels of analysis, including normative, group, and individual differences; and many substantive themes that cross from psychology into other disciplines. In this review, we focus on NVC as it pertains to individuals and social interaction. We concentrate specifically on ( a) the meanings and correlates of cues that are enacted (sent) by encoders and ( b) the perception of nonverbal cues and the accuracy of such perception. Frameworks are presented for conceptualizing and understanding the process of sending and receiving nonverbal cues. Measurement issues are discussed, and theoretical issues and new developments are covered briefly. Although our review is primarily oriented within social and personality psychology, the interdisciplinary nature of NVC is evident in the growing body of research on NVC across many areas of scientific inquiry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judith A. Hall
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
| | - Terrence G. Horgan
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Flint, Michigan 48502, USA
| | - Nora A. Murphy
- Department of Psychology, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, California 90045, USA
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25
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Suire A, Raymond M, Barkat-Defradas M. Human vocal behavior within competitive and courtship contexts and its relation to mating success. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2018.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
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26
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Pavela Banai I. Voice in different phases of menstrual cycle among naturally cycling women and users of hormonal contraceptives. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0183462. [PMID: 28829842 PMCID: PMC5568722 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0183462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2016] [Accepted: 08/05/2017] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous studies have shown changes in women's behavior and physical appearance between the non-fertile and fertile phases of the menstrual cycle. It is assumed that these changes are regulated by fluctuations in sex hormone levels across the cycle. Receptors for sex hormones have been found on the vocal folds, suggesting a link between hormone levels and vocal fold function, which might cause changes in voice production. However, attempts to identify changes in voice production across the menstrual cycle have produced mixed results. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate changes in sexually dimorphic vocal characteristics and quality of women's voices in different phases of the cycle and to compare these with users of monophasic hormonal contraception. Voice samples (vowel phonation) of 44 naturally cycling women were obtained in the menstrual, late follicular (confirmed by LH surge) and luteal phases, and in 20 hormonal contraceptive users across equivalent stages of the monthly cycle. Results showed that voices of naturally cycling women had higher minimum pitch in the late follicular phase compared with the other phases. In addition, voice intensity was at its lowest in the luteal phase. In contrast, there were no voice changes across the cycle in hormonal contraceptive users. Comparison between the two groups of women revealed that the naturally cycling group had higher minimum pitch in the fertile phase and higher harmonics to noise ratio in the menstrual phase. In general, present results support the assumption that sex hormones might have an effect on voice function. These results, coupled with mixed findings in previous studies, suggest that vocal changes in relation to hormonal fluctuation are subtle, at least during vowel production. Future studies should explore voice changes in a defined social context and with more free-flowing speech.
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27
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Perceived differences in social status between speaker and listener affect the speaker's vocal characteristics. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0179407. [PMID: 28614413 PMCID: PMC5470693 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0179407] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2016] [Accepted: 05/29/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Non-verbal behaviours, including voice characteristics during speech, are an important way to communicate social status. Research suggests that individuals can obtain high social status through dominance (using force and intimidation) or through prestige (by being knowledgeable and skilful). However, little is known regarding differences in the vocal behaviour of men and women in response to dominant and prestigious individuals. Here, we tested within-subject differences in vocal parameters of interviewees during simulated job interviews with dominant, prestigious, and neutral employers (targets), while responding to questions which were classified as introductory, personal, and interpersonal. We found that vocal modulations were apparent between responses to the neutral and high-status targets, with participants, especially those who perceived themselves as low in dominance, increasing fundamental frequency (F0) in response to the dominant and prestigious targets relative to the neutral target. Self-perceived prestige, however, was less related to contextual vocal modulations than self-perceived dominance. Finally, we found that differences in the context of the interview questions participants were asked to respond to (introductory, personal, interpersonal), also affected their vocal parameters, being more prominent in responses to personal and interpersonal questions. Overall, our results suggest that people adjust their vocal parameters according to the perceived social status of the listener as well as their own self-perceived social status.
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28
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Doody P. Is there evidence of robust, unconscious self-deception? A reply to Funkhouser and Barrett. PHILOSOPHICAL PSYCHOLOGY 2017. [DOI: 10.1080/09515089.2017.1328491] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Paul Doody
- Department of Philosophy, King’s College London, London, UK
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29
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Funkhouser E, Barrett D. Reply to Doody. PHILOSOPHICAL PSYCHOLOGY 2017. [DOI: 10.1080/09515089.2017.1328492] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Eric Funkhouser
- Department of Philosophy, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA
| | - David Barrett
- Department of Philosophy, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA
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30
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Clark G, Henneberg M. Ardipithecus ramidus and the evolution of language and singing: An early origin for hominin vocal capability. HOMO-JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE HUMAN BIOLOGY 2017; 68:101-121. [PMID: 28363458 DOI: 10.1016/j.jchb.2017.03.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2016] [Accepted: 03/02/2017] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
In this paper we analyse the possibility that the early hominin Ardipithecus ramidus had vocal capabilities far exceeding those of any extant non-human primate. We argue that erect posture combined with changes in craniofacial morphology, such as reduced facial and jaw length, not only provide evidence for increased levels of pro-sociality, but also increased vocal ability. Reduced length of the face and jaw, combined with a flexed cranial base, suggests the larynx in this species was situated deeper in the neck than in chimpanzees, a trait which may have facilitated increased vocal ability. We also provide evidence that Ar. ramidus, by virtue of its erect posture, possessed a degree of cervical lordosis significantly greater than chimpanzees. This is indicative of increased mobility of the larynx within the neck and hence increased capacity to modulate vocalisations. In the paleoanthropological literature, these changes in early hominin skull morphology have to date been analysed in terms of a shift in mating and social behaviour, with little consideration given to vocally mediated sociality. Similarly, in the literature on language evolution there is a distinct lacuna regarding links between craniofacial correlates of social and mating systems and vocal ability. These are surprising oversights given that pro-sociality and vocal capability require identical alterations to the common ancestral skull and skeletal configuration. We therefore propose a model which integrates data on whole organism morphogenesis with evidence for a potential early emergence of hominin socio-vocal adaptations. Consequently, we suggest vocal capability may have evolved much earlier than has been traditionally proposed. Instead of emerging in the Homo genus, we suggest the palaeoecological context of late Miocene and early Pliocene forests and woodlands facilitated the evolution of hominin socio-vocal capability. We also propose that paedomorphic morphogenesis of the skull via the process of self-domestication enabled increased levels of pro-social behaviour, as well as increased capacity for socially synchronous vocalisation to evolve at the base of the hominin clade.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gary Clark
- Biological Anthropology and Comparative Anatomy Unit, Adelaide Medical School, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5005, Australia.
| | - Maciej Henneberg
- Biological Anthropology and Comparative Anatomy Unit, Adelaide Medical School, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5005, Australia.
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31
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Volitional exaggeration of body size through fundamental and formant frequency modulation in humans. Sci Rep 2016; 6:34389. [PMID: 27687571 PMCID: PMC5043380 DOI: 10.1038/srep34389] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2016] [Accepted: 09/09/2016] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Several mammalian species scale their voice fundamental frequency (F0) and formant frequencies in competitive and mating contexts, reducing vocal tract and laryngeal allometry thereby exaggerating apparent body size. Although humans’ rare capacity to volitionally modulate these same frequencies is thought to subserve articulated speech, the potential function of voice frequency modulation in human nonverbal communication remains largely unexplored. Here, the voices of 167 men and women from Canada, Cuba, and Poland were recorded in a baseline condition and while volitionally imitating a physically small and large body size. Modulation of F0, formant spacing (∆F), and apparent vocal tract length (VTL) were measured using Praat. Our results indicate that men and women spontaneously and systemically increased VTL and decreased F0 to imitate a large body size, and reduced VTL and increased F0 to imitate small size. These voice modulations did not differ substantially across cultures, indicating potentially universal sound-size correspondences or anatomical and biomechanical constraints on voice modulation. In each culture, men generally modulated their voices (particularly formants) more than did women. This latter finding could help to explain sexual dimorphism in F0 and formants that is currently unaccounted for by sexual dimorphism in human vocal anatomy and body size.
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32
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Puts DA, Hill AK, Bailey DH, Walker RS, Rendall D, Wheatley JR, Welling LLM, Dawood K, Cárdenas R, Burriss RP, Jablonski NG, Shriver MD, Weiss D, Lameira AR, Apicella CL, Owren MJ, Barelli C, Glenn ME, Ramos-Fernandez G. Sexual selection on male vocal fundamental frequency in humans and other anthropoids. Proc Biol Sci 2016; 283:20152830. [PMID: 27122553 PMCID: PMC4855375 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2015.2830] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2015] [Accepted: 04/05/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
In many primates, including humans, the vocalizations of males and females differ dramatically, with male vocalizations and vocal anatomy often seeming to exaggerate apparent body size. These traits may be favoured by sexual selection because low-frequency male vocalizations intimidate rivals and/or attract females, but this hypothesis has not been systematically tested across primates, nor is it clear why competitors and potential mates should attend to vocalization frequencies. Here we show across anthropoids that sexual dimorphism in fundamental frequency (F0) increased during evolutionary transitions towards polygyny, and decreased during transitions towards monogamy. Surprisingly, humans exhibit greater F0 sexual dimorphism than any other ape. We also show that low-F0 vocalizations predict perceptions of men's dominance and attractiveness, and predict hormone profiles (low cortisol and high testosterone) related to immune function. These results suggest that low male F0 signals condition to competitors and mates, and evolved in male anthropoids in response to the intensity of mating competition.
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Affiliation(s)
- David A Puts
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA Center for Brain, Behavior, and Cognition, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Alexander K Hill
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Drew H Bailey
- School of Education, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Robert S Walker
- Department of Anthropology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
| | - Drew Rendall
- Department of Psychology, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada T1 K 3M4
| | - John R Wheatley
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Lisa L M Welling
- Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, MI 48309, USA
| | - Khytam Dawood
- Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Rodrigo Cárdenas
- Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Robert P Burriss
- Department of Psychology, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8ST, UK
| | - Nina G Jablonski
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Mark D Shriver
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Daniel Weiss
- Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Adriano R Lameira
- Department of Anthropology, Durham University, Durham DH1 3LE, UK Pongo Foundation, Papenhoeflaan 91, Oudewater 3421XN, The Netherlands
| | - Coren L Apicella
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Michael J Owren
- OSV Acoustical Associates and Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Claudia Barelli
- Sezione di Biodiversità Tropicale, Museo delle Scienze, Trento 38122, Italy
| | - Mary E Glenn
- Department of Anthropology, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA 95521, USA
| | - Gabriel Ramos-Fernandez
- CIIDIR Unidad Oaxaca, Instituto Politecnico Nacional, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico and C3-Centro de Ciencias de la Complejidad, Mexico 04510, Mexico
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34
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Pisanski K, Cartei V, McGettigan C, Raine J, Reby D. Voice Modulation: A Window into the Origins of Human Vocal Control? Trends Cogn Sci 2016; 20:304-318. [PMID: 26857619 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2016.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 96] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2015] [Revised: 01/05/2016] [Accepted: 01/07/2016] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
An unresolved issue in comparative approaches to speech evolution is the apparent absence of an intermediate vocal communication system between human speech and the less flexible vocal repertoires of other primates. We argue that humans' ability to modulate nonverbal vocal features evolutionarily linked to expression of body size and sex (fundamental and formant frequencies) provides a largely overlooked window into the nature of this intermediate system. Recent behavioral and neural evidence indicates that humans' vocal control abilities, commonly assumed to subserve speech, extend to these nonverbal dimensions. This capacity appears in continuity with context-dependent frequency modulations recently identified in other mammals, including primates, and may represent a living relic of early vocal control abilities that led to articulated human speech.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katarzyna Pisanski
- Mammal Vocal Communication and Cognition Research Group, School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK; Institute of Psychology, University of Wrocław, Wrocław, Poland
| | - Valentina Cartei
- Mammal Vocal Communication and Cognition Research Group, School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
| | - Carolyn McGettigan
- Royal Holloway Vocal Communication Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, UK
| | - Jordan Raine
- Mammal Vocal Communication and Cognition Research Group, School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
| | - David Reby
- Mammal Vocal Communication and Cognition Research Group, School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK.
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Doll LM, Cárdenas RA, Burriss RP, Puts DA. Sexual Selection and Life History: Earlier Recalled Puberty Predicts Men’s Phenotypic Masculinization. ADAPTIVE HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND PHYSIOLOGY 2015. [DOI: 10.1007/s40750-015-0031-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
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Burriss RP, Troscianko J, Lovell PG, Fulford AJC, Stevens M, Quigley R, Payne J, Saxton TK, Rowland HM. Changes in Women's Facial Skin Color over the Ovulatory Cycle are Not Detectable by the Human Visual System. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0130093. [PMID: 26134671 PMCID: PMC4489916 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0130093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2014] [Accepted: 05/15/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Human ovulation is not advertised, as it is in several primate species, by conspicuous sexual swellings. However, there is increasing evidence that the attractiveness of women's body odor, voice, and facial appearance peak during the fertile phase of their ovulatory cycle. Cycle effects on facial attractiveness may be underpinned by changes in facial skin color, but it is not clear if skin color varies cyclically in humans or if any changes are detectable. To test these questions we photographed women daily for at least one cycle. Changes in facial skin redness and luminance were then quantified by mapping the digital images to human long, medium, and shortwave visual receptors. We find cyclic variation in skin redness, but not luminance. Redness decreases rapidly after menstrual onset, increases in the days before ovulation, and remains high through the luteal phase. However, we also show that this variation is unlikely to be detectable by the human visual system. We conclude that changes in skin color are not responsible for the effects of the ovulatory cycle on women's attractiveness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert P. Burriss
- Department of Psychology, Northumbria University, Newcastle, NE1 8ST, United Kingdom
| | - Jolyon Troscianko
- Centre for Ecology & Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, TR10 9FE, United Kingdom
| | - P. George Lovell
- Division of Psychology, Abertay University, Dundee, DD1 1HG, United Kingdom
- School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9JP, United Kingdom
| | - Anthony J. C. Fulford
- MRC International Nutrition Group, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, WC1E 7HT, United Kingdom
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, United Kingdom
| | - Martin Stevens
- Centre for Ecology & Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, TR10 9FE, United Kingdom
| | - Rachael Quigley
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, United Kingdom
| | - Jenny Payne
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, United Kingdom
| | - Tamsin K. Saxton
- Department of Psychology, Northumbria University, Newcastle, NE1 8ST, United Kingdom
| | - Hannah M. Rowland
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, United Kingdom
- Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, London, NW1 4RY, United Kingdom
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