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Anikin A, Canessa-Pollard V, Pisanski K, Massenet M, Reby D. Beyond speech: Exploring diversity in the human voice. iScience 2023; 26:108204. [PMID: 37908309 PMCID: PMC10613903 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.108204] [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: 05/03/2023] [Revised: 07/20/2023] [Accepted: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 11/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Humans have evolved voluntary control over vocal production for speaking and singing, while preserving the phylogenetically older system of spontaneous nonverbal vocalizations such as laughs and screams. To test for systematic acoustic differences between these vocal domains, we analyzed a broad, cross-cultural corpus representing over 2 h of speech, singing, and nonverbal vocalizations. We show that, while speech is relatively low-pitched and tonal with mostly regular phonation, singing and especially nonverbal vocalizations vary enormously in pitch and often display harsh-sounding, irregular phonation owing to nonlinear phenomena. The evolution of complex supralaryngeal articulatory spectro-temporal modulation has been critical for speech, yet has not significantly constrained laryngeal source modulation. In contrast, articulation is very limited in nonverbal vocalizations, which predominantly contain minimally articulated open vowels and rapid temporal modulation in the roughness range. We infer that vocal source modulation works best for conveying affect, while vocal filter modulation mainly facilitates semantic communication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrey Anikin
- Division of Cognitive Science, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
- ENES Bioacoustics Research Lab, CRNL, University of Saint-Etienne, CNRS, Inserm, 23 rue Michelon, 42023 Saint-Etienne, France
| | - Valentina Canessa-Pollard
- ENES Bioacoustics Research Lab, CRNL, University of Saint-Etienne, CNRS, Inserm, 23 rue Michelon, 42023 Saint-Etienne, France
- Psychology, Institute of Psychology, Business and Human Sciences, University of Chichester, Chichester, West Sussex PO19 6PE, UK
| | - Katarzyna Pisanski
- ENES Bioacoustics Research Lab, CRNL, University of Saint-Etienne, CNRS, Inserm, 23 rue Michelon, 42023 Saint-Etienne, France
- CNRS French National Centre for Scientific Research, DDL Dynamics of Language Lab, University of Lyon 2, 69007 Lyon, France
- Institute of Psychology, University of Wrocław, Dawida 1, 50-527 Wrocław, Poland
| | - Mathilde Massenet
- ENES Bioacoustics Research Lab, CRNL, University of Saint-Etienne, CNRS, Inserm, 23 rue Michelon, 42023 Saint-Etienne, France
| | - David Reby
- ENES Bioacoustics Research Lab, CRNL, University of Saint-Etienne, CNRS, Inserm, 23 rue Michelon, 42023 Saint-Etienne, France
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2
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Lavan N, McGettigan C. A model for person perception from familiar and unfamiliar voices. COMMUNICATIONS PSYCHOLOGY 2023; 1:1. [PMID: 38665246 PMCID: PMC11041786 DOI: 10.1038/s44271-023-00001-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2023] [Accepted: 04/28/2023] [Indexed: 04/28/2024]
Abstract
When hearing a voice, listeners can form a detailed impression of the person behind the voice. Existing models of voice processing focus primarily on one aspect of person perception - identity recognition from familiar voices - but do not account for the perception of other person characteristics (e.g., sex, age, personality traits). Here, we present a broader perspective, proposing that listeners have a common perceptual goal of perceiving who they are hearing, whether the voice is familiar or unfamiliar. We outline and discuss a model - the Person Perception from Voices (PPV) model - that achieves this goal via a common mechanism of recognising a familiar person, persona, or set of speaker characteristics. Our PPV model aims to provide a more comprehensive account of how listeners perceive the person they are listening to, using an approach that incorporates and builds on aspects of the hierarchical frameworks and prototype-based mechanisms proposed within existing models of voice identity recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadine Lavan
- Department of Experimental and Biological Psychology, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Carolyn McGettigan
- Department of Speech, Hearing, and Phonetic Sciences, University College London, London, UK
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3
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Chen S, Han C, Wang S, Liu X, Wang B, Wei R, Lei X. Hearing the physical condition: The relationship between sexually dimorphic vocal traits and underlying physiology. Front Psychol 2022; 13:983688. [DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.983688] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2022] [Accepted: 10/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
A growing amount of research has shown associations between sexually dimorphic vocal traits and physiological conditions related to reproductive advantage. This paper presented a review of the literature on the relationship between sexually dimorphic vocal traits and sex hormones, body size, and physique. Those physiological conditions are important in reproductive success and mate selection. Regarding sex hormones, there are associations between sex-specific hormones and sexually dimorphic vocal traits; about body size, formant frequencies are more reliable predictors of human body size than pitch/fundamental frequency; with regard to the physique, there is a possible but still controversial association between human voice and strength and combat power, while pitch is more often used as a signal of aggressive intent in conflict. Future research should consider demographic, cross-cultural, cognitive interaction, and emotional motivation influences, in order to more accurately assess the relationship between voice and physiology. Moreover, neurological studies were recommended to gain a deeper understanding of the evolutionary origins and adaptive functions of voice modulation.
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4
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Mailhos A, Egea-Caparrós DA, Guerrero Rodríguez C, Luzardo M, Kiskimska ND, Martínez Sánchez F. Vocal Cues to Male Physical Formidability. Front Psychol 2022; 13:879102. [PMID: 35865705 PMCID: PMC9294471 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.879102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2022] [Accepted: 06/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Animal vocalizations convey important information about the emitter, including sex, age, biological quality, and emotional state. Early on, Darwin proposed that sex differences in auditory signals and vocalizations were driven by sexual selection mechanisms. In humans, studies on the association between male voice attributes and physical formidability have thus far reported mixed results. Hence, with a view to furthering our understanding of the role of human voice in advertising physical formidability, we sought to identify acoustic attributes of male voices associated with physical formidability proxies. Mean fundamental frequency (F0), formant dispersion (Df), formant position (Pf), and vocal tract length (VTL) data from a sample of 101 male voices was analyzed for potential associations with height, weight, and maximal handgrip strength (HGS). F0 correlated negatively with HGS; Pf showed negative correlations with HGS, height and weight, whereas VTL positively correlated with HGS, height and weight. All zero-order correlations remained significant after controlling for false discovery rate (FDR) with the Benjamini–Hochberg method. After controlling for height and weight—and controlling for FDR—the correlation between F0 and HGS remained significant. In addition, to evaluate the ability of human male voices to advertise physical formidability to potential mates, 151 heterosexual female participants rated the voices of the 10 strongest and the 10 weakest males from the original sample for perceived physical strength, and given that physical strength is a desirable attribute in male partners, perceived attractiveness. Generalized linear mixed model analyses—which allow for generalization of inferences to other samples of both raters and targets—failed to support a significant association of perceived strength or attractiveness from voices alone and actual physical strength. These results add to the growing body of work on the role of human voices in conveying relevant biological information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alvaro Mailhos
- Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
- Centro de Experimentación e Innovación Social, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
- *Correspondence: Alvaro Mailhos,
| | | | - Cristina Guerrero Rodríguez
- Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de Cádiz, Cádiz, Spain
- Instituto Universitario de Investigación para el Desarrollo Social Sostenible, Universidad de Cádiz, Jerez de la Frontera, Spain
| | - Mario Luzardo
- Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
- Centro Universitario Regional del Este, Universidad de la República, Maldonado, Uruguay
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5
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Lidborg LH, Cross CP, Boothroyd LG. A meta-analysis of the association between male dimorphism and fitness outcomes in humans. eLife 2022; 11:e65031. [PMID: 35179485 PMCID: PMC9106334 DOI: 10.7554/elife.65031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2020] [Accepted: 02/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Humans are sexually dimorphic: men and women differ in body build and composition, craniofacial structure, and voice pitch, likely mediated in part by developmental testosterone. Sexual selection hypotheses posit that, ancestrally, more 'masculine' men may have acquired more mates and/or sired more viable offspring. Thus far, however, evidence for either association is unclear. Here, we meta-analyze the relationships between six masculine traits and mating/reproductive outcomes (96 studies, 474 effects, N = 177,044). Voice pitch, height, and testosterone all predicted mating; however, strength/muscularity was the strongest and only consistent predictor of both mating and reproduction. Facial masculinity and digit ratios did not significantly predict either. There was no clear evidence for any effects of masculinity on offspring viability. Our findings support arguments that strength/muscularity may be sexually selected in humans, but cast doubt regarding selection for other forms of masculinity and highlight the need to increase tests of evolutionary hypotheses outside of industrialized populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linda H Lidborg
- Department of Psychology, Durham UniversityDurhamUnited Kingdom
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6
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Anikin A, Pisanski K, Reby D. Static and dynamic formant scaling conveys body size and aggression. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2022; 9:211496. [PMID: 35242348 PMCID: PMC8753157 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.211496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2021] [Accepted: 12/09/2021] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
When producing intimidating aggressive vocalizations, humans and other animals often extend their vocal tracts to lower their voice resonance frequencies (formants) and thus sound big. Is acoustic size exaggeration more effective when the vocal tract is extended before, or during, the vocalization, and how do listeners interpret within-call changes in apparent vocal tract length? We compared perceptual effects of static and dynamic formant scaling in aggressive human speech and nonverbal vocalizations. Acoustic manipulations corresponded to elongating or shortening the vocal tract either around (Experiment 1) or from (Experiment 2) its resting position. Gradual formant scaling that preserved average frequencies conveyed the impression of smaller size and greater aggression, regardless of the direction of change. Vocal tract shortening from the original length conveyed smaller size and less aggression, whereas vocal tract elongation conveyed larger size and more aggression, and these effects were stronger for static than for dynamic scaling. Listeners familiarized with the speaker's natural voice were less often 'fooled' by formant manipulations when judging speaker size, but paid more attention to formants when judging aggressive intent. Thus, within-call vocal tract scaling conveys emotion, but a better way to sound large and intimidating is to keep the vocal tract consistently extended.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrey Anikin
- Division of Cognitive Science, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
- ENES Sensory Neuro-Ethology lab, CRNL, Jean Monnet University of Saint Étienne, UMR 5293, 42023, St-Étienne, France
| | - Katarzyna Pisanski
- ENES Sensory Neuro-Ethology lab, CRNL, Jean Monnet University of Saint Étienne, UMR 5293, 42023, St-Étienne, France
| | - David Reby
- ENES Sensory Neuro-Ethology lab, CRNL, Jean Monnet University of Saint Étienne, UMR 5293, 42023, St-Étienne, France
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7
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Kleisner K, Leongómez JD, Pisanski K, Fiala V, Cornec C, Groyecka-Bernard A, Butovskaya M, Reby D, Sorokowski P, Akoko RM. Predicting strength from aggressive vocalizations versus speech in African bushland and urban communities. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20200403. [PMID: 34719250 PMCID: PMC8558769 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/23/2021] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The human voice carries information about a vocalizer's physical strength that listeners can perceive and that may influence mate choice and intrasexual competition. Yet, reliable acoustic correlates of strength in human speech remain unclear. Compared to speech, aggressive nonverbal vocalizations (roars) may function to maximize perceived strength, suggesting that their acoustic structure has been selected to communicate formidability, similar to the vocal threat displays of other animals. Here, we test this prediction in two non-WEIRD African samples: an urban community of Cameroonians and rural nomadic Hadza hunter-gatherers in the Tanzanian bushlands. Participants produced standardized speech and volitional roars and provided handgrip strength measures. Using acoustic analysis and information-theoretic multi-model inference and averaging techniques, we show that strength can be measured from both speech and roars, and as predicted, strength is more reliably gauged from roars than vowels, words or greetings. The acoustic structure of roars explains 40-70% of the variance in actual strength within adults of either sex. However, strength is predicted by multiple acoustic parameters whose combinations vary by sex, sample and vocal type. Thus, while roars may maximally signal strength, more research is needed to uncover consistent and likely interacting acoustic correlates of strength in the human voice. 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)
- Karel Kleisner
- Department of Philosophy and History of Science, Charles University, Prague, 12800, Czech Republic
| | - Juan David Leongómez
- Human Behaviour Lab (LACH), Faculty of Psychology, Universidad El Bosque, Bogota, DC, 110121, Colombia
| | - Katarzyna Pisanski
- Equipe de Neuro-Ethologie Sensorielle, Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon, Jean Monnet University of Saint-Etienne, 42100, France
- CNRS | Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Laboratoire Dynamique du Langage, Université Lyon 2, Lyon, 69363, France
- Institute of Psychology, University of Wroclaw, 50–527, Poland
| | - Vojtěch Fiala
- Department of Philosophy and History of Science, Charles University, Prague, 12800, Czech Republic
| | - Clément Cornec
- Equipe de Neuro-Ethologie Sensorielle, Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon, Jean Monnet University of Saint-Etienne, 42100, France
| | | | - Marina Butovskaya
- Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Russian Academy of Science, Russia
- Russian State University for the Humanities, Moscow, 125047, Russia
| | - David Reby
- Equipe de Neuro-Ethologie Sensorielle, Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon, Jean Monnet University of Saint-Etienne, 42100, France
| | | | - Robert Mbe Akoko
- Department of Communication and Development Studies, University of Bamenda, PO Box 39, Bambili, Bamenda, Cameroon
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8
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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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9
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Frühholz S, Dietziker J, Staib M, Trost W. Neurocognitive processing efficiency for discriminating human non-alarm rather than alarm scream calls. PLoS Biol 2021; 19:e3000751. [PMID: 33848299 PMCID: PMC8043411 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000751] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2020] [Accepted: 02/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Across many species, scream calls signal the affective significance of events to other agents. Scream calls were often thought to be of generic alarming and fearful nature, to signal potential threats, with instantaneous, involuntary, and accurate recognition by perceivers. However, scream calls are more diverse in their affective signaling nature than being limited to fearfully alarming a threat, and thus the broader sociobiological relevance of various scream types is unclear. Here we used 4 different psychoacoustic, perceptual decision-making, and neuroimaging experiments in humans to demonstrate the existence of at least 6 psychoacoustically distinctive types of scream calls of both alarming and non-alarming nature, rather than there being only screams caused by fear or aggression. Second, based on perceptual and processing sensitivity measures for decision-making during scream recognition, we found that alarm screams (with some exceptions) were overall discriminated the worst, were responded to the slowest, and were associated with a lower perceptual sensitivity for their recognition compared with non-alarm screams. Third, the neural processing of alarm compared with non-alarm screams during an implicit processing task elicited only minimal neural signal and connectivity in perceivers, contrary to the frequent assumption of a threat processing bias of the primate neural system. These findings show that scream calls are more diverse in their signaling and communicative nature in humans than previously assumed, and, in contrast to a commonly observed threat processing bias in perceptual discriminations and neural processes, we found that especially non-alarm screams, and positive screams in particular, seem to have higher efficiency in speeded discriminations and the implicit neural processing of various scream types in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sascha Frühholz
- Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- * E-mail:
| | - Joris Dietziker
- Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Matthias Staib
- Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Wiebke Trost
- Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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10
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Engelberg JWM, Schwartz JW, Gouzoules H. The emotional canvas of human screams: patterns and acoustic cues in the perceptual categorization of a basic call type. PeerJ 2021; 9:e10990. [PMID: 33854835 PMCID: PMC7953872 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.10990] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2020] [Accepted: 02/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Screams occur across taxonomically widespread species, typically in antipredator situations, and are strikingly similar acoustically, but in nonhuman primates, they have taken on acoustically varied forms in association with more contextually complex functions related to agonistic recruitment. Humans scream in an even broader range of contexts, but the extent to which acoustic variation allows listeners to perceive different emotional meanings remains unknown. We investigated how listeners responded to 30 contextually diverse human screams on six different emotion prompts as well as how selected acoustic cues predicted these responses. We found that acoustic variation in screams was associated with the perception of different emotions from these calls. Emotion ratings generally fell along two dimensions: one contrasting perceived anger, frustration, and pain with surprise and happiness, roughly associated with call duration and roughness, and one related to perceived fear, associated with call fundamental frequency. Listeners were more likely to rate screams highly in emotion prompts matching the source context, suggesting that some screams conveyed information about emotional context, but it is noteworthy that the analysis of screams from happiness contexts (n = 11 screams) revealed that they more often yielded higher ratings of fear. We discuss the implications of these findings for the role and evolution of nonlinguistic vocalizations in human communication, including consideration of how the expanded diversity in calls such as human screams might represent a derived function of language.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jay W. Schwartz
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Psychological Sciences Department, Western Oregon University, Monmouth, OR, USA
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11
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Pisanski K, Reby D. Efficacy in deceptive vocal exaggeration of human body size. Nat Commun 2021; 12:968. [PMID: 33579910 PMCID: PMC7881139 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21008-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2020] [Accepted: 01/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
How can deceptive communication signals exist in an evolutionarily stable signalling system? To resolve this age-old honest signalling paradox, researchers must first establish whether deception benefits deceivers. However, while vocal exaggeration is widespread in the animal kingdom and assumably adaptive, its effectiveness in biasing listeners has not been established. Here, we show that human listeners can detect deceptive vocal signals produced by vocalisers who volitionally shift their voice frequencies to exaggerate or attenuate their perceived size. Listeners can also judge the relative heights of cheaters, whose deceptive signals retain reliable acoustic cues to interindividual height. Importantly, although vocal deception biases listeners' absolute height judgments, listeners recalibrate their height assessments for vocalisers they correctly and concurrently identify as deceptive, particularly men judging men. Thus, while size exaggeration can fool listeners, benefiting the deceiver, its detection can reduce bias and mitigate costs for listeners, underscoring an unremitting arms-race between signallers and receivers in animal communication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katarzyna Pisanski
- Equipe de Neuro-Ethologie Sensorielle (ENES), Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon (CRNL), CNRS, INSERM, University of Lyon/Saint-Étienne, Saint-Étienne, France. .,Institute of Psychology, University of Wrocław, Wrocław, Poland.
| | - David Reby
- Equipe de Neuro-Ethologie Sensorielle (ENES), Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon (CRNL), CNRS, INSERM, University of Lyon/Saint-Étienne, Saint-Étienne, France
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12
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Zhang J, Hodges-Simeon C, Gaulin SJ, Reid SA. Pitch lowering enhances men's perceived aggressive intent, not fighting ability. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2020.07.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
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13
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Schild C, Aung T, Kordsmeyer TL, Cardenas RA, Puts DA, Penke L. Linking human male vocal parameters to perceptions, body morphology, strength and hormonal profiles in contexts of sexual selection. Sci Rep 2020; 10:21296. [PMID: 33277544 PMCID: PMC7719159 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-77940-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2020] [Accepted: 11/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Sexual selection appears to have shaped the acoustic signals of diverse species, including humans. Deep, resonant vocalizations in particular may function in attracting mates and/or intimidating same-sex competitors. Evidence for these adaptive functions in human males derives predominantly from perception studies in which vocal acoustic parameters were manipulated using specialist software. This approach affords tight experimental control but provides little ecological validity, especially when the target acoustic parameters vary naturally with other parameters. Furthermore, such experimental studies provide no information about what acoustic variables indicate about the speaker-that is, why attention to vocal cues may be favored in intrasexual and intersexual contexts. Using voice recordings with high ecological validity from 160 male speakers and biomarkers of condition, including baseline cortisol and testosterone levels, body morphology and strength, we tested a series of pre-registered hypotheses relating to both perceptions and underlying condition of the speaker. We found negative curvilinear and negative linear relationships between male fundamental frequency (fo) and female perceptions of attractiveness and male perceptions of dominance. In addition, cortisol and testosterone negatively interacted in predicting fo, and strength and measures of body size negatively predicted formant frequencies (Pf). Meta-analyses of the present results and those from two previous samples confirmed that fonegatively predicted testosterone only among men with lower cortisol levels. This research offers empirical evidence of possible evolutionary functions for attention to men's vocal characteristics in contexts of sexual selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christoph Schild
- Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Øster Farimagsgade 2A, 1353, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Toe Aung
- Department of Anthropology and Center for Brain, Behavior and Cognition, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA
| | - Tobias L Kordsmeyer
- Department of Psychology and Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, University of Goettingen, Gosslerstrasse 14, 37073, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Rodrigo A Cardenas
- Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA
| | - David A Puts
- Department of Anthropology and Center for Brain, Behavior and Cognition, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.
| | - Lars Penke
- Department of Psychology and Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, University of Goettingen, Gosslerstrasse 14, 37073, Göttingen, Germany.
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14
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Multivariate Intra-Sexual Selection on Men’s Perceptions of Male Facial Morphology. ADAPTIVE HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND PHYSIOLOGY 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s40750-020-00128-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
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15
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Fink B, Butovskaya ML, Shackelford TK. Assessment of physical strength from gait: data from the Maasai of Tanzania. Biol Lett 2019; 15:20180803. [PMID: 30836886 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2018.0803] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
In industrialized societies, male gait provides information about physical strength. Male physical strength may be used by men and women to assess the fighting ability of rivals and the quality of potential mates, respectively. Women more than men discriminate between strong and weak walkers when assessing gait attractiveness. We presented videos of British men's gait-pre-categorized into strong and weak walkers-to male and female members ( n = 100) of the traditional Maasai in northern Tanzania in Africa. Maasai men and women judged the gaits of physically strong men less attractive than those of weak men and judged strong walkers to be weaker than weak walkers. These findings counter results from industrialized societies where participants accurately assessed strength from gait, thus arguing against a universal perception of physical strength from gait information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bernhard Fink
- 1 Department of Behavioral Ecology, University of Göttingen , Göttingen , Germany.,2 Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg, Institute for Advanced Study , Delmenhorst , Germany.,3 Biosocial Science Information , Biedermannsdorf , Austria
| | - Marina L Butovskaya
- 4 Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Russian Academy of Sciences , Moscow , Russian Federation.,5 Higher School of Economics, National Research University , Moscow , Russian Federation.,6 Social Anthropology Research and Education Center, Russian State University for Humanities , Moscow , Russian Federation
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16
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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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17
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Engelberg JWM, Schwartz JW, Gouzoules H. Do human screams permit individual recognition? PeerJ 2019; 7:e7087. [PMID: 31275746 PMCID: PMC6596410 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.7087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2018] [Accepted: 05/07/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The recognition of individuals through vocalizations is a highly adaptive ability in the social behavior of many species, including humans. However, the extent to which nonlinguistic vocalizations such as screams permit individual recognition in humans remains unclear. Using a same-different vocalizer discrimination task, we investigated participants' ability to correctly identify whether pairs of screams were produced by the same person or two different people, a critical prerequisite to individual recognition. Despite prior theory-based contentions that screams are not acoustically well-suited to conveying identity cues, listeners discriminated individuals at above-chance levels by their screams, including both acoustically modified and unmodified exemplars. We found that vocalizer gender explained some variation in participants' discrimination abilities and response times, but participant attributes (gender, experience, empathy) did not. Our findings are consistent with abundant evidence from nonhuman primates, suggesting that both human and nonhuman screams convey cues to caller identity, thus supporting the thesis of evolutionary continuity in at least some aspects of scream function across primate species.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jay W Schwartz
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
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18
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Šebesta P, Třebický V, Fialová J, Havlíček J. Roar of a Champion: Loudness and Voice Pitch Predict Perceived Fighting Ability but Not Success in MMA Fighters. Front Psychol 2019; 10:859. [PMID: 31114519 PMCID: PMC6502904 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00859] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2018] [Accepted: 04/01/2019] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Historically, antagonistic interactions have been a crucial determinant of access to various fitness-affecting resources. In many vertebrate species, information about relative fighting ability is conveyed, among other things, by vocalization. Previous research found that men's upper-body strength can be assessed from voice. In the present study, we tested formidability perception of intimidating vocalization (roars) and a short utterance produced by amateur male MMA fighters attending the amateur European Championships in relation to their physical fitness indicators and fighting success. We also tested acoustic predictors of the perceived formidability. We found that body height, weight, and physical fitness failed to predict perceived formidability either from speech or from the roars. Similarly, there was no significant association between formidability of the roars and utterances and actual fighting success. Perceived formidability was predicted mainly by roars' and utterances' intensity and roars' harmonics-to-noise ratio and duration. Interestingly, fundamental frequency (F0) predicted formidability ratings in both roars and utterances but in an opposite manner, so that low F0 utterances but high F0 roars were rated as more formidable. Our results suggest that formidability perception is primarily driven by intensity and duration of the vocalizations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pavel Šebesta
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czechia.,Faculty of Humanities, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Vít Třebický
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czechia.,Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Jitka Fialová
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czechia.,Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Jan Havlíček
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czechia.,Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
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19
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Raine J, Pisanski K, Bond R, Simner J, Reby D. Human roars communicate upper-body strength more effectively than do screams or aggressive and distressed speech. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0213034. [PMID: 30830931 PMCID: PMC6398857 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0213034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2018] [Accepted: 02/13/2019] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite widespread evidence that nonverbal components of human speech (e.g., voice pitch) communicate information about physical attributes of vocalizers and that listeners can judge traits such as strength and body size from speech, few studies have examined the communicative functions of human nonverbal vocalizations (such as roars, screams, grunts and laughs). Critically, no previous study has yet to examine the acoustic correlates of strength in nonverbal vocalisations, including roars, nor identified reliable vocal cues to strength in human speech. In addition to being less acoustically constrained than articulated speech, agonistic nonverbal vocalizations function primarily to express motivation and emotion, such as threat, and may therefore communicate strength and body size more effectively than speech. Here, we investigated acoustic cues to strength and size in roars compared to screams and speech sentences produced in both aggressive and distress contexts. Using playback experiments, we then tested whether listeners can reliably infer a vocalizer's actual strength and height from roars, screams, and valenced speech equivalents, and which acoustic features predicted listeners' judgments. While there were no consistent acoustic cues to strength in any vocal stimuli, listeners accurately judged inter-individual differences in strength, and did so most effectively from aggressive voice stimuli (roars and aggressive speech). In addition, listeners more accurately judged strength from roars than from aggressive speech. In contrast, listeners' judgments of height were most accurate for speech stimuli. These results support the prediction that vocalizers maximize impressions of physical strength in aggressive compared to distress contexts, and that inter-individual variation in strength may only be honestly communicated in vocalizations that function to communicate threat, particularly roars. Thus, in continuity with nonhuman mammals, the acoustic structure of human aggressive roars may have been selected to communicate, and to some extent exaggerate, functional cues to physical formidability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordan Raine
- Mammal Vocal Communication and Cognition Research Group, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
| | - Katarzyna Pisanski
- Mammal Vocal Communication and Cognition Research Group, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
- Equipe Neuro-Ethologie Sensorielle, ENES/Neuro-PSI CNRS UMR 9197, Bioacoustics Team, University of Lyon/Saint-Etienne, Saint-Etienne, France
| | - Rod Bond
- Mammal Vocal Communication and Cognition Research Group, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
| | - Julia Simner
- MULTISENSE Research Lab, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
| | - David Reby
- Mammal Vocal Communication and Cognition Research Group, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
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20
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Třebický V, Fialová J, Stella D, Coufalová K, Pavelka R, Kleisner K, Kuba R, Štěrbová Z, Havlíček J. Predictors of Fighting Ability Inferences Based on Faces. Front Psychol 2019; 9:2740. [PMID: 30697180 PMCID: PMC6341000 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02740] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2018] [Accepted: 12/19/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Facial perception plays a key role in various social interactions, including formidability assessments. People make relatively accurate inferences about men's physical strength, aggressiveness, and success in physical confrontations based on facial cues. The physical factors related to the perception of fighting ability and their relative contribution have not been investigated yet, since most existing studies employed only a limited number of threat potential measures or proxies. In the present study, we collected data from Czech Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighters regarding their fighting success and physical performance in order to test physical predictors of perceived fighting ability made on the basis of high-fidelity facial photographs. We have also explored the relationship between perceived and actual fighting ability. We created standardized 360° photographs of 44 MMA fighters which were assessed on their perceived fighting ability by 94 raters (46 males). Further, we obtained data regarding their physical characteristics (e.g., age, height, body composition) and performance (MMA score, isometric strength, anaerobic performance, lung capacity). In contrast to previous studies, we did not find any significant links between the actual and the perceived fighting ability. The results of a multiple regression analysis have, however, shown that heavier fighters and those with higher anaerobic performance were judged as more successful. Our results suggest that certain physical performance-related characteristics are mirrored in individuals' faces but assessments of fighting success based on facial cues are not congruent with actual fighting performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vít Třebický
- Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
- Applied Neurosciences and Brain Imaging, National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czechia
| | - Jitka Fialová
- Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
- Applied Neurosciences and Brain Imaging, National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czechia
| | - David Stella
- Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
- Applied Neurosciences and Brain Imaging, National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czechia
| | - Klára Coufalová
- Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Radim Pavelka
- Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Karel Kleisner
- Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
- Applied Neurosciences and Brain Imaging, National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czechia
| | - Radim Kuba
- Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Zuzana Štěrbová
- Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
- Applied Neurosciences and Brain Imaging, National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czechia
| | - Jan Havlíček
- Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
- Applied Neurosciences and Brain Imaging, National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czechia
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