Guldner, Stella and Lavan, Nadine and Lally, Clare and Wittmann, Lisa and Nees, Frauke and Flor, Herta and McGettigan, Carolyn (2024) Human talkers change their voices to elicit specific trait percepts. PSYCHONOMIC BULLETIN & REVIEW, 31. pp. 209-222. ISSN 1069-9384, 1531-5320
Full text not available from this repository. (Request a copy)Abstract
The voice is a variable and dynamic social tool with functional relevance for self-presentation, for example, during a job interview or courtship. Talkers adjust their voices flexibly to their situational or social environment. Here, we investigated how effectively intentional voice modulations can evoke trait impressions in listeners (Experiment 1), whether these trait impressions are recognizable (Experiment 2), and whether they meaningfully influence social interactions (Experiment 3). We recorded 40 healthy adult speakers' whilst speaking neutrally and whilst producing vocal expressions of six social traits (e.g., likeability, confidence). Multivariate ratings of 40 listeners showed that vocal modulations amplified specific trait percepts (Experiments 1 and 2), which could be explained by two principal components relating to perceived affiliation and competence. Moreover, vocal modulations increased the likelihood of listeners choosing the voice to be suitable for corresponding social goals (i.e., a confident rather than likeable voice to negotiate a promotion, Experiment 3). These results indicate that talkers modulate their voice along a common trait space for social navigation. Moreover, beyond reactive voice changes, vocal behaviour can be strategically used by talkers to communicate subtle information about themselves to listeners. These findings advance our understanding of non-verbal vocal behaviour for social communication.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | 1ST IMPRESSIONS; PITCH; CONVERGENCE; FACES; CANDIDATES; BEHAVIOR; PREDICT; MODELS; CUES; MIND; Voice production; Impressions; Self-presentation; Social interactions; Communication |
| Subjects: | 100 Philosophy & psychology > 150 Psychology |
| Divisions: | Human Sciences > Institut für Psychologie |
| Depositing User: | Dr. Gernot Deinzer |
| Date Deposited: | 05 Apr 2024 06:37 |
| Last Modified: | 04 Mar 2025 09:31 |
| URI: | https://pred.uni-regensburg.de/id/eprint/60558 |
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