Effects of voice pitch on social perceptions vary with relational mobility and homicide rate

Author

T. AUNG
A.K. HILL
J.K. HLAY
C. HESS
M. HESS
J. JOHNSON
L. DOLL
S.M. CARLSON
C. MAGDINEC
I. GONZÁLEZ-SANTOYO
R.S. WALKER
D. BAILEY
S. ARNOCKY
BRYAN CHOY KWOK CHENG, Singapore Management UniversityFollow
LI, Norman P., Singapore Management UniversityFollow
T. KYRITSIS
Q. ATKINSON
B. JONES
J. KOSTER
J. BURNS

Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

publishedVersion

Publication Date

1-2024

Abstract

Fundamental frequency (fo) is the most perceptually salient vocal acoustic parameter, yet little is known about how its perceptual influence varies across societies. We examined how fo affects key social perceptions and how socioecological variables modulate these effects in 2,647 adult listeners sampled from 44 locations across 22 nations. Low male fo increased men’s perceptions of formidability and prestige, especially in societies with higher homicide rates and greater relational mobility in which male intrasexual competition may be more intense and rapid identification of highstatus competitors may be exigent. High female fo increased women’s perceptions of flirtatiousness where relational mobility was lower and threats to mating relationships may be greater. These results indicate that the influence of fo on social perceptions depends on socioecological variables, including those related to competition for status and mates.

Keywords

cross-cultural, formidability, fundamental frequency, voice pitch, attractiveness, open data, preregistration

Discipline

Cognition and Perception | Social Psychology

Research Areas

Psychology

Publication

Psychological Science

Volume

35

Issue

3

First Page

215

Last Page

312

ISSN

0956-7976

Identifier

10.1177/09567976231222288

Publisher

SAGE Publications

Citation

AUNG, T., HILL, A.K., HLAY, J.K., HESS, C., HESS, M., JOHNSON, J., DOLL, L., CARLSON, S.M., MAGDINEC, C., GONZÁLEZ-SANTOYO, I., WALKER, R.S., BAILEY, D., ARNOCKY, S., BRYAN CHOY KWOK CHENG, , LI, Norman P., , KYRITSIS, T., ATKINSON, Q., JONES, B., KOSTER, J., & BURNS, J..(2024). Effects of voice pitch on social perceptions vary with relational mobility and homicide rate. Psychological Science, 35(3), 215-312.

Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/4142

Copyright Owner and License

Authors-CC-BY

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1177/09567976231222288