Voice quality profile and perceived emotion

Obtained speech samples by having 23 students read paragraphs indicating anger, contempt, indifference, love, and grief. A "test passage" was embedded in each paragraph. 44 students listened to the test passages and judged which 1 of the 5 emotions was being portrayed. 7 students rated the test passages for pitch, loudness, and tempo; each voice was then classified as peak pitch, loudness, or tempo. Statistical analysis indicated that peak-pitch voices were judged as portraying grief; peak loudness as anger or contempt, and peak tempo as indifference. It is suggested that the 3 voice quality profiles represent 3 modes of interpersonal orientation, and that they are a behavioral link between transitory emotional states and stable personality dispositions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1969 American Psychological Association.

Duke Scholars

Author Philip R. Costanzo Psychology & Neuroscience