Hear Me Out! The Relationship Between Vocal Adaptation and Audience Perceptions of Dominance and Prestige

• In Event: 492 - Regular Session. Group Processes

Abstract

Past research has shown that the low frequency band of the human voice transmits information indicating the relative dominance and social status of conversation partners. However, the theoretical and empirical distinction between dominance and prestige has not been fully articulated in this work, nor have these concepts been examined together in a single study. Furthermore, it remains unclear whether bystanders who watch or listen to a conversation draw inferences about the interactants’ levels of dominance and/or prestige based on cues in the lower frequencies. We provide a more precise account of the theoretical and empirical significance of vocal adaptation by drawing on the Dominance-Prestige Account of hierarchical relationships and by utilizing a well-developed instrument for measuring these concepts. We aired manipulated versions of three dyadic interviews between a talk show host and his guests to panels of undergraduate students who then rated the dominance and prestige of each target. Some panels saw unaltered versions of the interviews while others saw versions where only the audio channel was available and/or the lower frequencies were filtered out. The results reveal that while amplitude variability in the interview participants’ lower vocal frequencies did not have a causal impact on panelists’ dominance and prestige ratings, it was significantly, though uniquely, related to dominance ratings. Other speech characteristics were related to panelists’ prestige ratings. This study advances our understanding of vocal adaptation and reveals the nuanced relationships between different speech characteristics and the distinct dominance-based and prestige-based pathways to attaining rank in groups.

Authors

• Will Kalkhoff, Kent State University

• Shane Thye, University of South Carolina

• Stanford W. Gregory, Kent State University