Department of Psychology, The University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.
J Acoust Soc Am. 2011 Apr;129(4):2201-12. doi: 10.1121/1.3552866.
Key features of the voice--fundamental frequency (F(0)) and formant frequencies (Fn)--can vary extensively among individuals. Some of this variation might cue fitness-related, biosocial dimensions of speakers. Three experiments tested the independent, joint and relative effects of F(0) and Fn on listeners' assessments of the body size, masculinity (or femininity), and attractiveness of male and female speakers. Experiment 1 replicated previous findings concerning the joint and independent effects of F(0) and Fn on these assessments. Experiment 2 established frequency discrimination thresholds (or just-noticeable differences, JND's) for both vocal features to use in subsequent tests of their relative salience. JND's for F(0) and Fn were consistent in the range of 5%-6% for each sex. Experiment 3 put the two voice features in conflict by equally discriminable amounts and found that listeners consistently tracked Fn over F(0) in rating all three dimensions. Several non-exclusive possibilities for this outcome are considered, including that voice Fn provides more reliable cues to one or more dimensions and that listeners' assessments of the different dimensions are partially interdependent. Results highlight the value of first establishing JND's for discrimination of specific features of natural voices in future work examining their effects on voice-based social judgments.
声音的主要特征——基频 (F(0)) 和共振峰频率 (Fn)——在个体之间可能有很大的差异。这种变化可能提示了与说话者健康相关的、生物社会维度的特征。三个实验分别测试了 F(0)和 Fn 对听众对男性和女性说话者的体型、男性化 (或女性化) 和吸引力的评估的独立、联合和相对影响。实验 1 复制了之前关于 F(0)和 Fn 对这些评估的联合和独立影响的发现。实验 2 为随后测试它们的相对显著性建立了 F(0)和 Fn 的频率辨别阈值（或仅可察觉差异，JND）。对于每个性别，F(0)和 Fn 的 JND 在 5%-6%的范围内是一致的。实验 3 通过相等的可辨别量使这两个声音特征产生冲突，并发现听众在评价所有三个维度时，始终将 Fn 追踪到 F(0)之上。对于这种结果，有几种非排他性的可能性，包括语音 Fn 为一个或多个维度提供更可靠的线索，以及听众对不同维度的评估部分相互依赖。结果突出了在未来研究中，首先确定自然声音特定特征的辨别 JND 的价值，以检查它们对基于声音的社会判断的影响。
