Effects of Vocal
Characteristics on Perceived
Gender and Sexual Orientation
Ricky McGee & Levi Hamner
Hanover College
Voice
• People with lower frequency voices are perceived to be
more dominant. (Puts et al., 2006) (Borkowska, 2011)
• Females with higher pitched voices were assessed as more
attractive up to a certain pitch in voice. ( Borkowska, 2011)
• Masculine voices are rated as more competent than
feminine voices. Feminine voices are rated as having more
warmth than masculine voices. (Ko, Judd, & Stapel, 2009)
Masculinity/Femininity &
Sexual Orientation
• Gay men sound less masculine than heterosexual men, and
lesbian women sound less feminine than heterosexual
women. (Munson, 2007)
• Female listeners identified gay male speakers through
higher frequency voices. (Linville, 1998)
Research Question
How are people's perceptions of masculinity, femininity, and
sexual orientation, influenced by:
• The masculinity or femininity of a voice?
• The perceiver's own masculinity and femininity?
Hypotheses
• The pitch of the voice will influence the participants gender
identification of the speaker.
• The characteristics of the voice will determine the
participants sexual orientation identification of the speaker.
• A voice that is of deeper pitch, which also consists of
feminine characteristics, will be perceived as a homosexual
male.
Procedure
• Informed Consent
• Test Recording
• Voice Recording
• Survey and Demographics
• Bem Sex Role Inventory Test
o (Bem, 1972)
• Debriefing
Participants
• 44 Participants
• 24 Males, 20 Females
• 99% Caucasian
• Ages 19-52
– Average Age: 22
– Median Age: 21
Audio
• One of twelve audio recordings, will be played about our
target subject, 'Alex.'
o
All have the same script
o
Three audio recordings are spoken by a male.
o
Three audio recordings are spoken by a female.
o
Each recording was duplicated and digitally altered to
mimic the pitch of the opposite sex.
Audio Procedure
• Programs
o Adobe Premier Pro
o Adobe Sound Booth
• Alterations
o Bass Changer
o Pitch Shifter
• Exported into .mp3 formats
Impressions of Alex
• 6-point Likert Scale
• Measures to Assess Attention
o Alex has three siblings.
• Social-Distance Measures
o
I would be interested in getting to know Alex.
• Measures of Masculinity/Femininity
o
o
•
High/Low Masculinity
 Alex is masculine
High/Low Femininity
 Alex would enjoy reading Cosmopolitan Magazine
Measure to Assess Homosexuality
o Alex is a homosexual
Data Analysis
• ANOVA
o 2x2 between voice pitch (masculine or feminine) and
voice characteristics (masculine or feminine).
• Multiple Regressions
o Ratings of Alex regressed on voice pitch and
characteristics, and all possible interactions of those 2
factors.
o Expect that homosexual identification will be amplified by
feminine characteristics of a masculine-pitched voice.
Results
Results cont.
Results cont.
Interaction
p= .02
Results cont.
r= -.464, p=.002
Limitations
• Restricted range on the BSRI.
– All ‘Undifferentiated’
• Pitch manipulations failed to influence subjects’
gender inferences.
Questions?