Why is it that some speakers influence us powerfully, while others with good voices don't? According to a recent study, it is all about the pitch.
The University of Illinois study found that people whose voices went down in pitch early on in an interaction were more likely to be seen as dominant and influential than those whose vocal pitch went up early in conversation.
Those viewed as dominant also were more likely to convince others to go along with their ideas than those seen as less dominant.
In another report based on the same data, the researchers found that dominant participants were not considered more prestigious, esteemed or admirable by their peers, however. Those judged to be admirable, but not dominant, also tended to excel at influencing others.
"What excites me about this research is that we now know a little bit more about how humans use their voices to signal status," said Joey Cheng, who led the research with colleagues at the University of British Columbia and Harvard University.
Cheng noted that this study adds to the evidence that humans, like many other animals, use their voices to signal and assert dominance over others.
The study is reported in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.
