The honest sound of physical effort
Acoustic correlates of physical effort are still poorly understood, even though effort is vocally communicated in a variety of contexts with crucial fitness consequences, including both confrontational and reproductive social interactions. In this study 33 lay participants spoke during a brief, but...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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PeerJ Inc.
2023-04-01
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| Series: | PeerJ |
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| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/14944.pdf |
| _version_ | 1797424151119527936 |
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| author | Andrey Anikin |
| author_facet | Andrey Anikin |
| author_sort | Andrey Anikin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Acoustic correlates of physical effort are still poorly understood, even though effort is vocally communicated in a variety of contexts with crucial fitness consequences, including both confrontational and reproductive social interactions. In this study 33 lay participants spoke during a brief, but intense isometric hold (L-sit), first without any voice-related instructions, and then asked either to conceal their effort or to imitate it without actually performing the exercise. Listeners in two perceptual experiments then rated 383 recordings on perceived level of effort (n = 39 listeners) or categorized them as relaxed speech, actual effort, pretended effort, or concealed effort (n = 102 listeners). As expected, vocal effort increased compared to baseline, but the accompanying acoustic changes (increased loudness, pitch, and tense voice quality) were under voluntary control, so that they could be largely suppressed or imitated at will. In contrast, vocal tremor at approximately 10 Hz was most pronounced under actual load, and its experimental addition to relaxed baseline recordings created the impression of concealed effort. In sum, a brief episode of intense physical effort causes pronounced vocal changes, some of which are difficult to control. Listeners can thus estimate the true level of exertion, whether to judge the condition of their opponent in a fight or to monitor a partner’s investment into cooperative physical activities. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T07:58:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f12bde06a37c4ef2a483ce4519e2bdc5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2167-8359 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T07:58:07Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | PeerJ Inc. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PeerJ |
| spelling | doaj.art-f12bde06a37c4ef2a483ce4519e2bdc52023-12-03T00:54:35ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592023-04-0111e1494410.7717/peerj.14944The honest sound of physical effortAndrey Anikin0Cognitive Science, Lund University, Lund, SwedenAcoustic correlates of physical effort are still poorly understood, even though effort is vocally communicated in a variety of contexts with crucial fitness consequences, including both confrontational and reproductive social interactions. In this study 33 lay participants spoke during a brief, but intense isometric hold (L-sit), first without any voice-related instructions, and then asked either to conceal their effort or to imitate it without actually performing the exercise. Listeners in two perceptual experiments then rated 383 recordings on perceived level of effort (n = 39 listeners) or categorized them as relaxed speech, actual effort, pretended effort, or concealed effort (n = 102 listeners). As expected, vocal effort increased compared to baseline, but the accompanying acoustic changes (increased loudness, pitch, and tense voice quality) were under voluntary control, so that they could be largely suppressed or imitated at will. In contrast, vocal tremor at approximately 10 Hz was most pronounced under actual load, and its experimental addition to relaxed baseline recordings created the impression of concealed effort. In sum, a brief episode of intense physical effort causes pronounced vocal changes, some of which are difficult to control. Listeners can thus estimate the true level of exertion, whether to judge the condition of their opponent in a fight or to monitor a partner’s investment into cooperative physical activities.https://peerj.com/articles/14944.pdfVocal communication Voice EffortSpeechHonest signals |
| spellingShingle | Andrey Anikin The honest sound of physical effort PeerJ Vocal communication Voice Effort Speech Honest signals |
| title | The honest sound of physical effort |
| title_full | The honest sound of physical effort |
| title_fullStr | The honest sound of physical effort |
| title_full_unstemmed | The honest sound of physical effort |
| title_short | The honest sound of physical effort |
| title_sort | honest sound of physical effort |
| topic | Vocal communication Voice Effort Speech Honest signals |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/14944.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT andreyanikin thehonestsoundofphysicaleffort AT andreyanikin honestsoundofphysicaleffort |