The Voice- #HALALAN2016

 May 2016 elections is fast approaching and as an excited first time voter, I have been caught up with who is going to run for which position, researching for their political records and alliances. It is very important for me to know which one is credible and worthy enough to get seated as an administrator and public servant. Being interested in politics and voting behaviours right now, I want to explore on the mechanisms that might influence people to vote for a certain candidates. Among other factors, I think that a politician’s voice- biologically and metaphorically- is one important characteristic to influence voting behaviour.

                Public appearances such as press conferences, interviews, media advertisements and debates are essential for a politician who is running for an office whether it may be national or regional. More than what they want to tell and convey, first of all, they must first catch the mass’s attention and maintain that attention until the end. Human voice pitch, which is distinct between the sexes, conveys important information about its owner (Borkowski & Pawlowski,2011). Our auditory perception has helped us in making sense in our environment (Goldstein, 2013) which makes us vulnerable to being bias in judging a person’s attractiveness (Feinber, et al., 2006;  Zuckerman & Miyake, 1993; Hughes, Moailski, & Harrison, 2014) and dominance (Borkowska & Pawlowski, 2011; Klofstad, Anderson & Nowicki, 2015;  Klofstad, Anderson, & Peters, 2012; Hodges-Simeon, Gaulin and Puts 2010). Generally, studies have found out that politicians and candidates with lower pitch voices are favoured and preferred. But why?

PERCEIVED ATTRACTIVENESS

                In a study conducted by Hodges-Simeon, Gaulin and Puts (2010) on predicting perceptions of dominance and attractiveness by examining the different vocal parameters, they have found out that the low mean fundamental frequency in men’s voices has been found to positively influence perceptions on dominance by men and attractiveness by women using standardized speech. Since frequency is a physical measure of pitch (Goldstein, 2010), the study implies that lower pitch for males makes them perceived to be dominant.

                Women with lower voices were also found out to be perceived as more dominant. In a study  by Borkowska and Pawlowski (2011) wherein voices of women that were classified as  low (184.6 Hz), medium (223.7 Hz), high (261.9 Hz) or very high (310.3 Hz) have been recorded and assessed of their dominance and attractiveness, it was found out that low voices are more dominant and the relationship is linear. It was also found out that female voices above 280 Hz are judged to be too high that sounds babyish which is related to being immature.

AGE

                Investigating the influence of perception on competence, strength and age on voters in selecting leaders,  Klofstad, Anderson and Nowicki (2015) found out that lower-pitch voices are generally preferred. Male and female candidates who are in their 40s and 50s, a time in human life cycle when voice pitch is at its lowest, are chosen over candidates on their 30s, 60s and 70s. This is an antithesis to their hypothesis that through age comes wisdom and credibility which might favour older candidates.  It was concluded that speakers with lower voices are stronger, more competent, and older.

LIKABILITY

Lastly, lower-pitched voices were associated with favourable personality traits more often than were higher-pitched voices and that people preferred to vote politicians with lower pitched than higher pitched voices (Tigue and colleagues, 2012). 

References:

Borkowska, B., Pawlowski, B. (2011). Female voice frequency in the context of dominance and attractiveness perception. Animal Behavior. 82(1): 55-59

Feinber, D.R., Jones, B.C, Law SMih, M.J., Moore, F.R., DeBruine, L.M>, Cornwell, R.E., Hillier, S.G., Perrett., D.I. (2006). Menstrual cycle, trait estrogen level, masculinity preferences in the human voice. Hormones and Behavior, 49(2): 215-222

Goldstein, E.B. (2010, 2013) Sensation and Perception. Cengage Learning: Wadsworth

Hodges-Simeon, C.R., Gaulin, S.J.C, Puts, D.A. (2010). Different vocal parameters predict perceptions of dominance and attractiveness. Human Nature 21: 406-420. DOI: 10.1007/s12110-010-9101-5

Hughes, S.M., Moailski, J.K., Harrison, M.A (2014). The Perception and Parameters of Intentional Voice Manipulation. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 38(1): 107-127

Klofstad, C.A., Anderson, R.C, Peters, S. (2012). Sounds like winner: voice pitch influences perception of leadership capacity in both men and women. Retrieved from: rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org

Klofstad, C.A., Anderson, R.C., Nowicki, S. (2015). Perceptions of competence, strength and age influence voters to select leaders with lower-pitched voices. Retrieved from: journals.plos.org

Tigue, C.C., Borak, D.J, O’Connor, J.J.M, Schandl,C., Feinberg, D.R. (2012). Voice pitch influences voting behaviour. Evolution and Human Behavior 33(3): 210-216

Zuckerman, M., Miyake, K. (1993). The attractive voice: What makes it so?