A comparative study of the effect of visual and auditory cues on speaker height and weight identification

Abstract

The purpose of this investigation was to compare the effect of visual and auditory cues on speaker height and weight identification in an attempt to determine if the voice alone conveys as much information as visual clues concerning speakers' heights and weights. A total of 30 speakers, 15 females and 15 males, participated in the study. A standard prose passage was recorded and a professional frontal full-length photograph was taken of each speaker. A group of 30 judges participated in two experimental sessions. In one session, they were shown photographic slides of all subjects and were asked to make judgments of height and weight based on the visual clues on each slide. In another session, the judges heard a master tape of the subjects' recorded readings and made height and weight judgments based on the auditory clues in each speech sample. The order of presentation of the two sessions was randomized so that 15 judges participated in the visual task in the first session and the auditory task in the second session, while 15 judges received the auditory task in the first session and the visual task in the second session. In both sessions the judges were asked to make direct estimations of height and weight. Results indicate that, although differences exist between the two experimental conditions in judges' height and weight estimates, the differences are, on the average, very small: 0.24 in and 2.03 lb, respectively. Implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.