Abstract
It has been the subject of much debate in the study of vocal expression of emotions whether posed expressions (e.g., actor portrayals) are different from spontaneous expressions. In the present investigation, we assembled a new database consisting of 1877 voice clips from 23 datasets, and used it to systematically compare spontaneous and posed expressions across 3 experiments. Results showed that (a) spontaneous expressions were generally rated as more genuinely emotional than were posed expressions, even when controlling for differences in emotion intensity, (b) there were differences between the two stimulus types with regard to their acoustic characteristics, and (c) spontaneous expressions with a high emotion intensity conveyed discrete emotions to listeners to a similar degree as has previously been found for posed expressions, supporting a dose–response relationship between intensity of expression and discreteness in perceived emotions. Our conclusion is that there are reliable differences between spontaneous and posed expressions, though not necessarily in the ways commonly assumed. Implications for emotion theories and the use of emotion portrayals in studies of vocal expression are discussed.
Highlights
It is commonly believed by lay people that nonverbal cues in the voice reveal our inner emotions to a listener
We evaluate a new database of vocal emotion expressions from which sub-samples are randomly drawn in the following studies
In Study 1, we show that listeners rate spontaneous expressions as more genuinely emotional than posed expressions even after controlling for differences in emotion intensity
Summary
It is commonly believed by lay people that nonverbal cues in the voice reveal our inner emotions to a listener. Does the voice convey specific emotions in real life? Is it only when actors portray emotions in a stereotypical manner that each emotion is given a. J Nonverbal Behav (2018) 42:1–40 distinct voice profile? Every day of our lives, we make inferences about other individuals’ emotions based on how their voice sounds, often without being aware of doing so (e.g., Pell and Skorup 2008). Most studies of nonverbal communication have focused on the face (Ekman 1973). Findings indicate that relying on voice cues (e.g., voice pitch, speech rate) may be the most common way to infer other people’s emotion states in everyday life (Planalp 1998)
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