Acoustics of persuasion: a systematic review of prosodic features on the communicative attitudes of confidence
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1590/1678-460X202339345326Keywords:
Persuasion, Prosody, Communication, Acoustic, SpeechAbstract
Purpose: To review the literature regarding prosodic acoustic features found in communicative attitudes related to confidence, certainty, and persuasion. Method: A systematic review was carried out in the databases VHL, Web of Science, Science Direct, SciELO, and SCOPUS with no temporal restriction. Data Extraction: The data from each article was extracted based on the STROBE Statement checklist. To analyze the prosodic variables, the data were subdivided according to Couper-Kuhlen’s (1986) theoretical assumptions, and the variables were grouped into “temporal organization of speech,” “intensity,” and “pitch”. Conclusion: The data suggested that there are relevant but not consensual variables to characterize a persuasive speech and some variables can be considered as positive, negative, or neutral in different language contexts. The variables that stand out as relevant and are characteristic of the persuasive or confidant speech were faster speech speed and higher intensity. The only negative variable that stood out regarding persuasion was the increase in pitch.
References
Azevedo, l. L., Souza, I. S., Oliveira, P. M., & Cardoso, F. (2015). Effect of speech therapy and pharmacological treatment in prosody of parkinsonians. Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria, 73(1), 30-35. https://doi.org/10.1590/0004-282X20140193
Barbosa, P. A., Camargo, Z. A., & Madureira (2016). Scripts for the Acoustic Analysis of Speech Data. In S. Madureira (Ed.), Sonoridades [recurso eletrônico]: a expressividade na fala, no canto e na declamação [Sonorities [eletronic device]: speech, singing and reciting expressivity]. Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo.
Barnard, M. (2013). Fashion as communication, 2nd ed. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315013084
Barnard M. (2014). Fashion theory: an introduction. Loughborough: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203862100
Barr, D. J. (2003). Paralinguistic correlates of conceptual structure. Psychonomic on Bulletin & Review, 10(2), 462-467. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03196507
Blakemore, D. (1987). Semantic constraints on relevance. Basil Blackwell.
Celeste, L. C., Lima, A. M., Seixas, J. M. A., Silva, M. A., & Silva, E.M. (2018). Treinamento da performance comunicativa em universitários da área da saúde. Audiology - Communication Research, 23. https://doi.org/10.1590/2317-6431-2017-1879
Celeste, L. C., & Reis, C. (2013a). Expressão de atitudes na fala com gagueira: percepção de falantes fluentes. Alfa: Revista de Linguística, 57, 275-29. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1981-57942013000100012
Celeste, L. C., & Reis, C. (2013b). Expressão de certeza e dúvida na gagueira: estudo dos aspectos temporais da fala. Revista CEFAC, 15, 1609-1620. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1516-18462012005000060
Chebat, J. C., El Hedhli, K., Gelinas-Chebat, C., & Boivin, R. (2007). Voice and persuasion in a banking telemarketing context. Perceptual Motor Skills, 104(2), 419-437. https://doi.org/10.2466/PMS.104.2.419-437
Chen, D., Halberstam, Y., & Yu, A. C. (2016). Perceived Masculinity Predicts U.S. Supreme Court Outcomes. PLoS One, 11(10), e0164324. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0164324
Chomsky, N. (1975). Reflections on Language. Random House.
Couper-Kuhlen, E. (1986). An introduction to English prosody. Edward Arnold.
Crochiquia, Alice, Eriksson, Anders, Fontes, Mario A. S., & Madureira, Sandra. (2020). A phonetic study of Zootopia characters’ voices in Brazilian Portuguese dubbing: the role of stereotypes. DELTA: Documentação de Estudos em Linguística Teórica e Aplicada, 36(3), 2020360311. https://doi.org/10.1590/1678-460X2020360311
Elbert, S. P., & Dijkstra, A. (2014). An experimental test of the relationship between voice intonation and persuasion in the domain of health. Psychology & Health, 29(9), 1014-1031. https://doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2014.903482
Erickson, B., Lind, E. A., Johnson, B. C., & O’Barr, W. M. (1978). Speech style and impression formation in a court setting: The effects of “powerful” and “powerless” speech. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 14(3), 266-279. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1031(78)90015-X
Fónagy, I. (2003). Des fonction de l’intonation: Essai de synthèse. Flambeau, 29, 1-20.
Gelinas-Chebat, C., & Chebat, J. C. (1996). Voice and advertising: effects of intonation and intensity of voice on source credibility, attitudes toward the advertised service and the intent to buy. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 83(1), 243-262. https://doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2014.903482
Guyer, J. J., Fabrigar, L. R., & Vaughan-Johnston, T. I. (2018). Speech Rate, Intonation, and Pitch: Investigating the Bias and Cue Effects of Vocal Confidence on Persuasion. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 45(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167218787805
Hardcastle, W. J., Laver, J., & Gibbon, F. E. (2013). The handbook of phonetic sciences, 2nd ed. Wiley-Blackwell.
Jiang, X., & Pell, M. D. (2015). On how the brain decodes vocal cues about speaker confidence. Cortex, 66, 9-34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2015.02.002
Jiang, X., & Pell, M. D. (2016). Neural responses towards a speaker’s feeling of (un)knowing. Neuropsychologia, 81, 79-93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.12.008
Jiang, X., & Pell, M. D. (2017). The sound of confidence and doubt. Speech Communication, 88, 106-126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.specom.2017.01.011
Jones, C., Berry, L., & Stevens, C. (2007). Synthesized speech intelligibility and persuasion: Speech rate and non-native listeners. Computer Speech & Language, 21(4), 641-651. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csl.2007.03.001
Klofstad, C. A., & Anderson, R. C. (2018). Voice pitch predicts electability but does not signal leadership ability. Evolution and Human Behavior, 39(3), 349-354. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2018.02.007
Krahmer, E., & Swerts, M. (2005). How children and adults produce and perceive uncertainty in audiovisual speech. Language and Speech, 48(Pt 1), 29-53. https://doi.org/10.1177/00238309050480010201
Malta, M., Cardoso, L. O., Bastos, F. I., Magnanini, M. M. F., & Silva, C. M. F. P. D. (2010). STROBE initiative: guidelines on reporting observational studies. Revista de Saúde Publica, 44(3), 559-565. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0034-89102010000300021
Mehrabian, A. (1969). Significance of posture and position in the communication of attitude and status relationships. Psychological Bulletin, 71(5), 359-372. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0027349
Miranda, L. da S., de Moraes, J. A., & Rilliard, A. (2020). Percepção audiovisual da entoação modal do português do Brasil. Gradus - Revista Brasileira De Fonologia De Laboratório, 5(1), 47-70. https://doi.org/10.47627/gradus.v5i1.148
Mozziconacci, S. (2001). Emotion and attitude conveyed in speech by means of prosody. Sonthofen.
Pell, M. D. (2007). Reduced sensitivity to prosodic attitudes in adults with focal right hemisphere brain damage. Brain and Language, 101(1), 64-79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandl.2006.10.003
Petty, R., & Cacioppo, J. (1986). The elaboration likelihood model of persuasion. In Communication and persuasion: Central and peripheral routes to attitude change. New York: Springer-Verlag, 1-24.
Petty, R. E. (1996). Attitudes and persuasion: classic and contemporary approaches. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429502156
Pouw, W. T. J. L., Van Gog, T., Zwaan, R. A., & Paas, F. (2017). Are gesture and speech mismatches produced by an integrated gesture-speech system? A more dynamically embodied perspective is needed for understanding gesture-related learning. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 40(68). https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X15003039
Ramírez Verdugo, D. (2005). The nature and patterning of native and non-native intonation in the expression of certainty and uncertainty: Pragmatic effects. Journal of Pragmatics, 37(12), 2086-2115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2005.02.012
Scherer, K. R., London, H., & Wolf, J. J. (1973). The voice of confidence: Paralinguistic cues and audience evaluation. Journal of Research in Personality, 7(1), 31-44. https://doi.org/10.1016/0092-6566(73)90030-5
Tomlinson Jr., J. M., & Fox Tree, J. E. (2011) Listeners’ comprehension of uptalk in spontaneous speech. Cognition, 119(1), 58-69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2010.12.005
Wilson, D., & Wharton, T. (2006). Relevance and prosody. Journal of Pragmatics, 38(10), 1559-1579. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2005.04.012
Yokoyama, H., & Daibo, I. (2012). Effects of gaze and speech rate on receivers’ evaluations of persuasive speech. Psychological Reports, 110(2), 663-676. https://doi.org/10.2466/07.11.21.28.PR0.110.2.663-676
Zhao, L., Dehé, N., & Murphy, V. A. (2018) From pitch to purpose: The prosodic-pragmatic mapping of [I+verb] belief constructions in English and Mandarin. Journal of Pragmatics, 123, 57-77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2017.10.015
