Andrew Rosenberg  (Google)
Prosody of Vocal Attractiveness

Abstract:
A speaker’s voice impacts listeners’ perceptions of its owner, leading to inference of gender, age, personality, and even height and weight. In this chapter we describe research into the qualities of speech that are deemed “attractive” by a listener. There are a number of ways that a person can be found attractive. This talk will review research into what makes speakers attractive in the political and business domains, and what vocal properties lead to perceptions of trust. I will then describe research into “likeability” and romantic attraction. While the lexical content of a speaker’s speech is important to their attractiveness, I’ll focus this survey on prosodic qualities, those acoustic properties that describe “how” the words are said rather than “what” the words are. I will also summarize work that has investigated attraction dynamics in two-party conversations.

Thursday, March 7th, 2019, 4:15pm – 6pm, room 6417
Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Ave
All are welcome!
Refreshments to follow in room 7400