Effects of Speaking Rate on Personality Perception

Using the voices of six subjects, representing various social and educational backgrounds, fifty-four synthetic voices were generated by computer. Each normal voice was both increased and decreased by 12 1/2, 25, 37 1/2, and 50 percent. Judges evaluated the fifty-four voices using a series of adjectives representing two major personality factors of “competence” and “benevolence.” Several statistical analyses were performed, and it was found that the competence factor was much more sensitive to rate manipulations than was the benevolence factor. Increasing the rate of speech by 50 percent above normal rate produced the only significant effects on the benevolence factor, viz., decreased ratings, whereas each decreased rate manipulation reduced competence judgments, and all increased rate alterations, except 12 1/2 per cent, caused competence ratings to increase.

Thesis Author: Smith, Bruce L.

Year Completed: 1973

Thesis Chair: Eldon Lytle