Facial Expression and Vocal Pitch Height: Evidence of an Intermodal Association

Abstract

Forty-four participants were asked to sing moderate, high, and low pitches while their faces were photographed. In a two-alternative forced choice task, independent judges selected the high-pitch faces as more friendly than the low-pitch faces. When photographs were cropped to show only the eye region, judges still rated the high-pitch faces friendlier than the low-pitch faces. These results are consistent with prior research showing that vocal pitch height is used to signal aggression (low pitch) or appeasement (high pitch). An analysis of the facial features shows a strong correlation between eyebrow position and sung pitch-consistent with the role of eyebrows in signaling aggression and appeasement. Overall, the results are consistent with an inter-modal linkage between vocal and facial expressions.

Analyzing correspondence between sound objects and body motion

“…This was not surprising, as the same has been reported in previous sound-tracing experiments by ourselves and other researchers (e.g., Eitan and Granot [2006], Huron et al [2009], andNymoen et al [2011a]. This relationship may be explained through learned metaphors where pitch is represented in a vertical dimension, such as the vertical ordering of notes in a musical score, or the typical cartoon scenario where the bad coyote falls of a cliff, accompanied by a descending glissando.…”

Affect induction through musical sounds: an ethological perspective

“…The data for these three studies will be deposited with the Dryad curated digital repository. Specifically, the studies include: [17,39,40].…”

Cues and Signals: An Ethological Approach to Music-Related Emotion

“…Two studies are pertinent. he irst study was carried out by Huron, Dahl and Johnson (2009;see also commentary by Ohala, 2009). We asked 44 non-musician participants to sing neutral, high and low pitches while their faces were photographed.…”