What You Say and How You Say It: The Contribution of Speech Content and Voice Quality to Judgments of Others

14 groups of undergraduates (2 for each of 7 conditions) made judgments based on separated channels (speech content, voice quality, face alone, and body alone) and judgments based on combined channels (speech, face plus speech, and face plus body plus speech). Ss observed (via videotape) and heard (via audiotape) the spontaneous behavior of 15 stimulus persons in 2 types of interview situations and rated various aspects of the behavior. In Study 1, criterion judgments were based on a task similar to answering a phone. In Study 2, they were similar to watching TV. In Study 3, a complete set of behavioral clues was the basis of the criterion judgments. Results show that correlations between separated and combined channels varied significantly, depending on the kind of behavior judged. Judgments of honestly described positive feelings based on nonverbal channels were highly correlated with judgments of the whole person, while most speech-content judgments were uncorrelated. Judgments of stimulus persons' lied-about negative feelings were less influenced by nonverbal behavior. Judgments based on content of what was said were most highly correlated with how the person making the statement was judged. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved