The Social Code Of Speech Prosody Must Be Specific And Generalizable

Ponsot et al. (1) used speech transformation algorithms and reverse-correlation techniques to derive pitch contours for the word “bonjour,” constituting prosodic prototypes for trustworthy and dominant speech. The use of reverse correlation is a powerful method that allows the properties of complex expressions to be inferred from listeners’ perceptual responses to randomly varying stimuli. It is an exciting development that this elegant, data-driven approach has now been applied to social traits in voices.We strongly welcome innovative research into the social aspects of voice. Here, we would like to raise two key issues that the research community should consider when applying this new method to … [↵][1]1To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: Sarah.Knight{at}rhul.ac.uk. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1