Abstract
Gender effects on unconscious phonetic imitation
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, Vol.129(4_Supplement), pp.2657-2657
04/01/2011
DOI: 10.1121/1.3588873
Abstract
Studies on unconscious phonetic imitation have examined whether participant and/or model talker gender plays a role in degree and direction of the behavior. Findings, however, have alternately demonstrated greater imitation by men, greater imitation by women, more imitation toward a male model talker, and more imitation toward opposite sex model talkers. Other studies have reported no sex-based differences in imitation. Three experiments using a blocked-shadowing paradigm assessed the role of sex on degree and direction of imitation. In the first two experiments, base rates of imitation to a single model talker of a particular sex were compared across three acoustic features: vowel quality, word durations, and voice onset time (VOT). In the third experiment participants were exposed to both male and female models. One model talker exhibited modified VOT, enabling examination of sex-based differences in imitation. Preliminary results suggest that an imitator is more likely to mimic a model talker of the opposite gender and that acoustic features are imitated to different degrees. It is suggested that different acoustic features are associated with different social categories. These differences may explain the diverse and conflicting findings on sex-based effects that have been reported in the imitation literature.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Gender effects on unconscious phonetic imitation
- Creators
- Alexis K. Black - University of British Columbia
- Resource Type
- Abstract
- Publication Details
- The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, Vol.129(4_Supplement), pp.2657-2657
- DOI
- 10.1121/1.3588873
- ISSN
- 0001-4966
- eISSN
- 1520-8524
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 04/01/2011
- Academic Unit
- Psychological and Brain Sciences
- Record Identifier
- 9984632143902771
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