Perceived Desirability of Vocal Fry Among Female Speech Communication Disorders Graduate Students

Area of Science:

• Speech-Language Pathology
• Acoustic Phonetics
• Psycholinguistics

Background:

• Listener perception of vocal qualities significantly influences communication effectiveness.
• Vocal fry, a specific phonation type, has gained attention for its perceived characteristics.
• Understanding the affective qualities associated with vocal fry is crucial for communication research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the desirability of adjectives used to describe speaker affect.
• To determine the perceived communication affect of female speakers with vocal fry and other vocal qualities.
• To calculate desirability scores for various vocal qualities, with a focus on vocal fry.

Main Methods:

• Twenty-three Speech Communication Disorders graduate students rated 25 adjectives on a desirability scale.
• Participants described the perceived communication affect of female speakers exhibiting eight vocal qualities, including vocal fry.
• Proficiency in identifying vocal qualities was assessed prior to the survey.

Main Results:

• Ten adjectives were rated desirable, two in-between, and 13 undesirable.
• Vocal fry was primarily associated with undesirable adjectives like 'vain' and 'apathetic/disinterested'.
• The desirability order of vocal qualities was low pitch, high pitch, loud, vocal fry, breathy, soft/weak, rough, and strained.

Conclusions:

• Most participants were undecided about the desirability of vocal fry.
• 30% perceived vocal fry as undesirable, while only 5% perceived it as desirable.
• The study provides a framework for understanding how vocal qualities impact listener perception of speaker affect.