Voice Pathologies and the General Population's Perception

Area of Science:

• Speech and Hearing Sciences
• Social Psychology
• Medical Humanities

Background:

• Voice pathology affects individuals across demographics, potentially influencing social and professional perceptions.
• Subjective qualities attributed to voices can impact judgments of intelligence, leadership, and employability.
• Understanding public perception of voice disorders is crucial for addressing potential biases.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how the general population perceives individuals with voice pathologies based on subjective qualities.
• To compare perceptions of voices with and without pathologies, including specific conditions like vocal fry and muscle tension dysphonia (MTD).
• To assess perceived differences in intelligence, leadership ability, and employability associated with voice pathologies.

Main Methods:

• A descriptive, cross-sectional, survey-based study utilizing Amazon MTurk.
• 1754 respondents evaluated voice recordings from ten subjects with and without voice pathologies.
• Statistical analyses, including one-way ANOVA and Dunnett's multiple comparison test, were used to compare mean scores.

Main Results:

• Female voices with vocal fry and MTD were perceived as less intelligent, friendly, attractive, employable, and less likely to be Fortune 500 leaders compared to a control voice (P < 0.0001).
• Male MTD voices received significantly lower scores for friendliness, attractiveness, leadership potential, and employability than the male control (P < 0.05).
• Overall, female patients with voice pathologies faced more critical appraisal than their male counterparts.

Conclusions:

• Voice pathologies lead to negative perceptions of success, impacting leadership and career prospects.
• Individuals with voice disorders, particularly women, are subject to significant biases in social and professional evaluations.
• These findings highlight the societal disadvantages faced by individuals with voice disorders.