How much does power affect us? It can make us do some crazy things of course, but did you know it could go so far as to change the tone of your voice? According to a recent study, we actually detect power by the nuances in ones voice.
This study was broken down into two parts. The first experiment recorded 161 college students reading a passage where they dealt with negotiation aloud in their normal voices. After that, the participants were either assigned a “high-rank position”, where they were told they knew valuable information, or a “low-rank position”, where they were told they were unimportant in the workplace. Then, the participants were asked to read a script in which they were going into business negotiations into further detail. According to Psychological Science, “the researchers found that the voices of students assigned to high-power roles tended to go up in pitch, become more monotone (less variable in pitch), and become more variable in loudness than the voices of students assigned low-power roles.”
The second experiment then had new participants listen to the recordings that were conducted in the first part. They were then asked questions about how powerful they thought those recorded were to be. The results were astonishing. 72% of the time the second experiment participants were able to label the “low-rank position” speakers as weak, while 73% of the time they were able to label the “high-rank position” speakers as powerful.
Not only did I find the fact that we are able to identify power in voices so distinctively mind boggling, but I also was stunned by the fact that the pitch in our voices can change simply after reading a script. The study did not say whether or not it was a double blind trial or not but I think this could affect the facts if it weren’t. If participants know they are being tested for power and are given the “high-rank position”, of course their voices would change to be more assertive (because generally people want to support they hypothesis of the study). However, I feel this was a very well conducted study if the participants were not aware they were being tested for power. Overall, it is still crazy to know that our voices change when we feel powerful and that other people can subconsciously notice!
References:
http://pss.sagepub.com/content/early/2014/11/20/0956797614553009.abstract
The Sound of Status: People Know High-Power Voices When They Hear Them
It is very true that the way people speak can determine their rank in power. Those who are powerful feel very confident and entitled because they feel they are above everyone. You can tell in their body language as well. People with less power feel inferior to someone to it makes them feel small which then makes their voice small as well. The results are interesting that so many people could pick up on power and weakness from just a voice recording, but not all that surprising. This video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=de65Xk25lWI, gives tips on how to have a powerful speaking voice.
This is an interesting article. After reading this, I was wondering if there was any specific reason a lot of people allow power to go to their head. A study was preformed and it found that people with less power, felt more empathy for others. It also found that people in positions of power had much less empathy than others in lower positions. I found it very interesting that the fact someone has more power literally effects what goes on in their brain. It is something I never took into account. Based on this research, it almost seems like a lot of people cannot help the fact that power goes to their head which is a whole different perspective on this issue.
http://www.npr.org/2013/08/10/210686255/a-sense-of-power-can-do-a-number-on-your-brain