Home > Research > Research Centres > People and Well-Being in the Everyday Research Centre (POWER) > Vocal Communication Lab
I’m looking for
Search

Vocal Communication Lab

Vocal Communication Lab
Back to top

What does your voice communicate beyond the words you speak? Human vocal control abilities are wide and complex. The sound of our voice provides a multitude of cues to the speaker, from their emotional state, to their physical qualities and social identity.

At the Vocal Communication Lab, we combine anatomical, acoustic, and behavioural approaches, to explore the wide range of physical and psychological cues we communicate through our voice, and the effect they have on listeners. We are particularly interested in exploring the relations between voice cues and stereotypes, and voice and well-being. For more information about the research centre please email Dr Valentina Canessa-Pollard (nee. Cartei) on v.canessapollard@chi.ac.uk.

Current Projects

Current research topics include communication of social identity cues, voice stereotyping (particularly regarding gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, and disabilities), voice practices and well-being.

  • BBC radio Leicester. Interview on “Why, as a nation, we are so obsessed with crime dramas on TV” – 8 October 2019
  • Glamour magazine: “Why, as a nation, we are so obsessed with crime dramas on TV” article. Published 27 September 2019
  • The effect of family and self-esteem on drug abuse.
  • Why do some women suffer in silence? A descriptive investigation into risk factors for Intimate Partner Violence
  • Edwards, B., Revill, J. and Cartei, V. (2015). Why stopping acid attacks is a matter of chemical weapons control. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/why-stopping-acid-attacks-is-a-matter-of-chemical-weapons-control-5016

Equipe de Neuro-Ethologie Sensorielle, St-Etienne, France: https://www.eneslab.com/

Research Opportunities

We are open to anyone that would like to participate and work with us. We particularly encourage collaborations with the third and charity sector, teachers and voice therapists.

Publications

  • Cartei, V., Oakhill, J., Garnham, A., Banerjee, R., & Reby, D. (2020). “This is what a mechanic sounds like.” Children’s vocal control reveals implicit occupational stereotypes.  Sci.
  • Cartei, V. Banerjee, R., Garnham, A., Oakhill, J., Roberts, L. & Reby, D. (2020). Physiological and perceptual correlates of masculinity in children’s voices. Behav.
  • Cartei, V. Banerjee, R., Garnham, A., Oakhill, J., Roberts, L. & Reby, D. (2019). Children can control the expression of masculinity and femininity through the voice.  Soc. Open Sci.[citations: 5]
  • Cartei, V., Banerjee, R., Hardouin, L. & Reby, D(2019) The role of sex-related voice variation in children  J. Dev. Psychol. [citations: 1]
  • Waters, S., Kanber, E., Lavan, N., Carey, D., Cartei, V., Lally, C., … & McGettigan, C. (2019). Neural representations of enhanced speech motor control in trained singers. Acoust. Soc. Am., 146(4), 2790-2790.
  • Pisanski, K., Cartei, V., McGettigan, C., Raine, J., & Reby, D. (2016). Voice modulation: a window into the origins of human vocal control?. Trends Cogn. Sci., 20(4), 304-318. [citations: 94]
  • Cartei, V., Bond, R., & Reby, D. (2014). What makes a voice masculine: multilevel investigation of physiological and acoustical bases of perceived masculinity. Behav., 66(4), 569-76. [citations: 45]
  • Cartei, V., Cowles, W., Banerjee, R., & Reby, D. (2013). Control of voice gender in pre-pubertal children.  J. Dev. Psychol. [citations: 23]
  • Cartei, V., & Reby, D. (2013). Effect of Formant Frequency Spacing on Perceived Gender in Pre-Pubertal Children’s Voices. PLoSONE, 8(12), e81022. [citations: 21]
  • Cartei, V., Cowles, H. W., & Reby, D. (2012). Spontaneous voice gender imitation abilities in adult speakers. PloSONE, 7(2), e31353. [citations: 45]
  • Cartei, V., & Reby, D. (2012). Acting Gay: Male Actors Shift the Frequency Components of Their Voices Towards Female Values When Playing Homosexual Characters.  Nonverbal Behav., 36(1), 79–93. [citations: 30]

Cartei, V. & Reby, D. (2019). The evolution of sexual dimorphism in human voice. In F. La (Ed.), Training Female Voices. Compton Publishing.

Get in Touch

Please email Dr Valentina Canessa-Pollard (nee. Cartei) on v.canessapollard@chi.ac.uk.