The effect of bodily action on voice intensity

Abstract

The investigation was carried out at Purdue University in two series of experiments. In the first series of experiments, 42 students were asked to produce simple vowel sounds, with and without simultaneous bodily action (a vigorous downward movement of the right arm), before a group of 131 auditors, who listened and recorded the relative loudness of sounds produced. The auditors themselves were previously given the Seashore intensity test to acquaint them with the procedure. Only those above the average in intensity judgment were retained as auditors. The subjects were students of both sexes of various degrees of training in public speaking. In the second series of experiments, a Sherrod and Keller apparatus was used to determine the effect of bodily action on breath pressure, which is in functional relationship to voice intensity. It was found that the effect of bodily action during vocalization was to increase breath pressure, although the effect was neither uniform nor universal, thus corroborating, on the whole, the conclusions drawn from the first series of experiments. The investigation, to be more conclusive, according to the writer, will have to be more comprehensive, although the new method of approach may be considered sound. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)