Coding of Static Information in Terrestrial Mammal Vocal Signals

Charlton, Benjamin D.; Pisanski, Katarzyna; Raine, Jordan; Reby, David

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-39200-0_5

Cited by 16 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 140 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Formant measures (ΔF and apparent VTL) taken from central vowel frequencies in honest vocal signals explained between 14% and 40% of the variance in actual height within sexes, whereas f o explained virtually none (<3%; Supplementary Table 4). These findings corroborate studies on several other terrestrial mammals 26,27 including humans (see the meta-analysis in ref. 34 ), where formants but not f o are anatomically constrained and thus follow a degree of acoustic allometry (Fig.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 91%

“…This could be expected based on our acoustic analyses indicating reliable formant-based cues to actual size in deceptive vocal signals (Supplementary Table 4). As further predicted, listeners generally associated lower absolute voice frequencies with larger size, a wellestablished perceptual association 25,27,36,37 . However, this association was stronger for exaggerated than honest or attenuated signals (Supplementary Table 6).…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 57%

“…These results indicate that listeners remain partly 'fooled' by vocal deception, and were in fact most fooled by voices they could correctly identify as deceptive in a separate task. We examined the possibility that detectable deceivers shifted their voice frequencies more than those who remained undetected, which could increase detection while also maximally exploiting deepseated sound-size correspondences between low frequencies and largeness 25,27,36,37 . Although women who were detected as exaggerating did indeed shift their ΔF and f o more than those who remained undetected ( Supplementary Table 10), such acoustic differences were not observed among men nor in the context of size attenuation.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Given the often substantial fitness benefits of a large body size, especially for males who gain access to resources and mates 11,24 (tall men included 25 ), it is unsurprising that many species of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians, and arthropods have evolved anatomical or behavioural adaptations to exaggerate their apparent size 6,19,[26][27][28] . For example, the already-descended larynx of red deer stags 29 is lowered further still during roaring contests with rival males 30 , extending the vocal tract even more to produce Fig.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…abnormally low formant frequency spacing (ΔF, the overall spacing between any two consecutive formants in the frequency domain, see Fig. 1) given the animal's true size 27,31 .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Efficacy in deceptive vocal exaggeration of human body size

Pisanski

Reby

2021

Nat Commun

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

How can deceptive communication signals exist in an evolutionarily stable signalling system? To resolve this age-old honest signalling paradox, researchers must first establish whether deception benefits deceivers. However, while vocal exaggeration is widespread in the animal kingdom and assumably adaptive, its effectiveness in biasing listeners has not been established. Here, we show that human listeners can detect deceptive vocal signals produced by vocalisers who volitionally shift their voice frequencies to exaggerate or attenuate their perceived size. Listeners can also judge the relative heights of cheaters, whose deceptive signals retain reliable acoustic cues to interindividual height. Importantly, although vocal deception biases listeners’ absolute height judgments, listeners recalibrate their height assessments for vocalisers they correctly and concurrently identify as deceptive, particularly men judging men. Thus, while size exaggeration can fool listeners, benefiting the deceiver, its detection can reduce bias and mitigate costs for listeners, underscoring an unremitting arms-race between signallers and receivers in animal communication.

show abstract

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 57%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…abnormally low formant frequency spacing (ΔF, the overall spacing between any two consecutive formants in the frequency domain, see Fig. 1) given the animal's true size 27,31 .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Efficacy in deceptive vocal exaggeration of human body size

Pisanski

Reby

2021

Nat Commun

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Honest signaling in mouse lemur vocalizations?

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Animal vocalizations may provide information about a sender’s condition or motivational state and, hence, mediate social interactions. In this study, we examined whether vocalizations of gray mouse lemurs (Microcebus murinus) emitted in aggressive contexts (grunts, tsaks) co-vary with physical condition, which would underly and indicate honest signaling. We recorded calls from captive individuals that were subjected to a caloric restricted (CR) or ad libitum (AL) diet, assuming that individuals on an ad libitum dietary regime were in better condition. We analyzed 828 grunts produced by seven CR and nine AL individuals and 270 tsaks by eight CR and five AL individuals. Grunts consisted of two separate elements, with the 1st element having more energy in higher frequencies than the 2nd element. Body mass correlated negatively with acoustic features of grunts, and heavier individuals produced lower-frequency grunts. Acoustic features of grunts did not differ between sexes. Acoustic features of tsaks were predicted by neither body mass nor sex. However, tsaks produced by AL individuals were noisier than those of CR individuals. Hence, manipulation of body condition via dietary regimes affected acoustic features of calls given during aggression in different ways: acoustic features of grunts varied according to the rule of acoustic allometry, and can be considered as honest signals. Acoustic features of tsaks, however, varied according to motivational structural rules. Longitudinal studies are now indicated to examine whether intra-individual changes in body mass are also reflected in the acoustic structure of calls, allowing callers to signal more flexible variation in condition.

show abstract

Infant cries convey both stable and dynamic information about age and identity

Lockhart-Bouron,

Anikin,

Pisanski

et al. 2023

Commun Psychol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

What information is encoded in the cries of human babies? While it is widely recognized that cries can encode distress levels, whether cries reliably encode the cause of crying remains disputed. Here, we collected 39201 cries from 24 babies recorded in their homes longitudinally, from 15 days to 3.5 months of age, a database we share publicly for reuse. Based on the parental action that stopped the crying, which matched the parental evaluation of cry cause in 75% of cases, each cry was classified as caused by discomfort, hunger, or isolation. Our analyses show that baby cries provide reliable information about age and identity. Baby voices become more tonal and less shrill with age, while individual acoustic signatures drift throughout the first months of life. In contrast, neither machine learning algorithms nor trained adult listeners can reliably recognize the causes of crying.

show abstract

Coding of Static Information in Terrestrial Mammal Vocal Signals

Cited by 16 publications

References 140 publications

Efficacy in deceptive vocal exaggeration of human body size

Efficacy in deceptive vocal exaggeration of human body size

Honest signaling in mouse lemur vocalizations?

Infant cries convey both stable and dynamic information about age and identity

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About