Deep Voice Gives Politicians Electoral Boost

低沉嗓音助力政治选举

Two new studies find that a deeper voice gives a politican an edge over a higher-pitched opponent

两项新研究发现：拥有相对较低沉嗓音的政治家会在选举中获得优势

撰文：黛安娜·权（Diana Kwon）

翻译：杨科

审校：余卉

What makes a successful politician? Experience? Skill? Charisma? Perhaps you were searching for these traits while watching the recent Republican presidential debate. But what you might not have thought about was how your perception of the candidates could be influenced by their voices.  

一个成功的政治家应该具备什么？经验？技巧？还是领袖气质？也许当你在观看最近的共和党总统侯选人辩论会时你会去搜寻这些特质。但你可能没想到的是，参选人的嗓音会影响到你对他的观感。

In two recently published studies, researchers looked at how the pitch of a candidate’s voice affected their chances in an election. The first study found that in the 2012 U.S. House elections candidates with lower voices were more likely than a higher-pitched opponent to win. With one exception: when running against a female opponent, candidates with higher voices were more popular, especially if they were men. That study is in the journal Political Psychology.

在最近两项已经发表的研究论文中，研究人员发现了一个参选者嗓音的高低是如何影响选举结果的。第一项研究发现，在2012年的美国众议院大选中，有着更加低沉声音的参选者相比于有着高音调的对手更有可能赢得选举。然而有一个例外：当竞选对手是女性时，有着更高音调的参选者会更受欢迎，尤其当这些高音调的参选者是男性的时候。这项研究被发表在Political Psychology杂志上。

In the second study, researchers wanted to know why a deep voice was a potent political tool. They recorded men and women speaking the sentence “I urge you to vote for me this November.” They then altered the recordings to create higher and lower pitched versions of each sentence.

在第二项研究中，研究人员想搞清楚为什么低沉的嗓音可以成为一个强有力的政治工具。他们分别用男声和女声录制了同一句话——“我强烈建议你今年十一月份能把票投给我。”接着他们将这句话的音调调高或者调低，制造出了许多个不同的版本。

More than 800 volunteers listened to the audio. Their preference for lower-pitched voices correlated with their preconception that these individuals were older, stronger and more competent. This study is in the journal PLoS ONE.

800多为参与研究的被试聆听了这些音频。他们将对低沉嗓音的偏好与拥有这种嗓音的人应该更年长，更强大以及更能干的主观预想联系了起来。这项研究被刊登在PLoS ONE杂志上。

The researchers note that a preference for leaders with deeper voices may be the result of so-called “cavemen instincts.” A deep voice is associated with high testosterone, physical strength and aggression. And way back when, those qualities were probably attractive in a leader. High-pitched voices also are thought to convey negative emotions, such as stress and fear.

研究人员注意到对领导者应该拥有更加低沉的嗓音的偏好可能源于所谓的“原始本能”。低沉的嗓音常常与旺盛的睾酮分泌，强健的体魄与高昂的斗志联系到一起。若倒回到远古时代，这些特质更有可能成就一个具有吸引力的领导人。而高音调则被用来传递一些负面的情绪，比如说紧张与恐惧。

We like to think that we consider our electoral options carefully, and base our decisions on conscious, rational judgments. But it may be a candidate’s height, attractiveness or voice that play outsized roles when we go to the polls.

我们自以为我们在选举中的选择是谨慎的，是基于我们清醒而理性的判断的。但一个参选人的身高、吸引力或者嗓音都可能会对我们的投票产生预想之外的大的影响。

（题图来源：http://www.telegraph.co.uk/）