Did you know that there are approximately 70,000 ways to pronounce the same word? When we speak, the tone changes, the sound volume varies and the rate of speech fluctuates, depending on the people and the emotion that is put into what we say. A team of CNRS and Ircam researchers (music and sound science and technology laboratory at the Institute for Acoustic-Music Research and Coordination) worked on lies with the objective of answering this question: can we identify a lie by the simple sound of the voice?
After a series of experiments, scientists have come to the conclusion that we can distinguish an honest tone from a confident tone, or even from a hesitant tone, even… lying. The tone is indeed equipped with a kind of “signature” depending on the intention that lies in the background, which scientists call “prosody”.. The latter would even be common to several languages, such as French, English or Spanish.
A tone specific to each intention
For example, if you are credible, you will have a very particular diction: it will be fast, will have a peak of intensity in the middle before coming down again when you finish revealing your information.
The tone of the other sends “automatic” information to the brainexplain the researchers:Even when participants do not have to judge the certainty or honesty of the speaker, this characteristic sound impacts the way they memorize words.“
Source : Recognize a liar by the sound of his voice?, CNRS, February 8, 2021.
Read also:
- Lie: how to recognize a liar
- Stop lying to be healthier!
