Influence of Vocal Feedback on Emotions Provides Causal Evidence for the Self-Perception Theory

Abstract

Emotional reactions are usually accompanied by vocalizations whose acoustic features are largely impacted by the physiological state of the body. While many theoretical frameworks emphasize the role played by the perception of bodily changes in the emergence of emotional feelings, few attempts have been made to assess the impact of vocal self-perception in this process. Here, we address this question by asking participants to deliberate out loud about how they would feel in various imaginary situations while we covertly manipulate their voices in order to make them sound emotional. Perceiving these artificial expressive cues in their own voice altered participants inferences about how they would feel. Crucially, this effect of vocal self-perception on felt emotions was abolished when participants detected our manipulation either explicitly or implicitly. Beyond demonstrating that vocal self-perception plays a role in the emergence of emotions, these results provide causal evidence for self-perception theories.