Name:Saghar Tavakoli

School/Affiliation:University of Toronto Mississauga

Co-Authors:Mia Amiel, Dr. Anna M. Czepiel, Dr. Christina M. der Nederlanden

Virtual or In-person:In-person

Abstract:

Evolutionary theories suggest that music may be a superior tool for communicating emotions than speech due to its role in regulating emotions in social groups. However, existing evidence showing that listeners more accurately interpret emotions from song than speech lacks generalizability because previous studies used recordings by professional actors/musicians. Across three experiments, we compared whether everyday people are better at conveying and perceiving emotions through speech or song. In Experiment 1, nonmusician participants conveyed emotions (happy, sad, fear, peaceful, neutral) through spoken and sung improvisations. In Experiment 2, new participants rated the emotion expressed and modality (song/speech) of these improvisations, presented either in their original form (Experiment 2a) or without semantic information (low-pass filtered so words were unrecognizable, Experiment 2b). Results showed that speech was more effective at conveying emotions when semantics were present, while emotion perception excelled in song when semantics were filtered out. These findings highlight distinct roles in emotional communication, with semantics being crucial in speech and acoustic elements more prominent in song. Understanding these dynamics could provide insights into the evolutionary significance of music and its applications.