Shared ambiguity resolution strategies promote mutual fitness of language and perceptual systems
Abstract
Introduction: Men who experience an increase in testosterone following competition tend to behave more aggressively in future competitions.Fundamental frequency (F0), the characteristic closely associated with vocal pitch, is negatively related to men's testosterone levels.Men who perceived themselves as dominant lower their voice pitch during competitive interactions.To date, no research has analyzed how success in competition alters men's F0, or how alterations in F0 are related to future aggressive behavior.Methods: Eighty men were recorded saying the phrase "Hi, my name is John Smith" before and after a competitive success manipulation (success in a video game competition).Participants subsequently provided a second voice recording, followed by the Point Subtraction Aggression Paradigm (PSAP) played against an intrasexual rival.Results: Men's F0 was assessed before and after the competitive success manipulation.There was no overall group difference between F0 prior to the competitive success manipulation (M = 114.80,SD = 17.91) and after (M = 116.48,SD = 16.95), t(78) = -1.51,p = .14,dependence-corrected Cohen's d = -0.170).We next examined withinsubject changes in F0 (F0 before minus after competitive success) as a correlate of both provoked and unprovoked aggression toward a member of the same sex in the PSAP.Men who lowered their voices most, relative to their baseline F0 pre-competitive success, showed more provoked (r = -.23,p = .04)and unprovoked (r = -.24,p =…
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