The Voice of Emotion in Chinese and Italian Young Adults

Abstract

This article outlines an exploratory comparative study of the vocal expression of emotions in Chinese versus Italian cultures. Given a strong relationship between voice and emotion, it is of special interest to analyze whether and how this connection may covariate with cultural influences in shaping emotions. Forty-eight undergraduates (29 Chinese and 19 Italian) are asked to read aloud short stories inducing different emotions (joy, sadness, anger, fear, contempt, pride, guilt, and shame) within a scenario approach. Subsequently, acoustic (sonographic) analysis is carried out on the recorded readings. On the one hand, the results confirm that different emotions may be expressed via variations in the modulation of vocal cues, in both cultures; on the other hand, differences in the specific patterns of vocal cues in expressing emotions are identified between Chinese and Italian participants. Theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.