Emotion Appraisal Dimensions can be Inferred From Vocal Expressions

Vocal expressions are thought to convey information about speakers' emotional states but may also reflect the antecedent cognitive appraisal processes that produced the emotions. We investigated the perception of emotion-eliciting situations on the basis of vocal expressions. Professional actors vocally portrayed different emotions by enacting emotion-eliciting situations. Judges then rated these expressions with respect to the emotion-eliciting situation described in terms of appraisal dimensions (i.e., novelty, intrinsic pleasantness, goal conduciveness, urgency, power, self-and other responsibility, and norm compatibility), achieving good agreement. The perceived appraisal profiles for the different emotions were generally in accord with predictions based on appraisal theory. The appraisal ratings also correlated with a variety of acoustic measures related to pitch, intensity, voice quality, and temporal characteristics. Results suggest that several aspects of emotion-eliciting situations can be inferred reliably and validly from vocal expressions which, thus, may carry information about the cognitive representation of events.