Efficacy in deceptive vocal exaggeration of human body size.pdf (1.86 MB)
Efficacy in deceptive vocal exaggeration of human body size
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-10, 00:32 authored by Katarzyna Pisanski, David RebyHow can deceptive communication signals exist in an evolutionarily stable signalling system? To resolve this age-old honest signalling paradox, researchers must first establish whether deception benefits deceivers. However, while vocal exaggeration is widespread in the animal kingdom and assumably adaptive, its effectiveness in biasing listeners has not been established. Here, we show that human listeners can detect deceptive vocal signals produced by vocalisers who volitionally shift their voice frequencies to exaggerate or attenuate their perceived size. Listeners can also judge the relative heights of cheaters, whose deceptive signals retain reliable acoustic cues to interindividual height. Importantly, although vocal deception biases listeners’ absolute height judgments, listeners recalibrate their height assessments for vocalisers they correctly and concurrently identify as deceptive, particularly men judging men. Thus, while size exaggeration can fool listeners, benefiting the deceiver, its detection can reduce bias and mitigate costs for listeners, underscoring an unremitting arms-race between signallers and receivers in animal communication.
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Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Published version
Journal
Nature CommunicationsISSN
2041-1723Publisher
Nature ResearchExternal DOI
Issue
a968Volume
12Event location
EnglandDepartment affiliated with
- Psychology Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2021-08-04First Open Access (FOA) Date
2021-08-04First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2021-08-04Usage metrics
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