Persistence of voice pitch bias against policy differences

Cinar, Ceren (2023) Persistence of voice pitch bias against policy differences. Political Science Research and Methods. ISSN 2049-8470

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Abstract

We use an online experiment to study the relative effect on voter behavior of a candidate's voice pitch and policy stance. We demonstrate a strong voice-pitch bias: between candidates who are identical in every other aspect, voters are more likely to choose the one with the lower voice-pitch, and more so in elections between men than women candidates. We then introduce a novel phenomenon: persistence of voice-pitch bias is the amount of policy difference needed to compensate for voice-pitch bias. While persistence is also gender-dependent, the effect is now reversed: voice-pitch bias is more persistent in elections between women than men candidates. As a possible mechanism, we show that voters perceive candidates with lower voice-pitch as more competent and trustworthy.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/political-...
Additional Information:	© 2023 The Author
Divisions:	Methodology Government
Subjects:	J Political Science
Date Deposited:	05 Oct 2023 16:30
Last Modified:	24 Oct 2025 19:39
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/120372

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