The voice of creativity: Effects of pitch range in the voice of a robot facilitator

Authors: Kerstin Fischer, Oliver Niebuhr, Ali Asadi

Abstract:

Previous work has identified a considerable role of the facilitator of creativity workshops; in this study, we investigate to what extent the observable differences between facilitators can be attributed to facilitators' speaking style. Specifically, we study the effects of pitch range. That pitch range may have an influence on listeners' creativity can be expected from the fact that it is associated with higher engagement. In order to eliminate effects of speaker personality, we use a robotic facilitator. In an online questionnaire, videos of a robot provided the participants with the necessary instructions on a creativity task, where the pre-synthesized speech of the robot was manipulated globally concerning pitch range. Dependent variables were the originality, fluency, flexibility and degree of elaboration of participants' ideas, as well as their subjective ratings of the robot facilitator. The results show significantly higher facilitator ratings and creativity-task performances in connection with the robot that used the larger pitch range. We discuss our results in terms practical applications and further relevant voice features.