Social status of a listener impacts speaker

People tend to change the pitch of their voice depending on who they are talking to, and how dominant they feel. Regardless of self perceived social status, both men and women use a higher pitch while answering to people they think are dominant, prestigious and have a higher social status.

While "a deep, masculine voice sounds dominant, especially in men, the opposite is true of a higher pitched voice. So, if someone perceives their interviewer to be more dominant than them, they raise their pitch", said Viktoria Mileva, postdoctoral student at the University of Stirling.

"This may be a signal of submissiveness, to show the listener that you are not a threat, and to avoid possible confrontations," Mileva added.
"These changes in our speech may be conscious or unconscious but voice characteristics appear to be an important way to communicate social status," Mileva added.

Conversely, individuals who rate themselves as high in prestige believe that people look up to them and value their opinions, thereby granting them social status do not change how loud they are speaking, no matter who they are speaking to. .