In this talk I will outline a series of studies into non-verbal vocalisations of emotions - sounds like laughter, sighs, and screams. These studies examine whether non-verbal vocalizations do reliably communicate emotions, what acoustic cues listeners rely on to infer emotional states, and how culture affects the processing of these sounds. Finally, I will discuss an ongoing study of the sounds produced by congenitally deaf individuals which investigates whether auditory learning is necessary to develop recognizable emotional vocalisations.

If you would like to meet with the speaker, please contact Jürgen Trouvain.