Pitch range variations improve cognitive processing of audio messages

Abstract

This study explores the effect of different speaker intonation strategies in audio messages on attention, autonomic arousal, and memory. An experiment was conducted in which participants listened to 16 radio commercials produced to vary in pitch range across sentences. Dependent variables were self-reported effectiveness and adequacy, psychophysiological arousal and attention, immediate word recall and recognition of information. Results showed that messages conveyed with pitch variations achieved better scores compared to commercials with a homogenous pitch range across the sentences. This was especially the case when high pitch intonation was followed by low pitch within a sentence. Results increase our understanding of the influence of pitch range on processing by establishing a concrete strategy as a best practice for improving attention and memory.