Does Implicit Racial Bias Affect Auditory-Perceptual Evaluations of Dysphonic Voices?
Rachel L Norotsky, Kimberly L Dahl, Sarah Cocroft and 3 others
PMID 38065808WHAT IT FOUND
Novice clinicians rated voices as less severely dysphonic when labeled Black, regardless of the speaker's actual race.
The difference was small, about 2 to 3 points on a 100-point scale, but could affect diagnosis in mild cases.
Key findings
01Speakers were rated as having less severe dysphonia when their race was labeled as Black compared to when labeled as White.
02The effect of race labeling occurred regardless of the speaker's actual race, with no significant interaction between labeled race and speaker race.
03The difference in severity ratings between the two labeling conditions was small, ranging from 2.07 to 3.09 points on a 100-point scale.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The listeners were all novice graduate students, not experienced voice specialists, so the bias may differ in seasoned clinicians. The voice samples were mostly from individuals with mild dysphonia, so the clinical impact on moderate or severe cases is unclear. The study only examined auditory-perceptual ratings, not the full diagnostic process which includes other data. Most listeners were White, which may limit generalizability to a more diverse clinician population.
Declared interests
One author has received consulting fees from companies that develop movement analysis technology, unrelated to voice or speech pathology. The study was conducted within a university program.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that because the rating difference was small (2-3 points), the bias is clinically irrelevant. For patients with mild voice disorders, this shift can move a rating across the threshold for diagnosis or referral, potentially denying necessary care.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →