Listener estimations of talker age: A meta-analysis of the literature.
Eric J Hunter, Sarah Hargus Ferguson, Catherine Anne Newman
PMID 26079468WHAT IT FOUND
Listeners can estimate talker age from voice, but they underestimate older talkers and overestimate younger talkers.
Across 530 talkers, the average absolute error was 7.98 years.
Key findings
01Across 530 talker data points, perceived age and chronological age were correlated at 0.85.
02Listeners overestimated age when talkers were young and underestimated age when talkers were older.
03The average absolute difference between perceived and chronological age was 7.98 years, and accuracy was worst for talkers aged 85 to 90 years.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The search was not a traditional repeatable keyword survey; it also used citation searching and reference lists. Only 23 articles were selected, 13 used direct age estimates, and 7 had extractable table or scatter plot data. Published data were re-created from scans and scatter plots, so small errors may have occurred. Most listeners were young adults or students, so the results may not reflect older listeners. The studies varied in stimuli, listener age, presentation level, and whether presentation level was reported. The papers did not provide enough information to determine whether talker gender affected age estimates.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that voice alone can identify a talker's exact age. Across 530 talkers, the average absolute difference between perceived and chronological age was 7.98 years, and listeners underestimated older talkers.