[Effects of intonation contours in speech upon the image of speakers' personality].

This study reports systematic relations between intonations and impressions of speakers' personality. Fundamental frequencies (F0) of stimuli were transformed to emphasize pitch modulations, and unfamiliar intonations for native speakers were generated by reversing pitches. In the first experiment, 66 university students were asked to rate personality images on speech stimuli with the Big Five categories. In the second experiment, 54 participants rated the same stimuli regarding mimetic words, which describe personality characteristics. Results showed that emphases of intonation contours independently affected personality impression traits. Relations between the degree of emphases in intonations and the personality traits were described by simple or reverse U-shaped curves, whose peak positions and slopes were varied by traits. By combining these characteristic curves, the study could restore the personality image as a whole via speech. Although participants evaluated speeches with unfamiliar intonation as obscure talks, the speakers were viewed easygoing and optimistic. The results indicate our tolerance toward the people, who speak non-native or unfamiliar dialect accent.