A little sentiment analysis

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As I've noted from time to time, speakers' pitch range is affected by many internal and external factors in addition to their anatomy and physiology. External factors include the level of background noise and the distance to the intended hearer(s). Internal factors include the level of physiological arousal. In particular, we expect the emotion of "hot anger" to increase pitch range.

As a recent case in point, here's a plot of Greg Gianforte's pitch range during his 5/25/2017 assault of a Guardian reporter, compared to his pitch range during a 10/4/2016 interview:



3 Comments

  1. Rubrick said,

    May 29, 2017 @ 2:01 pm

    One data point is pretty limiting. You should do a whole series comparing the pitch ranges of various politicians while being interviewed and assaulting people.

  2. Mark P said,

    May 30, 2017 @ 8:20 am

    Or when being interviewed and when encouraging their followers to assault people.

  3. Dan Lufkin said,

    May 30, 2017 @ 10:49 am

    Or encourage more reporters to question Mr. Gianforte. Aim high — error of estimate goes down with the square.

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