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Children’s vocal control reveals implicit occupational stereotypes

In a vocal imitation task children between the ages of 5 and 10 adjusted their voices to match gender-stereotypical expectations: masculinization (lowering the voice) when imitating a traditional male profession and feminization (voice height and resonance increase) for a traditional female profession. These voice adjustments increased with age, especially in boys, and were not explained by explicit stereotypical views of the children.

Cartei, V., Oakhill, J., Garnham, A., Banerjee, R., & Reby, D. (2020). “This is what a mechanic sounds like.” Children’s vocal control reveals implicit occupational stereotypes. Psychological Science, https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797620929297

mechanic sounds