The Vocal Quality of the Sender is Able to Influence the Cognitive Performance and Cortisol Level of the Listener.

Objective: To verify the influence of the sender's vocal quality on performance in cognitive tests and on the receiver's cortisol level.

Study Design: Observational, cross-sectional, and analytical study.

Methods: Four voices were selected to represent adapted voice (AdV), and rough voice of discreet degree (DV), moderate (MV), and intense (IV). These participants recorded the stimuli used in the attention and memory tests, which included 139 undergraduate students as receivers. Saliva was collected from recipients for cortisol assessment one minute before and after 15, 30 and 45 minutes of the cognitive assessment.

Results: Statistically significant differences were identified between the groups in the repetition test, with worse results in IV. Cortisol increased significantly in the MV group when compared with the other groups after 15 minutes of the cognitive test.

Conclusions: Emitters' rough voices can negatively influence performance in cognitive tests that require attention and working memory and leads to a short-term increase in the receiver's cortisol levels.