Why Does Siri Have A Female Voice? The Answer May Be In The Womb
October 24, 2011
Many people have been asking the question: Why is Siri’s voice female? The conclusion, after some scientific studies and focus groups, may go all the way back to our mothers, and when we were in the womb.
An article released by CNN states that there is some biology involved in not only the decision to make Siri’s voice female, but also many other computer voices. Scientific studies have shown that people generally like the sound of a female voice versus a male voice. Stanford University Professor Clifford Nass said: "It's a well-established phenomenon that the human brain is developed to like female voices."
Nass suggest this preference for the female voice starts as early as the womb. In studies, fetuses were shown to respond to the mother’s voice much more than to the father’s.
Another example: When automakers started putting voice automated prompts in their vehicles, consumer research found that people overwhelming preferred female compared to male voices.
All of this may explain why most GPS navigation systems have a female voice as the default.
One possible reason why we do not prefer a male voice telling us what to do, is because of all the male computerized voices who have played evil characters. A good example of this is the 1968 film, "2001: A Space Odyssey." HAL, the computer in the movie, had a sleek, creepy and controlling voice. Another great movie example was "War Games," from 1983. That computer (WOPR) had a very disturbing voice, as he was about to begin World War III.
This may lead to the reasons why, as of now, Siri is a female. Some bloggers have asked if having a female voice as a computerized assistant is sexist. According to research, the answer seems to be about preference. What are your thoughts? Do you like Siri’s voice? Would you change it to a male voice if you had the option?
