Voice frequency impacts hemispheric processing of attribute frames

Attribute framing effects involve the activation of associations that promote information encoding in a way that is consistent with the descriptive valence of the frame. For example, positive frames invoke positive associations and negative frames invoke negative ones—these associations are then mapped onto evaluations. To predict the strength of attribute framing effects, we built on the idea that a speaker with a relatively low frequency voice produces enhanced right hemisphere processing whereas a speaker with a relatively high frequency voice produces enhanced left hemisphere processing. We found a strong framing effect when the holistic/contextual processing style of the right hemisphere was enhanced. In contrast, we observed a weak effect when we enhanced the inferential/analytical style of the left hemisphere. This work has theoretical implications for processes invoking associations, such as priming. It has applied implications for constructing effective persuasive messages.