Listening to Dance: Gendered Voices and the Emotional Experience of Poetic Audio Description for Audiences with Visual Impairments

Recent studies in Cognitive Translation and Interpreting Studies have spurred a surge in experimental research, particularly in Audio Description (AD) reception studies. However, experimental research has largely focused on the linguistic composition of scripts, leaving the impact of vocal delivery comparatively underexplored. Addressing this gap, the current study investigates the cognitive and emotional effects of narrator voice gender within the complex framework of poetic AD for contemporary dance. Using a within-subjects design, 33 participants with blindness or visual impairments listened to dance performances with ADs voiced by synthetic male and female narrators. A multi-method approach was employed, combining subjective measures (mental effort, valence, arousal, enjoyment, transportation, and recall) with physiological indicators (electrodermal activity and heart rate variability). Results showed that female voices were associated with significantly lower perceived cognitive effort and higher emotional valence and arousal. Physiologically, female voices elicited lower levels of phasic skin conductance, suggesting a calming rather than arousing effect. However, no significant effects were found on enjoyment, transportation, or recall performance. These findings suggest that narrator’s voice modulates the cognitive and emotional experience of poetic AD, particularly at a subjective level. The study contributes to the growing field of inclusive media by highlighting the importance of voice characteristics in shaping accessibility and engagement.