科学美国人60秒 SSS 2016-8-06（在线收听）

Watch your tone—because it turns out it really isn’t what you say—it's how you say it. At least when it comes to couples in couples counseling. 

注意你的语气，事实证明你说什么不重要，而是在于你怎么说。至少在心理咨询时涉及到夫妻时。

That’s according to a study in Proceedings of Interspeech. [Md Nasir et al., Still Together?: The Role of Acoustic Features in Predicting Marital Outcome]

这是根据《Interspeech学报》上的一项研究。

Researchers developed a computer algorithm to gauge relationships between spouses based on their vocal patterns. Working with hundreds of recorded conversations from marriage therapy sessions collected over two years, the algorithm was able to predict whether a relationship was going to get better or worse with an accuracy of just under eighty percent.

研究人员研发出一种计算机算法，根据他们的声音模式来衡量夫妻之间的关系。通过采用在两年多的时间里所收集的婚姻治疗会话的录音，该算法能够预测一段关系将变得更好或恶化，其准确性接近80%。

How they did it? The recordings were divided by acoustic features that used speech processing techniques to track pitch and voice warble and intensity.

These clips from the researcher’s training video illustrate psychological states that characterize distressed relationships. This one, for example, shows “negative affect” and “reactivity” – behaviors that relationship experts believe are troublesome.

他们是如何做到的？使用语音处理技术来追踪语调的起伏、颤动、强度，根据这些声学特征对录音进行划分。研究人员们的这些培训视频片断表明不良关系的心理状态。例如这个案例：表明“消极情感”及其“反应”——婚姻问题专家认为这些行为表示出现问题。

Female: And I want you to just come home at a more reasonable time rather than you know walking in the door at 11. Male: I just don’t think you understand just how much I have to do, what my work entails. Female: Well, what is there to understand?

女士：我希望你能在一个更合理的时间回家，而不是你知道在11点时进家门。男士：我只是认为你不明白我要做多少事情，我的工作需要。女士：好吧！这还有什么需要理解的？

The counseling sessions were also tested against behavioral analyses with codes for positives such as “acceptance” and the negatives such as “blame.” Using only that more standardized research method wasn’t as predictable as listening to the vocal expressions.  

这些咨询会话也同样进行了行为分析测试，并使用如“接纳”类的积极词语和“责备”类的消极词语进行编码。只采用这种标准化的研究方法并不像听声音所表现出来的更加有可预见性。

Now, these examples are negative as the researchers focused on distressed relationship dynamics. One could imagine the algorithms may also work the same way when looking at positive vocal patterns. Because even married couples sometimes say nice things to each other.

目前，由于研究者们关注有问题关系的动态，因此这些例子都是负面的。人们可以想象这个算法也可以采用同样的方式处理积极声音模式。因为即便是已婚夫妻有时也会互相说说对方的好话。