Reason for Female Voice on Siri

Siri is the personal assistant app on the latest version of the iOS offering of Apple, the iOS 5. The Siri app of the iOS 5 answers questions of users and provides suggestions using natural language processing.

However it would be interesting to note that the voice used for the Siri app of the iOS 5 sounds feminine.

According to report at CNN, the female voice is also used in a number of electronic devices aside from the Siri app of the iOS 5 and that there is a psychological basis for this.

In a number of countries, including the United States, the voice on the Siri app of the iOS 5 is female. However in countries like the UK and France the voice on the Siri app of the iOS 5 sounds like a male.

The sound of the female voice is reportedly much more pleasing compared to a male voice basing on scientific studies. Clifford Nass, a professor at Stanford University, identified a study which points to an affinity that begins in the womb.

The study revealed that fetuses would react to the voice of the mother although it would not respond to the voice of other females. The fetus would also have no reaction to the voice of the father.Nass added that it is more difficult to find a likeable male voice compared to a likable female voice. This is reportedly a deep-rooted fact that human brains have the tendency to like the voice of a female.

However the CNN report also pointed to history for the reason why a female voice was used for the Siri app of the iOS 5.

The voice of females was reportedly used on the navigation devices of fighter planes during World War 2 since it was distinctive among pilots who were males. Phone operators were also mostly female which resulted to get used to receiving assistance through the voice of a female.

Consumer research teams of automobile manufacturers also showed that most consumers preferred the voice of a female rather than a male.

This may have formed part of the basis why the voice of the Siri app of the iOS 5 is female.  So whenever users would ask questions for the Siri app of the iOS 5 to answer, users would expect to be answered with a female voice.