Objective: To verify whether the perception of gender expression in voice is influenced by the auditory stimulus and the feedback received.
Methods: A longitudinal quantitative study approved by the Research Ethics Committee (approval no. 6.876.128). Sixty-three volunteers, native speakers of Brazilian Portuguese aged 18–51 years, without self-reported hearing or vocal disorders, participated. Participants were randomly assigned to four groups: A (n=16), B (n=16), C (n=16), and D (n=15). Groups A, B, and D completed a 14-day auditory training using 10 voice samples previously judged as neutral by 101 cisgender individuals. Groups A and B underwent gamified training in which they labeled neutral voices in a binary manner (female or male) and, after each response, received auditory and visual feedback controlled by the researchers, indicating whether their classification was correct or incorrect. Both groups listened to the same voices but received opposite feedback. Group D was exposed to the same 10 voices without feedback, while Group C served as a control and did not undergo training.
Gender perception was monitored through a questionnaire administered at the beginning (day 1), middle (day 7), and end (day 14) of the experiment. The questionnaire used a 101-point visual analog scale ranging from -50 (very masculine) to +50 (very feminine) and included 12 voice samples (4 feminine, 4 masculine, and 4 neutral) different from those used in training.
Data were analyzed using linear mixed models, considering group, time point, training duration, sample gender, and listeners’ age.
Results: Group A perceived masculine voices as less masculine (mean difference = -14.1 points; p<0.001; r=0.733), while Group B perceived feminine voices as less feminine (mean difference = 8.3 points; p0.999 and p=0.082, respectively), and no changes were observed in the perception of neutral voices.
Conclusion: The perception of gender expression in voice was influenced by the feedback received. Exposure to neutral voices alone did not alter perception; however, when combined with binary feedback, it modified gender judgment, highlighting the role of auditory conditioning in this process.