Verbal and non-verbal behaviors that contribute to trust and satisfaction in the patient-physician relationship have typically been investigated in face-to-face interactions between patient and physician. However, it is becoming more common for physicians to administer surveys over interactive voice response systems (IVRs). In this context, patient trust and satisfaction must still be maintained in order to insure accurate disclosure on the surveys. This paper describes the results of research in which we investigated if individuals' perceptions of trust and satisfaction are affected through voice, alone. When considering voice in the absence of non-verbal cues, a sympathetic voice was more liked and trusted than a professional voice, which was more liked and trusted than an upbeat voice. It was also found that trust can be moderated by the gender of the voice presented in an IVR, with females reporting higher trust for professional voices than do males.
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