In rounding off the first day of SMPC I decided to skip a little between sessions. This tactic had the secondary benefit of helping me work off the enormous (and delicious) heap of noodles that I had consumed for lunch. The first talk I attended in the final session was called ‘What makes a siren sultry?’ – I think you will agree a pretty great title! The talk was by John Purcell (High Point University, USA) and was focused on how attractiveness in singers impacts on people’s perceptions of their vocal quality and talent. The research is based on the well known ‘Halo effect’ within psychology, whereby specific judgement about…