Teenagers are less likely to be persuaded to complete tasks when asked by mothers with a controlling voice, Essex University research has found.

Speaking to a child in a pressurising tone is accompanied by a range of negative emotions and less feelings of closeness, the new study has discovered.

The study, involving researchers from Essex and Cardiff universities, involved more than 1,000 adolescents aged 14 to 15.

It is the first to examine how subjects respond to the tone of voice when receiving instructions from their mothers, even when the specific words used are exactly the same.

The study showed subjects were much more likely to engage with instructions that conveyed a sense of encouragement and support for self-expression and choice rather than a controlling, autonomy-supportive, or neutral tone of voice.

Co-author of the study Professor Silke Paulmann, from Essex’s Department of Psychology, said: “These results nicely illustrate how powerful our voice is and that choosing the right tone to communicate is crucial in all of our conversations.”

The new study, funded by the Leverhulme Trust, was published in the journal Developmental Psychology.