The deep, booming voice of Benedict Cumberbatch may seem alluring to some women, but new research suggests that biologically speaking, deep masculine voices are meant to intimidate rivals, not attract potential mates.
Researchers attempted to determine a link between mating preferences and vocal pitch, marking the latest study to find an answer to this old-age question: how do humans pick their partners?
The research team conducted two experimental phases: the first included a vast review of more than 1,700 cries, grunts and vocalizations culled from 24 species of primates including chimpanzee, orangutans and gorilla.
In this phase, scientists found that the average difference in vocal pitch between female and male voices was greater in humans compared to most other primates.
Alex Hill, who teaches at University of Washington and a co-author of the study, says they want to examine whether low-pitched males win mating opportunities because women find them attractive or because men are scared off.
"That's the crux of the issue," says Hill.
With that comes the second phase of the study. This included 258 female and 175 male students who were asked to read a passage and record it without any background noise.
After being recorded, all 433 sounds were played for 558 women and 568 men who rated them.
The female recordings were rated by men based on attractiveness using a standard system. The male recordings were rated by men based on dominance and by women based on attractiveness.
In the end, researchers discovered that deep, male voices are perceived as intimidating by other men while they were not precisely considered attractive by women.
David Puts, one of the authors of the study and an expert from Pennsylvania State University, says masculine traits in human males are not the same among peacocks, which are animals that use beautiful tail feathers to attract females.
One instance is this: beards often make males look more dominant, scarier and more dangerous, but most females still prefer men that are clean-shaven.
Meanwhile, Carolyn Hodges-Simeon of Boston University, who was not involved in the study, says although it provides valuable insight into the mating preferences of humans, it was not clear why the pitch would matter in competitive situations.
In fact, the depth of the voice does not correspond with body mass.
"It's not like muscle," says Hodges-Simeon. "Muscle is something that could actually harm you."
Fortunately, the new study answers this aspect as well. Penn State researchers collected saliva samples of students and assessed levels of a stress hormone called cortisol and testosterone. Males with higher levels of testosterone and fewer levels of cortisol had deeper vocal pitches.
Testosterone has also been associated with healthy immune systems, indicating that to some extent, deeper voices could be an evolutionary marker for good health.
Details of the new study are published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
Photo: Dalton Wang | Flickr
