Women Find Men With Lower Voices More Attractive, But They Also Think They're More Likely To Cheat On Them
Women may tremble when they hear Orlando Bloom’s British accent, or the seductive sounds of Barry White’s voice in a song. Fret not high-pitched men, women are found to be more attracted to men with lower voices — but only for short-term relationships, according to a recent study.
Researchers from McMaster University in Canada found out what male voice octave — low voice or high voice — women found more attractive and who they believed were more likely to cheat out of the two. The team of researchers, led by Jillian O’Conner, recorded some male voices and manipulated them electronically to sound higher or lower in pitch. The 87 women participants in the study then had to listen to the voices and select which ones they thought belonged to men who were likely to cheat on them, followed by which voices they found more attractive for a short-term or long-term relationship.
The majority of women in the study preferred men with lower-pitched voices, but ranked them as being more likely to cheat, according to the Daily Mail. Women were only inclined to choose deep-voiced men for a fling, or a short-term relationship over a long-term commitment.
While it may be puzzling as to why women would like the voices of men who might cheat, the findings suggests that it would only be for a brief relationship where fidelity was not a concern. "They're attracted to these men in a situation where maybe they wouldn't expect fidelity," said O’Conner, the Daily Mail reports.
Although it has yet to be scientifically proven as to whether men with low-pitched voices are more inclined to cheat than their higher-pitched counterparts, testosterone levels could be a factor. In a previous study published in PLOS ONE, researchers established a link between testosterone levels and voice pitch. When testosterone levels rise in puberty, it causes changes in the larynx and in the vocal cords, resulting in lower octave tones in males. This further explains why deeper voices are associated with facial hair and even sexual fitness. Based on previous research, we can only speculate that men with low voices may be more likely to cheat, according to O’Conner.
"It's kind of like a rule of thumb; more often than not it might be right, but it's not going to be 100 percent accurate," she said, cbc.ca reports.
Tonality has also been found to play an important role in how couples in relationships communicate with one another. In a recent study, researchers examined the tone of voice that men and women use to communicate with their partners. In general, samples of vocals that were geared toward romantic partners were rated as sounding more “pleasant, sexier, and reflecting greater romantic interest.” Women were found to use a lower pitch when talking to their partners, while men employed a higher one.
For a chance to test how you perceive low voices, click here.