Male voices are deeply pitched to dominate the competition with other males, according to new study. In addition, a lower pitch had a small impact in making men more attractive to women.
A new study analyzed a wide variety of primates such as humans, gorillas, chimpanzees and orangutans. The three-part study analyzed the links between voice pitch and mating systems, attractiveness and perceived dominance by males.
The team of researchers collected thousands of recordings of primates. They also recorded more than 500 men and women speaking and played the recordings to more than 1,200 men and women.
Male recordings that were gathered were rated by men for signs of dominance and women for romantic attractiveness. Female recordings, on the other hand, were rated for attractiveness.
The study showed that deeper male voices were rated as more dominant by men, according to Economic Times. A low-pitched voice evolved primarily to intimate other males to make them seem bigger and scarier. Male voices were initially thought to be deeply pitched in order to attract female mates but this was proven to have a smaller impact in the study.
Researchers found that the difference in voice pitch is linked with mating patterns. The team wanted to determine if sexual selection had produced sex difference in humans and closely related species, according to David A. Puts, an associate professor of anthropology from Pennsylvania State University.
Humans were also found to have the largest sex-based differences in voice pitch of any primate. The differences between males and females tend to be more obvious when there is plenty of competition for mating.
Published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the team of researchers found that the depth of female voices had no effect on attraction by male listeners. Men did not seem to care much about women's voices.
Men with low levels of cortisol were found to have higher levels of testosterone, which is linked to a deeper voice. Puts explains that men with lower cortisol levels and higher testosterone levels have a stronger immune response, according to NBC News. Men's voices tend to be at 110 hertz (Hz) while women's voices are much higher at 200-220 Hz.
