He’s Got a Deep Voice, But a Larger Family Tree – Voice-Pitch as a Predictor of Reproductive Success in Men
Jenny Galvao
According to research led by Coreen Apicella of Harvard University, reproductive success in men can actually be forecasted by the pitch of his voice.
It’s no surprise that women find men with lower pitched voices to be more attractive, but it is interesting to note that they also subconsciously connect a deeper voice with reproductive success.
In the current study, however, deep voice pitch has been shown to be a stronger indicator of successful reproduction than once thought.
“While we don’t know the exact reason that these men with deeper voices have fathered more children,” say the researchers “it may be that they have increased access to mates, begin reproducing at an earlier age, or their wives have shorter interbirth intervals because they provide more food to them.”
In this experiment, the Hadza, a tribe of hunter-gatherer men and women were studied. Nine of their camps were visited, and both men and women gave their reproductive histories as well as voice recordings. Interviews followed the data collection. Here, participants were asked to record their children’s name as well as if they were currently dead or alive.
During this interview, they spoke into a microphone and the frequency in terms of the pitch of their voice was measured.
The results were conclusive in demonstrating that men’s reproductive success was tied to the tone of his voice. The deeper his voice, the more children he bore. Men with lower pitched voices were found to have more surviving children as opposed to men with voices that were higher in pitch. Further analysis revealed, on the other hand, that voice pitch was not in any way, an indicator of women’s reproductive success.
“It’s possible that vocal dimorphism has evolved over thousands of years, partly due to mate selection — perhaps at one time, men and women’s voices were closer in pitch than they are today,” say the researchers.
The exact reasons for the success of deeper-voiced men in fostering children are not known exactly. However, it may tie back into a woman’s desire for a tall, strong man – deep voices often accompany these traits.
A low-pitched voice does not at all mean a low number of children born to men, it means the exact opposite. The study was on males and females belonging to a hunter-gatherer society, but the results can be carefully applied to more technologically advanced societies such as our own.
Men, if you’re blessed with a deep voice, great. But all is not lost for those men lacking in this department. Slowing your voice often has the same effect as deepening the timbre. You might also work on dropping your diaphragm. With practices, it’s possible to lower your voice by a few notches. While it’s a difficult frame to maintain, it can prove key in a dating situation.
If you are a man lacking a deep voice, don’t be too concerned, as you’re not doomed to a sterile existence. However, the data is clear, you’re less likely to out-compete your deeper-voiced competitors.
The factor that plays the biggest role in this study, was that deeper-voiced men have an easier time finding flourishing females.
This research lends support to the oh-so popular phrase “opposite’s attract”; women typically have higher-pitched voices, so it makes sense that they would be interested in pursuing men for long-term relationships who display the opposite, and have deep, “manly” voices.
Resources
Apicella C. L.; D. R. Feinberg and F. W. Marlowe. Voice Pitch Predicts Reproductive Success in Male Hunter-Gatherers. Biology Letters. 2007. 3:682–684. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2007.0410