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Women’s voice pitch is negatively correlated with health risk factors

Women’s voice pitch is negatively correlated with health risk factors

JournalJournal of Evolutionary Psychology
PublisherAkadémiai Kiadó
ISSN1789-2082 (Print)
2060-5587 (Online)
SubjectPsychology
IssueVolume 8, Number 3/September 2010
Pages217-225
DOI10.1556/JEP.8.2010.3.2
Subject GroupBehavioral Science
Online DateTuesday, August 24, 2010
Authors
Jovana Vukovic1, David R. Feinberg2, Lisa DeBruine1, Finlay G. Smith1, Benedict C. Jones1, 3 Email for Ben.jones@abdn.ac.uk

1University of Aberdeen School of Psychology Aberdeen Scotland, UK
2McMaster University Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour Aberdeen Scotland, UK
3University of Aberdeen Aberdeen Scotland, UK

Abstract

Previous studies have demonstrated that men prefer women’s voices with relatively high pitch to those with low pitch, suggesting that men may use voice pitch as a cue of women’s mate quality. However, evidence that voice pitch is a cue to women’s long-term health is equivocal. Here we present evidence that women’s average speaking voice pitch is negatively correlated with a health risk index derived from principle component analysis of various body measurements that are known to predict long-term health outcomes in women (weight, body mass index, percentage body fat, waist and hip circumference, and waist-hip ratio). Our results suggest that voice pitch is a cue to women’s long-term health, supporting mate-choice accounts of men’s preferences for raised pitch in women’s voices.

Keywords
voice pitch, attractiveness, mate choice, fundamental frequency, femininity
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