Preferences for Very Low and Very High Voice Pitch in Humans

TLDR

Manipulations of voice pitch have been shown to alter attractiveness ratings, but it is unknown whether preferences extend to very low or very high pitch. The study manipulated voice pitch in averaged male and female voices across a range from normal to very low and very high pitch to investigate preferences. Using the method of constant stimuli, 19 university students (ages 20–25) completed three experiments with the manipulated voices. Men preferred high‑pitched women’s voices over low‑pitched ones, while women preferred moderately lowered male voices but not very low ones, suggesting a perceptual link between pitch and vocal attractiveness.

Abstract

Manipulations of voice pitch have been shown to alter attractiveness ratings, but whether preferences extend to very low or very high voice pitch is unknown. Here, we manipulated voice pitch in averaged men's and women's voices by 2 Hz intervals to create a range of male and female voices speaking monopthong vowel sounds and spanning a range of frequencies from normal to very low and very high pitch. With these voices, we used the method of constant stimuli to measure preferences for voice. Nineteen university students (ages: 20–25) participated in three experiments. On average, men preferred high-pitched women's voices to low-pitched women's voices across all frequencies tested. On average, women preferred men's voices lowered in pitch, but did not prefer very low men's voices. The results of this study may reflect selection pressures for men's and women's voices, and shed light on a perceptual link between voice pitch and vocal attractiveness.