By: Alyssa Capistrano
The majority of women prefer men with lower-pitched voices a recent study has found. But they also believe them to be cheaters.
Jillian O’Connor, a postdoctoral researcher at McMaster University in Hamilton, told Humber News she conducted the survey because the sound of our voice is often overlooked.
“I’ve always been interested in how the sound of our voice influences how people perceive us,” said O’Connor.
The sound of our voice can convey everything about us – where we’re from and how educated we are. It is so powerful.”
O’Connor also said women believed that men with lower voices were either cheating or were going to cheat.
And, while they were attracted to them, they only saw them as short-term relationships.
“We do have some evidence that men who have higher levels of testosterone are more likely to cheat, and are less committed to their current romantic relationships as opposed to those with lower levels of testosterone, but it’s minimal, it’s more the woman’s opinion,” said O’Connor.
Going into the study with no original assumptions, O’Connor said that she and her colleagues came to the conclusion that evolution may play a big part.
“Men who have lower-pitched voices have higher levels of testosterone,” said O’Connor. “These men also tend to be healthier, dominant and have a higher social status which is something women like when successfully producing offspring.”
O’Connor told Humber news, that testosterone increases for males during puberty, resulting in the growth of vocal chords. And , the larger the vocal chords, the lower the frequency of sound is produced, she said.
A survey conducted Thursday of 50 female Humber students at the North Campus, found 95 per cent of them desired a man with a lower-pitched masculine voice and five per cent said they liked a high-pitched voice or did not care.
As well, 60 per cent of those surveyed said they would stay in a relationship despite the voice, and remain loyal, while 40 per cent said they would either leave or cheat on their partner.
Mandy Keeting, 19, a first year event planning student, said the study is true to most of the women she knows.
“A lower-pitched voice makes the guy more masculine and I personally can’t take a high-pitched voice seriously,” said Keeting. “A girl that says they don’t care about a guy’s voice is probably just lying.”