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Sofia Dahlstrom & Hannah Luke
Psychology
Duration of Stimuli Has No Effect on Relationship Between Pitch and Ratings of Attractiveness for Male Voices
Abstract
The negative relationship between pitch and attractiveness for male voices has been firmly established throughout previous research. Lower male pitch preference is considered to have been hard-wired through evolution prior to the emergence of language and the reproductive success of males with lower-pitched voices spans beyond western culture. Despite the consensus that lower-pitched male voices are rated higher for attractiveness, research pursuing the factors that affect this relationship is limited. Yet, findings related to the vocal features that affect the relationship between lower-pitched male voices and attractiveness ratings could contribute to important discussions regarding vocal evolution. Duration, referring to the time and stimulus length of speech, has been noted to be the most reliable vocal feature for predicting attractiveness in male voices. However, research regarding duration is conflicted and does not address its effect on the relationship between pitch and attractiveness. This research investigated the effect of duration on the relationship between male voice pitch and attractiveness ratings using secondary data of female ratings for male voice recordings. Two socially relevant sentences of different durations were statistically compared against the relationship. Statistical analysis showed no significant difference in the relationship between attractiveness and pitch for either longer or shorter duration conditions. These results both align and contrast with previous research regarding duration, therefore, highlighting the complexity of vocal variability and the need for further research required to determine the importance of different vocal features, especially because of the potential in aiding the understanding of vocal evolution and the development of sexual selection.
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