J Vukovic, DR Feinberg, LM DeBruine, FG Smith & BC Jones. Women's voice pitch is negatively correlated with health risk factors. Journal of Evolutionary Psychology. 21(4): 767-772. PDF
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.
O'Connor JJM, Feinberg DR, Fraccaro PJ, Borak DJ, Tigue CC, Re DE, Jones BC, Little AC, Tiddeman, BP. Female preferences for male vocal and facial masculinity in videos. Ethology.
Watkins CD, Jones BC, Little AC, DeBruine LM, Feinbeg DR. Cues to the sex ratio of the local population influence women's preferences for facial symmetry. Animal Behaviour.
Feinberg DR, DeBruine LM, Jones BC, LIttle AC, O'Connor JJM, Tigue CC. Women's self-perceived health and attractiveness predict their male vocal masculinity preferences in different directions across short- and long-term relationship contexts. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology.
O'Connor JJM & Feinberg DR. The influence of facial masculinity and voice pitch on jealousy and perceptions of intrasexual rivalry. Personality and Individual DIfferences (In Press).
MJ Law Smith, DK Deady, FR Moore, BC Jones, RE Cornwell, MR Stirrat, J Lawson, DR Feinberg & DI Perrett (in press). Maternal tendencies in women are associated with estrogen levels and facial femininity. Hormones and Behavior.