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Voice changes may show your date fancies you | Voice changes may show your date fancies you |
(about 14 hours later) | |
If you are on a first date, listen very closely to the sound of your partner's voice because it might reveal if they fancy you, according to researchers. | If you are on a first date, listen very closely to the sound of your partner's voice because it might reveal if they fancy you, according to researchers. |
It's not about what your date is saying, but the pitch of their voice. | It's not about what your date is saying, but the pitch of their voice. |
If they lower their pitch, it could be a subtle, subconscious sign they find you attractive, the study, in The Royal Society Proceedings B journal, suggests. | If they lower their pitch, it could be a subtle, subconscious sign they find you attractive, the study, in The Royal Society Proceedings B journal, suggests. |
Experts say it is probably an evolutionary tool to attract a mate. | Experts say it is probably an evolutionary tool to attract a mate. |
The study | The study |
The researchers listened in on 30 speed-daters meeting at a cafe. | The researchers listened in on 30 speed-daters meeting at a cafe. |
Each date lasted six minutes, with the men rotating around the tables until they had dated all of the women in the room. | Each date lasted six minutes, with the men rotating around the tables until they had dated all of the women in the room. |
Between each interaction, the men and women indicated their preference for the person the had just met - whether they liked them and would want to meet again - marking a "Yes" or "No" next to the date's name. | Between each interaction, the men and women indicated their preference for the person the had just met - whether they liked them and would want to meet again - marking a "Yes" or "No" next to the date's name. |
When the researchers listened back to the conversations, they found that men and women tended to adopt a slightly lower voice during the dates with a partner they fancied. | When the researchers listened back to the conversations, they found that men and women tended to adopt a slightly lower voice during the dates with a partner they fancied. |
Men also spoke at a lower pitch with women who had received lots of "Yes" responses from the other men in the dating room, even if they rated her with a "No" themselves. | Men also spoke at a lower pitch with women who had received lots of "Yes" responses from the other men in the dating room, even if they rated her with a "No" themselves. |
Women, by contrast, lowered their voices only for men they both found attractive themselves and who had been rated highly by the other women in the room too. | Women, by contrast, lowered their voices only for men they both found attractive themselves and who had been rated highly by the other women in the room too. |
What's going on? | What's going on? |
It's not the only study to find this phenomenon but it is the first in a real-life setting, says lead researcher Katarzyna Pisanski from the University of Sussex School of Psychology. | It's not the only study to find this phenomenon but it is the first in a real-life setting, says lead researcher Katarzyna Pisanski from the University of Sussex School of Psychology. |
And although it didn't include a large number of people, the hundreds of dates observed between the participants provided enough data to give a significant result. | And although it didn't include a large number of people, the hundreds of dates observed between the participants provided enough data to give a significant result. |
"I was a little bit surprised that women also lowered their pitch if they liked a man," she said. | "I was a little bit surprised that women also lowered their pitch if they liked a man," she said. |
"Quite a few studies have shown men tend to favour a higher pitch in women because it is feminine and youthful, while women tend to like men to have deeper voices that are seen as more masculine and linked to testosterone." | "Quite a few studies have shown men tend to favour a higher pitch in women because it is feminine and youthful, while women tend to like men to have deeper voices that are seen as more masculine and linked to testosterone." |
Research suggests women today speak at a deeper pitch than their mothers or grandmothers. | Research suggests women today speak at a deeper pitch than their mothers or grandmothers. |
For that work, Cecilia Pemberton, at the University of South Australia, compared archival recordings of women talking in 1945 with recordings taken in the early 1990s. | For that work, Cecilia Pemberton, at the University of South Australia, compared archival recordings of women talking in 1945 with recordings taken in the early 1990s. |
Dr Pisanski said: "Perhaps things are changing and women are trying to portray other values when they use a lower pitch. | |
"It might communicate competence, maturity or even dominance." | "It might communicate competence, maturity or even dominance." |
Lower, quieter speech might also be more intimate. | Lower, quieter speech might also be more intimate. |
Dr George Fieldman, an evolutionary psychologist and member of the British Psychological Society, said it was possible the competitive situation of speed-dating might have made the women adopt a more dominant pitch of voice to attract a mate. | Dr George Fieldman, an evolutionary psychologist and member of the British Psychological Society, said it was possible the competitive situation of speed-dating might have made the women adopt a more dominant pitch of voice to attract a mate. |
"If they were on their own with a man, then perhaps they would use a higher pitch," he said. | "If they were on their own with a man, then perhaps they would use a higher pitch," he said. |
"But when they are in a group situation competing against other women, they might want to keep their pitch lower. It is more discreet. That's my hunch." | "But when they are in a group situation competing against other women, they might want to keep their pitch lower. It is more discreet. That's my hunch." |
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