Woman’s voices becomes more alluring when they are most fertile, according to a study of vocal changes during ovulation, conducted by researchers from the State University of New York at Albany.

Nathan Pipitone and Gordon Gallup recorded women counting from one to ten at four different points in their menstrual cycle, which they had graded from low to high risk of conception. They then played the voices back at random to a mixed sex panel of students, and found that the female voice altered according to the time of the month, whilst there was no effect if the woman was taking oral contraception. So, the study suggests sex hormones can alter the workings of the voice box.

The Scientists wrote:

The results showed a significant increase in voice attractiveness ratings as the risk of conception increased across the menstrual cycle in naturally cycling women. There was no effect for women using hormonal contraceptives. More work is needed to identify the biological mechanisms that underlie these perceptual differences, but growing evidence points to the impact of hormones on the larynx as being the source of these changes

Both men and women judged the voices to be sexiest when they were recorded at periods of peak fertility, and less attractive during non-fertile periods, although the changes might be too subtle to pick up in many situations. However, if the findings can be replicated, they will add further weight to the theory that women unconsciously give off cues about their fertility, similar to animals when they are “in heat”.

Dr Gallup also noted that it was not just men who have learnt to spot barely perceptible changes in women’s voices; women can also notice the effect, perhaps to monitor the competition.

Dr David Feinberg of McMaster University in Canada told The BBC:

The missing link here is finding out how this works in plain conversation – in a bar, for example

While it’s possible, the other issue is that women do have mood changes across their menstrual cycle, and people might just be attracted to a happy-sounding woman, rather than a fertile one.

Previous research came to similar conclusions about fertility cues, after a team based at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, found that lap dancers earned more in tips on their fertile days.

Geoffrey Miller, who led that research commented:

The voice changes might explain some of the shift in lap dancer tip earnings, dancers certainly chat with their customers.

However, he went on to explain, visual attractiveness also appeared to change during the menstrual cycle, so voice quality is unlikely to be the whole story.

The full research paper is to be published in the Journal of Evolution and Human Behaviour.

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• Lap dancers ‘on heat’ get big tips
• High hormone levels in women linked to infidelity

Posted by Jonathan in Sociobiology

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