Why having a deep voice like Darth Vader makes you sexier

By Sharin Hussain via SWNS

A low-pitched voice like crooner Barry White is sexier for a long-term relationship, according to a new study.

American researchers found that lower voice pitch makes men and women sound more attractive to potential long-term partners.

They also found that a lower pitch in men, like Star Wars villain Darth Vader, boosts their social status.

It makes them sound more formidable amongst younger men and more prestigious amongst older men.

Study co-author Professor David Puts, of Penn State University, said: “Vocal communication is one of the most important human characteristics and pitch is the most perceptually noticeable aspect of voice.”

The study suggests that voice pitch is relevant to social perceptions across societies, how we attain social status, how we evaluate others on social status and how we choose mates.

The research consisted of 12 recordings of two male and two female voices repeating the same sentences.

It was edited to produce the average pitch for the speaker's sex plus a high and low version of each voice.

More than 3,100 participants across 22 countries, representing five continents and New Zealand took part.

Men often experience threats of violence in competition over finding a partner based on who is considered more formidable and prestigious and those who were bigger or seemed bigger had better success.

Puts said: “We looked at the homicide rate as a way of quantifying the degree of physical violence in a society, which was probably an important factor for our male ancestors’ reproductive success.

“A low voice pitch exaggerates size. It makes an organism, whether it’s a person or non-human primate, seem big and intimidating.”

Puts suggested that lower-pitched voices likely link back to our ancestors.

He said: “The findings suggest that deep voices evolved in males because our male ancestors frequently interacted with competitors who were strangers and they show how we can use evolutionary thinking and research from nonhuman animals to predict and understand how our psychology and behaviors vary across social contexts, including cross-culturally.”

Darth Vader’s voice in the Star Wars franchise is an example that no matter where the character goes in the galaxy, his low pitch is perceived as formidable because larger beings tend to produce lower frequencies.

The researchers found that men perceived females with higher-pitched voices as more attractive for short-term relationships, and women perceived higher pitches as sounding more flirtatious and being more attractive to men.

In societies with lower relational mobility, where group members are more likely to know one another, women may perceive these flirtatious voices as a threat to existing social networks, according to the researchers.

Puts added: “Female secondary sex traits, like voice, look like they’re much better designed for mate attraction rather than threatening each other physically.

“We found that we could use relational mobility to predict women’s sensitivity to raised voice pitch in competitors.

"Sensitivity may have been higher in societies with lower relational mobility because flirtatious behavior is not just a threat to your romantic relationship but your friendships as well.”