Women and men have distinct vocal differences. Typically women speak with a higher pitch tone, where as men speak with a lower pitch. A higher pitch is perceived as more attractive on women while lower voices are more attractive on men. The higher pitch in women makes them more attractive, but the researchers wanted to know if it would make individuals see them as fit for leadership roles. This study implies that lower pitched voices are synonymous with strong leadership and competency. Their findings mirror what is found across non-human primates; that lower pitch is correlated with strength (Klofstad, et al., 2012).
The study sought to find a correlation between perceived political competence and different pitches of voice. They did this by collecting data from undergraduate University students. Researchers played voice recordings from different women and men saying, “I urge you to vote for me this November”, in different pitches, and asked the students which voice would receive their vote. When voting, both men and women prefer women and men with lower voices. This is consistent with the reality of the world. Women hold fewer leadership positions. Men generally talk at a lower pitch than most women. The article infers that this explains the gap in men and women holding positions of leadership.
Men and women prefer a deeper voice when considering female political leaders. The researchers do not directly state that pitch of voice is behind gender inequality, but they do imply it is the reason why women hold fewer leadership positions. This is a bold claim considering how many factors are not being considered in this study. If that were the case, women could solve gender issues by forcefully speaking in a deep voice. Deeper voices are perceived as more competent, trustworthy, and strong. The implications of this finding is unclear.
References
Casey A., K., Rindy C., A., & Susan, P (2012). Sounds like a winner: voice pitch influences perception of leadership capacity in both men and women. Proceedings: Biological Sciences, (1738), 2698.
Amie Mbye
November 9, 2017 — 10:41 pm
I really enjoyed reading this article! I wonder why the consensus was for lower pitched voices. Is there a biological reason why this preference was prevalent? I also liked how you make it known that the researchers did not discuss how this issue contributes to gender inequality in the original paper.
Esperance Mugabekazi
November 10, 2017 — 4:11 pm
Really interesting read! I agree with you, there are many factors that contribute to holding leadership position other than having a lower pitched voice.
Johali Sotelo
November 10, 2017 — 5:19 pm
This is so interesting! It makes me think twice when listening to the news. Could it be that we also associated the different pitches with more/less credibility?
Jazz Stephens
November 10, 2017 — 6:51 pm
I do think it is a bold claim to make, especially after we just reviewed the differences between correlation and causation! Nevertheless, this seems like a very interesting study.
Iris Tang
November 11, 2017 — 7:31 pm
This is a really interesting study, I am wondering how this study connected with the Monkey one.
Schuylar Guinn
November 12, 2017 — 6:07 am
This study was quite interesting, but I think that gender roles play more of a role than does voice pitch in terms of individuals holding leadership positions.
Megan Mickel
November 13, 2017 — 9:55 pm
This study is very interesting. It also makes me wonder how levels of attraction and assumptions play a role when it comes to voice pitch. However, like the others said above, to say that this is a reason as to why women hold fewer leadership positions is a bold statement, and while there is a correlation, to say it is a cause is untrue.