Effects of fundamental frequency and formant dispersion on the attractiveness of female voice

Abstract

Previous studies have reported that the higher pitch (fundamental frequency) and wider formant dispersion (a measure of vocal tract length) of female voices were associated with smaller body size, higher femininity, and attractiveness, even though the actual physical characteristics of adult women are not necessarily predictable from their voice characteristics. In this study, female voice stimuli were used with a wider range of fundamental frequency and formant dispersion than in previous studies, and male college students were asked to rate the speakers’ attractiveness, femininity, body size, and age. The results indicated that voice attractiveness peaked at ca. 280-290 Hz, slightly higher than average fundamental frequencies, and declined at lower or higher voice pitches. Similarly, formant dispersion showed a tendency for attractiveness to increase up to a certain value and to decrease above that value. The estimation of body size and other characteristics from the fundamental frequency and formant dispersion generally confirmed similar trends as in previous studies.