VR Study Finds Female Voice Pitch Makes Men More Likely to Take Risks

I recently came across a study titled "The Siren’s Call: Exploring the Impact of Female Voice Pitch on Male Risk-Taking Behavior".

Don't be alarmed. After reading the paper thoroughly, I realized that the researchers were not trying to pin car accidents on women. In fact, what they were exploring was even more interesting than I initially thought.

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This paper was published by three scholars from Shanghai's Fudan University—Qian Tian, Jingyun Ding, and Jiahui Guo—in the ScienceDirect journal. The lead author Qian Tian specializes in gender psychology, particularly in mating strategies, making "The Siren’s Call" a natural exploration into sexual selection theory.

The authors begin by discussing "male risk-taking behavior." Previous studies have linked the gender difference where "males are more inclined to take risks than females" with evolution, specifically sexual selection. Simply put, females tend to choose males who are brave, strong, and willing to take risks, as these traits represent "good genetic quality" and "resource acquisition capabilities." Female mate choice is thus causally linked to male behavior—according to other studies, males are also more likely to engage in riskier actions when in the presence of "attractive women."

The paper posits that while past research has almost exclusively used visual attractiveness as an indicator—such as facial features and body characteristics (which also correlate with fertility)—the authors were curious whether a woman's voice could similarly influence male behavior. It's worth noting that males generally find higher-pitched female voices more sexually attractive, which is positively correlated with estrogen levels, suggesting that females with higher voice pitches are more fertile mates.

Experiment 1: High-pitched Voices Lead to Running Red Lights

Experiment 1 was straightforward. The hypothesis was that in a VR driving simulation, males hearing a high-pitched female voice would be more likely to run red lights (demonstrating risk-taking behavior) than those hearing a low-pitched female voice. Participants were 66 self-described heterosexual males with normal hearing and vision, recruited from Fudan University.

Participants sat in the driver's seat, holding a Logitech G29 racing wheel, and wore a VIVE Pro Eye that tracks eye movements, ensuring clear vision. They first drove on a road without voice navigation, passing through intersections to familiarize themselves with the environment before starting the actual experiment.

Participants were then randomly divided into "high-pitched female voice" and "low-pitched female voice" groups for voice navigation, passing through 32 intersections with the goal of reaching the endpoint as quickly as possible. As they approached each intersection, the traffic light would turn yellow, giving them two choices—to run the red light or to stop. Those listening to the high-pitched female voice navigation were indeed more likely to run red lights, averaging nearly half the number of intersections, while those with low-pitched female voice navigation averaged about a third.

Could it be that the flow of desire is just a manifestation of biological instincts for sexual selection and impulsive brain activity? How unromantic.

To verify whether male courtship behavior is inherently like this, or if strategies adjust or differ due to cultural and societal values, an even more interesting Experiment 2 was conducted.

Experiment 2: Being a Nice Guy is Also a Mating Strategy

Experiment 2 also used the VIVE Pro Eye headset, but this time, participants didn't drive; instead, they walked across a high plank in VR. VR gamers might be familiar with "Richie’s Plank Experience" (those who don't know should try it at VIVELAND). A total of 120 heterosexual males were recruited for Experiment 2, under the same conditions of normal hearing and vision, and without acrophobia.

As participants walked the high plank, a female voice guided them, aiming to cross as quickly as possible. The results were consistent with Experiment 1, with the high-pitched female voice group moving faster than the low-pitched group. However, Experiment 2 added another variable—the cultural contexts of "good genes" and "good father."

Before reaching the rooftop via elevator, participants were first taken to a virtual classroom for a briefing on cultural contexts, divided into two groups—"good genes" (women prefer brave, strong, healthy men) and "good father" (women prefer patient, family-oriented, kind men). The former encourages male risk-taking, while the latter does not.

Participants in the high-pitched female voice group completed the high plank walk faster, with those in the good genes group finishing quicker than the good father group. The two variables indeed interacted—when male risk-taking was encouraged, the high-pitched female voice group moved faster than the low-pitched group; when discouraged, there was no significant difference in movement speed between the high and low-pitched groups.

Through VR simulation, the experiment confirmed that female voice pitch influences males towards risk-taking, highlighting the fact that male courtship behavior is constrained by evolution. However, beyond innate instincts, acquired learning also plays a significant role in courtship, as shown in the "good genes" and "good father" version of the experiment. It turns out that males are not always impulsive; they can also adjust their strategies through observation and understanding of female preferences to enhance their chances of being chosen.

In some ways, the mating market between the sexes is not as simple as the sexual selection theory assumes. When "good father" traits are more in demand, males can also be more conservative and cautious to reduce risks. Thus, women are not solely the choosers, and men are not just the chosen. In the mating process, males can adjust their behavior to match female preferences, potentially adopting a "good father" mating strategy, whether they are tech geeks or warm-hearted men.