Low down attraction

It is odd that we can use the same term to describe two phenomena that are fundamentally different in quality and nature. We use the word “attraction” to describe what occurs between polar opposite ends of magnets and we also use it to describe the lure that summons a man or woman to another man or woman. You can say what you like about magnets; sure they are less than exciting at parties and are poor conversationalists but you can rely on them: the north pole of a magnet will always be attracted to the south pole of a magnet. The “attraction” that occurs between a woman and a man, though, is somewhat less predictable.

How often, in this lifetime, have you found yourself commenting, “I just don’t know what she sees in him!” It seems that what causes one person to be attracted to another is as changeable and variable as an economist’s predictions on interest rates. It may be, though, that underneath the apparently random nature of human attraction there are some laws at work. In fact, one new study has shown that a certain quality in a man can cause women to be attracted to him even if they think he is likely to be unfaithful to them.

For the study, women listened to a range of men’s voices that were electronically altered in their pitch. The women were asked to nominate which voices were most attractive and also which voices belonged to men that were more likely to be unfaithful to (cheat on) their partners.

The results showed that women were much more likely to find low-pitched voices attractive. The interesting thing was that the women also rated the owners of these low-pitched voices as being much more likely to be unfaithful. It doesn’t make much sense from an evolutionary perspective to be attracted to someone that you expect to cheat on you and therefore possibly leave you to raise offspring on your own. Digging further, the researchers found that women were attracted to these low-voiced men for short-term relationships but not so much for the long term.

It seems we are instinctively “smart” in our attractive urges after all. The link to voice pitch also explains why we call infidelity a “low” act.