Sounds of seduction

Flirtation may seem largely visual, but voice plays a role, too

Lowering voice may signal attraction, research finds. Flirtation may seem largely visual, but voice plays a role, too. Lowering your voice may be a means of demonstrating attraction, says Susan Hughes, assistant professor of psychology at Albright College in Reading, in a study.

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“We found that both sexes used low-pitch voice and showed high level of physiological arousal when speaking to a more attractive opposite-sex target,” she says. Their research also measured people’s awareness of the changes in others’ voices. Says Hughes, “The sound of a voice can communicate a wealth of biologically and socially important information.”