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Changes in salivary estradiol predict changes in women's preferences for vocal masculinity
Katarzyna Pisanski1, Amanda C Hahn2, Claire I Fisher2
1Department of Psychology, Neuroscience, & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Hormones and Behavior
|July 23, 2014
Summary
Women's preference for masculine male voices changes with their hormone levels. Estradiol fluctuations best predict these shifts, linking hormones to mate selection.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary Psychology
- Human Reproductive Endocrinology
Background:
- Women's preferences for masculine traits in men fluctuate across the menstrual cycle.
- Hormonal mechanisms driving these preference shifts remain unclear.
- Prior research linked facial masculinity preferences to estradiol or testosterone.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate hormonal correlates of within-woman variation in masculinity preferences.
- To examine the relationship between salivary hormone levels and preferences for vocal masculinity.
Main Methods:
- Measured salivary estradiol, progesterone, and testosterone in 62 women over five weekly sessions.
- Assessed women's preferences for masculine characteristics in men's voices.
- Utilized multilevel modeling to analyze hormone levels and preference data.
Main Results:
- Changes in salivary estradiol levels significantly predicted changes in women's preferences for vocal masculinity.
- Estradiol emerged as the strongest predictor of these preference shifts.
- This study is the first to directly link measured hormone levels to women's voice masculinity preferences.
Conclusions:
- Salivary estradiol is a key hormonal factor influencing women's preferences for masculine male voices.
- Findings support estradiol's role in mate preferences, courtship signaling, and sexual strategies.
- Provides direct hormonal evidence for dynamic shifts in women's vocal attractiveness judgments.
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