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No clear evidence for correlations between handgrip strength and sexually dimorphic acoustic properties of voices
Author(s) -
Han Chengyang,
Wang Hongyi,
Fasolt Vanessa,
Hahn Amanda C,
Holzleitner Iris J,
Lao Junpeng,
DeBruine Lisa M,
Feinberg David R,
Jones Benedict C
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
american journal of human biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.559
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1520-6300
pISSN - 1042-0533
DOI - 10.1002/ajhb.23178
Subject(s) - formant , vocal tract , sexual dimorphism , psychology , physical strength , audiology , acoustics , biology , medicine , physical medicine and rehabilitation , speech recognition , zoology , computer science , physics , vowel
Objectives Recent research on the signal value of masculine physical characteristics in men has focused on the possibility that such characteristics are valid cues of physical strength. However, evidence that sexually dimorphic vocal characteristics are correlated with physical strength is equivocal. Consequently, we undertook a further test for possible relationships between physical strength and masculine vocal characteristics. Methods We tested the putative relationships between White UK ( N = 115) and Chinese ( N = 106) participants' handgrip strength (a widely used proxy for general upper‐body strength) and five sexually dimorphic acoustic properties of voices: fundamental frequency (F0), fundamental frequency's SD (F0‐SD), formant dispersion (Df), formant position (Pf), and estimated vocal‐tract length (VTL). Results Analyses revealed no clear evidence that stronger individuals had more masculine voices. Conclusions Our results do not support the hypothesis that masculine vocal characteristics are a valid cue of physical strength.