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A change in pitch means a change in perceived aggressive intent

Lucia Ruiz Amador

Men’s pitch can change the way we perceive their aggressive intent. The data correlates

with the hypothesis that the lower the pitch, the higher the perceived aggressive intent. But this

does not mean that their fighting ability matches their perceived aggressive intent.
A change in pitch means a change in perceived aggressive intent 2

What the scientists sought to answer in this study, was if pitch matters in how we

perceived aggressive intent, specifically men’s perceived aggressive intent. This question is

driven by survival if individuals can identify when there is a potential threat, the likeliness of

being attacked can be perceived or calculated. It is to their benefit, the individuals hearing the

man’s voice, to avoid conflict in order to survive and reproduce. The scientist’s hypothesis is that

the lower a man’s pitch is, the higher the perceived aggressive intent they will have.

The scientists had several men volunteer and recorded their voices. The recorded voices

would have their pitch modified to be lower, raised, and maintained the same. These recordings

were then listened to by other individuals that would then rank the voices on a scale of perceived

aggressive intent. Each pitch category is ranked on this scale by volunteers.

Figure 1 shows what these results should look like if the hypothesis is correct, with lower

pitches having the highest perceived aggressive intent, maintained being halfway, and higher

pitches having the lowest perceived aggressive intent. There would be a clear distinction between

lower pitches and other pitches. Figure 2 shows what the results would look like if the scientist

were not correct. Pitch would have no effect on perceived aggressive intent and the scores for

lower, natural, and raised pitches would be all over the place. There would be no distinction

between any pitches.

Figure 3, is the actual results from the study, which are consistent with the hypothesis.

While it is not an exact replica of the predicted graph, the range of perceived aggressive intent in

the lower pitch category, is still much higher compared to maintained and raised ranges scores of

perceived aggressive intent. This shows that pitches do have some effect on men’s perceived

aggressive intent. The lower the pitch is, the slightly higher the perceived aggressive intent
A change in pitch means a change in perceived aggressive intent 3

someone will have. However, does this actually reveal men’s fighting ability? If a lower pitch

changes the way they are perceived, to be perceived as more aggressive, does this mean that they

are actually this aggressive, and is that a reflection of their fighting ability?

If a lower pitch does change perceived aggressive intent, does this mean that the lower

the pitch a man has, the better his fighting ability? Or does this mean that they are actually this

aggressive? Or does pitch have nothing to do with it? These are only some of the questions left

unanswered.

If there was a study done to see if the pitch of a man does correlate with fighting ability,

then with this study, it can be hypothesized that those with a lower pitch have a better fighting

ability. If those with a lower pitch are perceived to have higher aggressive intent since it is an

indicator that they are a threat, then they may have a better fighting ability compared to those

that are not perceived as a threat. Men’s voices would be recorded, ranging from low to high

pitches, and then their fighting ability would be ranked. If the hypothesis is correct then the data

would look like figure 4. Those with a lower pitch would have the best fighting ability, and

neutral and higher pitches have worse fighting abilities. However, if the hypothesis is incorrect,

then the pitch would not matter in the ability to fight. The data would look like figure 5, data

points would be all over the place and there would be no correlation between either. Though the

ethical dilemma is what age group are the recordings gathered from? If the age group is above 50

or if the age group is below 20, would that also have an effect on the results? How would the

ability to fight even be ranked? And who would be in charge? Someone with knowledge? There

are to many external factors that could potentially affect the outcome of the study.
A change in pitch means a change in perceived aggressive intent 4
A change in pitch means a change in perceived aggressive intent 5

Figure 3: Main effect of pitch modulation on the speaker’s perceived aggressive intent
Taken directly from the study.
A change in pitch means a change in perceived aggressive intent 6
A change in pitch means a change in perceived aggressive intent 7

Works Cited

Zhang, Jinguang, et al. “Pitch Lowering Enhances Men’s Perceived Aggressive Intent, Not Fighting

Ability.” Evolution and Human Behavior, vol. 42, no. 1, 2021, pp. 51–60,

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2020.07.007.