Man's Voice Reveals His Fighting Ability

In the animal kingdom, a male's vocalizations are sometimes are tied to actual physical strength. Human men turn out to fit that phenomenon perfectly.

THE GIST

* The sound of a man's voice reveals his upper body strength and fighting ability.
* The findings put men on vocal par with many other animals whose calls also directly communicate body strength.
* Men's voices contain such information because ancestrally, men were more likely to engage in aggression.

A quick phone call to dad, or any other man, is far more revealing than previously thought, since new research has just determined that a human male's voice reveals his upper body strength, fighting ability, overall health, age, and emotional state.

Just hearing the sound of a man's voice, no matter what he is saying, communicates all of this information and more, according to the study, published in the latest Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

The findings put men on vocal par with red deer, common loons, baboons, croaking gourami fish, owls and other animals whose calls also directly communicate body strength and fighting ability.

"Ancestrally, a man's fighting ability would have been much more important to know as archaeological and anthropological evidence indicates that men were much more likely to engage in aggression than women were," Aaron Sell, lead author of the paper, told Discovery News.

"For that reason, it's very important to know how formidable a man is," added Sell, a researcher in the Center for Evolutionary Psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Sell and his colleagues took body and strength measurements from men and women belonging to four distinct populations: the Tsimane of Bolivia, Andean herder-horticulturalists, and U.S. and Romanian college students.

Each participant was asked to do things such as flex their biceps, which were measured, use a handgrip, and press a chest-strength muscle tester. The individuals also provided their fighting history, mentioning how many fights they had been in over the last four years.

Continued at link.


I thought this was really interesting and know personally of some friends that this principle applies too and works for. One of my buddies that has a deeper voice is quite the behemoth and all tatted up. He's quite the intimidating guy. I'm quite stocky myself, and at this point more so than him, but he just has the look, ya know? lol

I can only think of one guy that has a extremely low and raspy voice that isn't that strong. Although if you were to hear him on the phone you'd think otherwise.

What about the rest of ATS, what do you think about this?

Then how is was Mike Tyson so tough, yet sounded like a girl?
He get kicked in his goods or something?

reply to post by Pharyax


Lol, yeah it talks about him in the article. It mentions his case and says there are those cases but for the most part the voice and strength ability are related. I think a proper statistic should be conducted if properly possible.

Sounds like BS to me. I've known alot of higher pitched tuff guys in my life....and alot of deep voice wimps.

They should take a cross sample of MMA fighters and i guarantee that their findings would be different.

reply to post by Crossfate


it has always seemed to me that the men with a really deep voice tend to externalise their strength but when it gets to the crunch, have no idea.
i personally think it has no link.

After 20 years in the bar biz:
I have seen an awful lot of tough guys dropped by girls.
Also more then a few dropped by little ol ladies as well


its the quiet guys you have to watch out for

[edit on 16-6-2010 by Danbones]

Originally posted by Pharyax
Then how is was Mike Tyson so tough, yet sounded like a girl?
He get kicked in his goods or something?

Yea but Mike sounded "girl" strong. Oh yea one could pick up the "rage lisping" as one could the rattles of a snake.

Voice, inflection, volume, tone, and everything else about it is variable. I can sound like a girl or a gorilla if I want?

I've been in plenty of fights, and won plenty of fights, and I have "good" upper body strength, but not "great" strength.

My buddy plays D-line at Florida State, bench presses over 500 lbs, but isn't all that much bigger than me when we are both clothed. His voice is higher, his tone and inflection is more friendly and light hearted, and he is overall a friendlier person?

Who should a potential prey fear? My rougher voice, fighting experience, and grouchy demeanor, or his higher voiced friendly demeanor, but with hydraulics built into his frame?

I think this study is lacking a whole lot of stuff. They would have had to let the men vary their voices from calm to mad to scared. They would have had to stage a series of fights to see who wins. They would have had to take a cross sampling of population besides students. I'm sure the results in prison are different than the results on a campus?

I call B.S. on the study.

This is pure bull. I have been passive all my life, and i can yell or scream.

These studies are bull.

reply to post by Pharyax


You do pose an excellent point.
I guess he must be the exception to the rule.

Yeah I actually understand this, it is like when i spook my dogs and they charge me growling and barking at the top of their lungs.
I playfully ask them, "Are you using the big boy voice on me?"

I think that voice tonal quality and fighting ability are two completely separate non-linked things.

You can't tell one single thing from a dudes voice, in terms of fighting ability.

You can however, tell by their handshake 9 times out of 10.

I think Mike Tyson sort of shatters the voice/scrap hypothesis. I was a boxer in college.

Someone mentioned it above, the quiet dudes are the ones I have found to be the most fearsome fighters.

This sounds like a BS study to me as well. People change their tones and pitches depending on the situation. I've Been in The Marine Corps , I've worked in Law enforcement , I've worked in Sales at a Porsche Dealer and I currently run my own business , I am also a father of a 3 Year old and a 13 year old.

I've never spoken to a client while selling cars the same way I spoke with an Inmate or Prisoner.

I've never spoken to my children the Way I did with my squad when trying to get them "Squared Away" or "Locked On".

I don't speak to My Wife in the same tone I do when talking to a Vendor over the phone.

I don't use my "Command Presence" at Thanksgiving Dinner when I want my Father in Law to pass me the peas.

Your voice is a tool and can be manipulated depending on the situation and what needs to be accomplished. Some of this is conscious and some of this is subconscious.

There is a link between Higher Testosterone Levels and Deeper Voices though , I wouldn't go so far to say a link exists between your voice and fighting ability.

(Who wastes money on these studies anyway!?!, No one cares... these people should take that time, money, and energy and try to go do something productive for society , like cure cancer. )

The master demonstrating high-pitched toughness:

I once saw a flaming drag queen yell,
"YOU B*TCH"!
and kicked a guy that looked like The Hulk in the

um, groin,

and the Hulk went down, and in a raspy, deep voice mumbled...

"OH, *&$%^()., that hurt."

Yeah I was going to say, Mike Tyson says this study is bunk, and Ronnie Coleman has his back.

I've coached boxing a number of years and I've seen both, probably more deeper voiced guys, although don't more men have deeper voices than not anyway?

I dunno about this...

Fighting ability is learned. I sparred with dozens of 'manly men'--bouncers, cops, kickboxing instructors, BJJ students...nothing can be garnered by their voice.

Quite the opposite actually, the ones that look the toughest and have the 'intimidating' voices, and largest muscle groups are the easiest to beat.

Voice can't have anything to do with it.

And before the stories get out of hand, a gifted striker can knock out another fighter within about 30 lbs of his body weight.

reply to post by Crossfate


I have worked many numerous phone sales/telemarketing jobs, and over the years by experimenting (I'm always messing around) I have determined that if I pitch my voice lower, I sell better...

I'm not sure that me-talking-low fully communicates all the info mentioned in the OP...but if it does, it might mean the deep-voiced scary fierce man has an intimidating effect which makes the public more likely to roll over for my sales pitch...which would fit in with what I have observed in practice...

reply to post by ZombieOctopus



mikey took a few punches thats why his throat was messed up


[edit on 16-6-2010 by Danbones]

Actually, it would have to be evidence of an inclination to aggression, not fighting ability as that is often determined by...fighting ability. Of course an aggressive person will probably get into fights more often regardless of his ability to end fights.

Size and stenema only matters if no one knows how to fight. If someone knows how to fight with medium or great skills. It doesn't matter what kind of show you put on. The brightest fighter will almost always survive.

[edit on 27.06.08 by spy66]