Can you HEAR what a person looks like? A growing body of
research suggests we can. And by the way, fish talk too. If
you didn't realize that, you haven't been listening.
Psychologist Susan Hughes says, "The mere sound of a
person's voice contains important, embedded biological
information." She bases this conclusion on the relationship
between voice quality and another important biological
marker: digit ratios. "The ratio of the second (index) finger to
the fourth (ring) finger is an indirect measure of prenatal sex
hormone exposure," she says. "The development of digit
formation is influenced by a surge of sex hormones during the
first trimester of prenatal development, around the same time
that vocal cords and the larynx are developed. If the index
finger is shorter in length than the ring finger, it's a sign of
greater
prenatal testosterone. A longer index finger is a sign
of greater prenatal estrogen exposure.
"We found that women's voices that were rated as more
mature or as dominant had shorter index fingers relative to
ring fingers," she says, "This is a sign that they had greater
prenatal testosterone than their female counterparts.
"Voices are a complex combination of several qualities. It may
be the unique combination of features together that conveys
information that potential mates can use to make
assessments regarding mate quality and fitness." So when
you notice an attractive voice across a crowded room?find
out who it belongs to!
And fish also talk. LiveScience.com quotes researcher Andrew
Bass (yes!) as saying, "Fish have all the same parts of the
brain that you do."
Art credit: freeimages.co.uk
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