Attraction towards a person is also influenced by a person’s pitch. Indeed, men tend to perceive higher-pitched voices as more attractive, while women tend to prefer lower-pitched voices (Hodges-Simeon & al., 2010; Re & al., 2012). When you talk to someone you like, do you think that you’re modulating the pitch of your voice? If so, you are not alone! A research team presented images of men to female participants, who had to leave them a recorded voice message. Following the experiment, the researchers asked the participants to identify their degree of attraction towards the different faces presented to them. It was found that women tended to use a higher pitch when presented with faces that they considered more attractive (Fraccaro & al., 2011).

When we meet someone for the first time, several non-verbal signals can be generated, which are likely to influence their interest in us. Among them, several are perceived positively including smiles, a warm tone of voice, direct eye contact, nodding, and leaning or advancing towards the other (Floyd & al., 1984 Gonzaga & al., 2001; Hietanen & al., 2018). On the contrary, frowning and using a detached tone of voice are generally perceived negatively (Floyd & al., 1984). It should be noted, however, that the interpretation of these kinds of signals depends on multiple factors including sex, age and cultural background.

Several research groups have tried to measure the influence of non-verbal communication on an interlocutor, since—even though non-verbal communication is crucial—it is often unconscious. For example, Ho and Newell (2020) presented participants with either happy or angry facial expressions and asked them to rate how attractive the faces were. They observed that smiling faces were perceived as more attractive. Another research team studied the influence of eye contact by measuring the activity of facial muscles (the zygomaticus muscle, which raises the corners of our mouth when we smile, as well as the corrugator muscle, which allows us to frown) in participants (Hietanen & al., 2020). When eye contact was directed at them, the zygomaticus muscle activity was increased, and the corrugator muscle activity was decreased. Thus, the direct gaze of the other elicited a smile in the participants and would therefore constitute a positively interpreted signal (Hietanen & al., 2020).

Finally, a research team looked at how body movements can reflect a person’s interest in a potential partner during a first meeting. To study this phenomenon, the team organized speed-dating meetings between participants, during which their body movements were recorded (Chang & al., 2021). Following each meeting, the participants indicated their interest in seeing their partner again. The research team observed that synchronized approaching and retreating movements predicted a greater interest in developing a long-term relationship!

Whether consciously or not, there is no doubt that humans dispose of a wide variety of ways to communicate their interest in someone. These make use of language and voice (an important aspect of communication that we study in our laboratory!), as well as non-verbal communication. The next time you declare your flame or that your better half speaks to you, perhaps you will pay more attention to these signals!