A GPS With a Seductive Female Voice Encourages Men to Take More Driving Risks

The study consisted of two experiments. The first involved real-world driving simulations where male participants received directions from GPS voices that were either high-pitched or low-pitched female voices.

Results revealed that men receiving instructions from a higher-pitched voice were about 40% more likely to run yellow lights. Researchers speculated that this behavior stemmed from men wanting to show off or demonstrate their driving skills.

In the second experiment, researchers examined two groups of men in a virtual reality setting tasked with overcoming obstacles. On average, men exposed to a higher-pitched voice navigated obstacles more quickly, suggesting that the pitch subconsciously encouraged them to take greater risk.