You really do have them at ‘hello’

Despite being told countless times growing up that we should never judge a book by its cover, it seems most of do just that.

Scottish scientist Phil McAleer conducted a study to find how quickly a first impression is made. The result? Less than one second.

Seriously?

“From the first word you hear a person speak, you start to form this impression of the person’s personality,” McAleer told National Public Radio.

More than 300 people listened to recordings of voices saying the word “hello” and asked whether the voices seemed to come from trustworthy folks.

You had me at hello, indeed.

So what exactly differentiates a trustworthy voice from one which may leave you skeptical?

In women, it was whether their voices rose or fell at the end of the word. The voice that drops at the end installed a degree of certainty.

In men, their higher-pitched voices were deemed more trustworthy. McAleer theorized that’s because the higher pitch is closer to that of a woman’s voice, making the men sound less aggressive.

“Things that are important for behavior and for survival tend to happen pretty fast,” UCLA researched Jody Kreiman told NPR. “You don’t have a huge amount of time. It has to be a simple system of communication.”