A new study says that men with a particularly low voice and women whose voices are very high-pitched may be more likely to cheat on their partners. The study, published in Evolutionary Psychology, links voice pitch with perceived unfaithfulness in relationships. Previous research has shown that men with lower-pitched voices have more sexual partners and more babies.

The new research indicates that people may rely on voice pitch as a means of determining who may be likely to stray from their partner. “From an evolutionary perspective, if this perception did not benefit our ancestors by helping them choose better mates, then we would not expect it to persist,” says Jillian O’Connor, a graduate student in the department of psychology, neuroscience, and behavior at McMaster University on Ontario – and lead author of the study.

The idea is that men with the lowest-pitched voices were deemed by women to be most likely to cheat – because they were the most attractive. In the same vein, women with high-pitched voices were thought to be more attractive, and therefore, more prone to infidelity.  Part of it is physiology: men with low voices and women with high voices have a greater concentration of testosterone and estrogen, respectively.

“Because of their hormones, they’re more likely to be promiscuous. And because they’re more attractive, their partners are more likely to let them get away with it,” says David Feinberg, an adviser on the study.

Tags: voice pitch, dating, cheating, relationships
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