Men with Deeper Voices More Likely to Cheat, Suggests New Study

Men who have lower or deeper voices are more likely to cheat because women find them more attractive, according to a new study released Thursday.

Researchers from McCaster University in Ontario strengthened the possible effects of men's deeper voices to their level of attractiveness saying, "women find men with low-pitched voices - which are produced by larger vocal chords - are more attractive than their higher-pitched peers."

Jillian O' Connor, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behavior and lead author of the study said that "This was a problem for us. We wanted to figure out why women would be attracted to a man that they think is not going to be good to them in a relationship." "Maybe one of the explanations could be that it depends on what kind of relationship these women are after."

O'Connor asked 87 women to listen to various male voices that had been manipulated digitally to create higher and lower pitches. After listening, the researchers asked the participants to say which one of them was more likely to cheat and which one would be better for long-term relationships or short-term flings. "They're attracted to these men in a situation where maybe they wouldn't expect fidelity," O'Connor said.

"The sound of someone's voice can affect how we think of them. Until now, it's been unclear why women would like the voices of men who might cheat. But we found that the more women thought these men would cheat, the more they were attracted to them for a brief relationship when they are less worried about fidelity", she added. However, those women who did not associate deep pitch with infidelity tended to prefer guys for long-term relationships than short-term flings, according to TIME.