Your voice can tell if you are likely to stray

Toronto: Beware! Your voice could give you away if you are likely to cheat on your spouse or partner, says a new study.

Women believe the lower a man's voice, the more likely he's going to cheat, just as men think that a high pitched woman tends to be unfaithful.

"We found that men and women will use voice pitch as a warning sign of future betrayal," said Jillian O'Connor, graduate student in psychology at McMaster University, Canada, who led the study, reports the journal Evolutionary Psychology.

"So the more attractive the voice - a higher pitch for women and lower pitch for men - the more likely the chances he or she will cheat," adds O'Connor.

"Infidelity is costly with the emotional impact, financial costs and potential loss of the family unit," she says, according to a McMaster's statement.

"But this suggests that through the evolutionary process, we have learned ways to avoid partners who may be unfaithful as a protection mechanism," she says.

Study participants were asked to listen to two versions of recorded clips from a male voice and a female voice, which were electronically manipulated to be both higher and lower in pitch.

They were then asked which one, from each pair, was more likely to cheat sexually on their romantic partner.

"The reason voice pitch influences perceptions of cheating is likely due to the relationship between pitch, hormones and infidelity," explains David Feinberg, assistant professor in psychology, neuroscience and study advisor.

"Men with higher testosterone levels have lower pitched voices, and women with higher estrogen levels have higher pitched voices.

"High levels of these hormones are associated with adulterous behaviour and our findings indicate individuals are somewhat aware of the link and may use this in their search for a romantic partner," Feinberg concludes.