New research says men with deep voices are more likely to cheat

According to the research conducted by Southwest University in Chongqing, China, men with deeper voices are less committed in relationships and more likely to cheat.

The researchers sampled 116 men and 145 women for the study.

The participants with an average age of 20 had the pitch of their voices measured and were asked questions about their attitudes to monogamy and commitment.

Interestingly, the researchers said: "Our findings demonstrated that masculine men are more likely to engage in infidelity and commit less to their romantic relationships compared with feminine men."

The research finding which has been published in the Personality and Individual Differences journal added: “This result might suggest that masculine voices and infidelity development in men have the same biological basis, that is, they are influenced by testosterone levels. Testosterone and the characteristics dependent on testosterone can be reliable indicators of quality-dependent conditions or behaviours…therefore, men with higher testosterone levels, and hence lower voices, may have more infidelity behaviours or less commitment to their romantic relationship.

"Furthermore, from the point of view of evolutionary psychology, men with masculine voices may enhance their status among other men or their attractiveness to women... thereby increasing their chances of obtaining more or higher-quality partners."

During the study, the female participants exhibited more inclination towards their male counterparts with deeper voices than those with a lower pitch, which buttresses a long-held perception that women place more value on deep-voiced men.

“Masculine voices among males are significantly associated with long-term health and social dominance, and are more likely to be perceived as attaining higher social positions, all of which were valuable for women during evolutionary history.”

The researchers however admit that further research is required into the tendency of deep-voiced men to engage in infidelity since it also depends on other factors such as the availability of women.

“Given that, the relationship between men's vocal characteristics and infidelity intentions is more likely to be mediated by increased access to women. It is necessary for future studies to explore this relationship.”

They however found no between the pitch of women’s voices and their tendency to engage in infidelity.