"A person's voice gives us an idea of the levels of hormones in their bodies"

Can you tell a cheater by their voice?

How can you tell if your crush would cheat on you? By their voice, a recent study found. Before you reject potential cheaters, beware, there’s a catch. The same men and women rated as being likely to cheat are also the most attractive.

Most guys identified women with higher voices as cheaters, the study found. The girls thought that men with lower voices were more likely to be unfaithful.

Hormones

The participants listened to male and female voices with different pitches and chose the ones they thought would cheat.

How does voice help us clue in to potential cheaters? The answer lies in the sex hormones testosterone and estrogen. A person’s voice gives us clues about the level of these hormones in the body.

Guys with lower voices have more testosterone while girls with higher voices tend to have more estrogen.

What’s interesting is that people with high levels of these hormones are more likely to be considered attractive. Unfortunately, studies show they’re also more likely to be cheaters.

Benefits

So what’s the advantage of being able to spot a cheater? Researchers believe there is a scientific explanation.

In the past, being able to detect a cheater by their voice might have helped our ancestors survive to give birth and raise healthy children. Of course today, a faithful partner can have the very same benefits.