HOW DEEP YOUR lover’s voice is may be an indicator of how likely they are to cheat on you, according to a new study.

A team of psychologists at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada conducted a study exploring whether or not people perceived tone of voice as a signal that a sexual partner is likely to cheat on them.

While excessively masculine and feminine voices were deemed to be attractive, they were also judged to be signs that a partner would be more likely to cheat, reports USA Today.

Women, in particular, “attributed high infidelity risk to masculinised men’s voices” according to the study.

Deeper voices in men are usually associated with high levels of testosterone. Previous studies have linked high levels of the hormone with a greater propensity to be unfaithful.

In the study, which appeared in the journal Evolutionary Psychology, people listened to recorded clips of men and women where the voices had been altered to be higher or lower pitched. The participants were then asked which voice they would associate with a higher risk of infidelity.

Lead author Jillian O’Connor said the results of the study supported their hypothesis:

In terms of sexual strategy, we found that men and women will use voice pitch as a warning sign of future betrayal. 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.

However, O’Connor was keen to point out that a deep voice didn’t necessarily mean a man would be unfaithful: “We certainly aren’t saying someone will cheat on someone else just because they have a deep voice…People aren’t slaves to biology”.