by FFE Entertainment News staff

What do actors George Clooney, Denzel Washington and Jeremy Irons have in common? Apart from being attractive they all have a lower-pitched voice which, according to a study, makes them extra alluring for women.

However, a study published in the journal ‘Personality and Individual Differences’ also tells us what women think about deep-voiced men in terms of their ability to keep a relationship. The researchers asked 87 women to listen to different male voices ranging from high- to low-pitched. They were then asked to rate them according to their attractiveness as candidates in a long- and short-term relationship and their likeliness to cheat on their partners.

The results showed a stunning conclusion: while women generally preferred low-pitched voices, they also rated these voices as more likely to cheat on their partner and that they were more suited for short-term relationships.

Jillian O'Connor, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behavior at McMaster University and lead author, explained that ‘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.’

David Feinburg, assistant professor in the same department, said that women may have evolved an ability to detect partners who were more likely to cheat.

He said ‘The consequences of infidelity are very high whether it is emotional or financial, and this research suggests that humans have evolved as a protection mechanism to avoid long-term partners who may cheat.’