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Infidelity dissected: New research on why people cheat
September 09, 2008Probability of cheating during the course of a relationship varies between 40 and 76 percent
The probability of someone cheating during the course of a relationship varies between 40 and 76 percent. "It's very high," says Geneviève Beaulieu-Pelletier, PhD student at the Université de Montréal's Department of Psychology.
"These numbers indicate that even if we get married with the best of intentions things don't always turn out the way we plan. What interests me about infidelity is why people are willing to conduct themselves in ways that could be very damaging to them and to their relationship."
The student wanted to know if the type of commitment a person has with his or her loved ones is correlated to the desire of having extra-marital affairs. "The emotional attachment we have with others is modeled on the type of parenting received during childhood," she says.
According to psychologists, people with avoidant attachment styles are individuals uncomfortable with intimacy and are therefore more likely to multiply sexual encounters and cheat. But this has never been proved scientifically, which is what Beaulieu-Pelletier attempted to do in a series of four studies.
The first study was conducted on 145 students with an average age of 23. Some 68 percent had thought about cheating and 41 percent had actually cheated. Sexual satisfaction aside, the results indicated a strong correlation between infidelity and people with an avoidant attachment style.
The second study was conducted on 270 adults with an average age of 27. About 54 percent had thought about cheating and 39 percent had actually cheated. But the correlation is the same: people with an avoidant attachment style are more likely to cheat.
"Infidelity could be a regulatory emotional strategy used by people with an avoidant attachment style. The act of cheating helps them avoid commitment phobia, distances them from their partner, and helps them keep their space and freedom."
Both these studies were followed up by two other studies that asked about the motives for infidelity. The will to distance themselves from commitment and their partner was the number one reason cited.
Her studies revealed no differences between men and women. Just as many men and women had an avoidant attachment style and the correlation with infidelity is just as strong on both sides. "Contrary to popular belief, infidelity isn't more prevalent in men," she says.
University of Montreal
The student wanted to know if the type of commitment a person has with his or her loved ones is correlated to the desire of having extra-marital affairs. "The emotional attachment we have with others is modeled on the type of parenting received during childhood," she says.
According to psychologists, people with avoidant attachment styles are individuals uncomfortable with intimacy and are therefore more likely to multiply sexual encounters and cheat. But this has never been proved scientifically, which is what Beaulieu-Pelletier attempted to do in a series of four studies.
The first study was conducted on 145 students with an average age of 23. Some 68 percent had thought about cheating and 41 percent had actually cheated. Sexual satisfaction aside, the results indicated a strong correlation between infidelity and people with an avoidant attachment style.
The second study was conducted on 270 adults with an average age of 27. About 54 percent had thought about cheating and 39 percent had actually cheated. But the correlation is the same: people with an avoidant attachment style are more likely to cheat.
"Infidelity could be a regulatory emotional strategy used by people with an avoidant attachment style. The act of cheating helps them avoid commitment phobia, distances them from their partner, and helps them keep their space and freedom."
Both these studies were followed up by two other studies that asked about the motives for infidelity. The will to distance themselves from commitment and their partner was the number one reason cited.
Her studies revealed no differences between men and women. Just as many men and women had an avoidant attachment style and the correlation with infidelity is just as strong on both sides. "Contrary to popular belief, infidelity isn't more prevalent in men," she says.
University of Montreal
Infidelity Current Events and Infidelity News RSSCan't take my eyes off you: FSU study shows the power of attraction
Whether we are seeking a mate or sizing up a potential rival, good-looking people capture our attention nearly instantaneously and render us temporarily helpless to turn our eyes away from them.
Romance, schmomance - Natural selection continues even after sex
Some breaking news, just in time for Valentine's Day: Researchers have identified something called 'sperm competition' that they think has evolved to ensure a genetic future. In sexual reproduction, natural selection is generally thought of as something that happens prior to - and in fact leads to - the Big Event.
Males have adapted to battle with competing sperm
In the context of sexual reproduction, natural selection is generally thought of as a pre-copulation mechanism. We are drawn to features of the human body that tell us our partner is healthy and will provide us a fighting opportunity to carry on our genetic lineage.
Blue eyes - a clue to paternity
Before you request a paternity test, spend a few minutes looking at your child's eye color.
Nature Research Journals Press Release
NATURE MATERIALS (http://www.nature.com/naturematerials)
A little byte on the side
Becoming emotionally involved with someone over the internet can have just as serious an impact on real-life relationships as 'offline' infidelity - especially in the eyes of women.
Enlightenment faces Denial on Shortlist for 2002 British Academy Book Prize
Volumes on multiculturalism, the British working classes, the denial of atrocities, sixteenth-century village life, radical enlightenment and the origins of the European economy, form the shortlist for the 2002 British Academy Book Prize, it was announced today.
Britain more tolerant of gay and casual sex than 10 years ago
Britain has become much more tolerant of gay and casual sex over the past 10 years, shows research published in Sexually Transmitted Infections. Both men and women were more willing to report homosexual experiences themselves as well, the research suggests. A national survey of sexual attitudes and lifestyles conducted in 1990-91 (Natsal 1990) was repeated in 1999-2001(Natsal 2000). Almost 14,000 adults in 1990 and over 11,000 adults in 2000 took part in the surveys. They were all aged between 16 and 44. There was also a significant shift in attitude, with just over one in four men and around a third of women believing that gay male sex was rarely, or not wrong, at all in 1990. By 2000, ove
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