Testing the sexual imagination hypothesis for gender differences in response to infidelity

Area of Science:

• Evolutionary psychology
• Social psychology
• Relationship science

Background:

• Traditional evolutionary psychology suggests men fear sexual infidelity more than women, while women fear emotional infidelity more.
• The sexual imagination hypothesis posits that gender differences in infidelity responses stem from men's explicit sexual imagery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To test the sexual imagination hypothesis against evolutionary psychology predictions regarding infidelity responses.
• To investigate gender differences in distress caused by sexual and emotional infidelity across relationship statuses.

Main Methods:

• Surveyed 598 participants in committed relationships (CR) and 1,643 participants not in a committed relationship (NCR).
• Assessed participants' distress levels in response to hypothetical sexual and emotional infidelity scenarios.

Main Results:

• No significant gender difference in sexual infidelity response was found in the CR group.
• Men reported greater distress than women regarding sexual infidelity in the NCR group.
• A significant interaction between gender and infidelity type was observed in the NCR group, but not in the CR group.

Conclusions:

• Findings support the sexual imagination hypothesis.
• Results contradict the traditional evolutionary psychology hypothesis regarding gender differences in infidelity responses.