Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 11, 2025

Using a Comparative Species Approach to Investigate the Neurobiology of Paternal Responses
Published on: September 19, 2011
Investigating the emergence of sex differences in jealousy responses in a large community sample from an evolutionary
Per Helge H Larsen1, Mons Bendixen1, Trond Viggo Grøntvedt1
1Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491, Trondheim, Norway.
Abstract:
Sex differences in jealousy responses to sexual and emotional infidelity are robust in samples of heterosexual adults, especially in more gender egalitarian nations. However, investigations of when and how these differences develop have been scant. We applied two forced choice infidelity scenarios in a large community sample of high school students (age 16-19, N = 1266). In line with previous findings on adults using the forced choice paradigm, adolescent males found the sexual aspect of imagined infidelity more distressing than adolescent females did. Nevertheless, there was no effect of age on the jealousy responses, and age did not moderate the sex difference. There were neither any effects of three covariates (having had first sexual intercourse, being in a committed romantic relationship, and sociosexuality), neither as markers of pubertal maturation nor as psychosocial environmental stimuli. Future research needs to investigate even younger samples in order to specify at what age the sex difference in jealousy responses emerges.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Jealousy in Romantic Relationships
Criticisms of the Evolutionary Perspective
Evolutionary psychology provides one explanation for these findings, suggesting...
Evolutionary Psychology
Relationship Formation
Factors Influencing Attraction IV: Reciprocity
Natural Selection and Mating Preferences
Females, due to their biological roles in conception, pregnancy, and nursing,...

