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Relationship status and gender-related differences in response to infidelity
Tsukasa Kato1, Nobutoshi Okubo2
1Laboratory of Stress Sciences, Department of Psychology, University of Human Environments, Matsuyama, Ehime, Japan.
Frontiers in Psychology
|June 9, 2023
Summary
Relationship status, not sex, influences reactions to infidelity. Individuals in committed relationships report greater distress over a partner's sexual infidelity, supporting sociocultural factors over innate evolutionary mechanisms.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Human Sexuality
Background:
- Two competing theories explain infidelity responses: the sexual imagination hypothesis (sociocultural factors) and evolutionary psychology (sex-specific evolved mechanisms).
- The 2D:4D digit ratio is a proposed biological marker linked to prenatal androgen exposure and certain behavioral responses.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the roles of relationship status, sex, and 2D:4D digit ratio in predicting responses to sexual and emotional infidelity.
- To test the predictive power of the sexual imagination hypothesis against evolutionary psychological perspectives.
Main Methods:
- A large sample of 1572 participants (660 males, 912 females) provided data on 2D:4D digit ratio, relationship status, and reactions to partner infidelity.
- Statistical analyses, including logistic and multiple regression, were employed to examine the relationships between variables.
Main Results:
- Relationship status was a significant predictor of distress over infidelity, particularly sexual infidelity, independent of sex and 2D:4D.
- Individuals in committed relationships exhibited stronger negative reactions to infidelity compared to those not in committed relationships.
Conclusions:
- Findings indirectly support the sexual imagination hypothesis, suggesting sociocultural factors like relationship commitment are key.
- Sex differences in jealousy may be more attributed to relationship context than innate biological predispositions.
Keywords:
2D:4D digit ratioevolutionary psychologygender similarityinfidelityjealousysexual imagination hypothesisMore Related Videos
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