Infidelity: Why People Cheat
A new study about why people cheat (as in infidelity) gives some interesting, even surprising findings. Apparently, men with performance anxiety are more likely to cheat than those who don't. I would have thought it would be the other way around as the poor guy would want to keep his secret within his own shack. Women might cheat due to different reasons such as dissatisfaction with the relationship, though.
The article on this study is an interesting read, but I personally would take it with a pinch of salt, maybe a little pepper too. I wouldn't advice a woman to ask "honey, do you have performance anxiety?" or something of that nature if she caught her man cheating. (She is likely to know about this anyway).
The study involved 506 men and 412 women who reported being in monogamous sexual relationships lasting from three months to 43 years. Participants were asked to report on demographic variables such as religion, education and income. They also completed scales that measured sexual personality variables and answered questions about their relationships.
The study found little difference in rates of infidelity reported by men and women (23 and 19 per cent, respectively). But different things predicted the behaviour for men and women.
For men, significant predictors of infidelity are personality variables, including propensity for sexual excitation (becoming easily aroused by many triggers and situations) and concern about sexual performance failure.
The latter finding might seem counterintuitive, Milhausen said, but other studies have also found this connection. “People might seek out high-risk situations to help them become aroused, or they might choose to have sex with a partner outside of their regular relationship because they feel they have an ‘out’ if the encounter doesn’t go well — they don’t have to see them again.”
For women, relationship happiness is paramount. Women who are dissatisfied with their relationship are more than twice as likely to cheat; those who feel they are sexually incompatible with their partners are nearly three times as likely. See original story
The article states that men who are risk takers are more likely to cheat. Maybe that's why politicians and businessmen tend to err in their ways so much?
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Filed under News, Tid-bits and Opinions, Relationship Problems, Relationships by Dawg
Comments on Infidelity: Why People Cheat »
The finding about why women cheat (unhappiness in a relationship) is true. But just like some men, there are also women who cheat because they feel “adventurous”.