Are There Sex Differences in Reaction to Different Types of Sexual Infidelity?

Evolutionary theory based research shows that women and men can differ in their responses to sexual and emotional infidelity. However, research has not examined the question of whether men and women react similarly or differently to a partner’s engagement in different types of sexual infidelity. The present re-search sought to answer this question. Based on the aforementioned prior research, and short term mating desires, sex differences in reactions to different types of sexual infidelity were not expected. Both women and men were expected to report higher levels of upset when a partner engaged in sexual intercourse rather than when a partner engaged in oral sex, heavy petting, or kissing with another person. The results were consistent with the hypothesis. Both men and women were most upset by a partner’s engagement in sexual intercourse with another person. These findings are discussed in terms of prior research.

Are there sex differences in reaction to different types of sexual infidelity?

Evolutionary theory based research shows that women and men can differ in their responses to sexual and emotional infidelity. However, research has not examined the question of whether men and women react similarly or differently to a partner’s engagement in different types of sexual infidelity. The present research sought to answer this question. Based on the aforementioned prior research, and short term mating desires, sex differences in reactions to different types of sexual infidelity were not expected. Both women and men were expected to report higher levels of upset when a partner engaged in sexual intercourse rather than when a partner engaged in oral sex, heavy petting, or kissing with another person. The results were consistent with the hypothesis. Both men and women were most upset by a partner’s engagement in sexual intercourse with another person. These findings are discussed in terms of prior research.

Relationship Repair After Infidelity: Looking at Other Perspectives

Prior research examining relationship repair after infidelity scenarios tends to focus primarily on heterosexual relationships, and often does not take into consideration the nuance between emotional and sexual infidelity, which, according to evolutionary psychology theories, tends to be salient to individuals based on their reproductive challenges. This research intended to rectify that dearth, hypothesizing that non-heterosexual participants would be more likely to repair a relationship where a partner has committed sexual infidelity than they would be to repair a relationship where a partner has committed an emotional infidelity. As well, based on prior research, there were expectations for sex differences in the likelihood of repairing a relationship after infidelity by a partner for participants in committed relationships, with female participants likely to repair emotional infidelity and male participants likely to repair sexual infidelity. In a survey of volunteers online, likelihood of repair for relationships after sexual or emotional infidelity was related to the sexual orientation of participants. Homosexual/other individuals were equally likely to repair their relationship after an emotional or sexual infidelity was committed by a partner and were more likely to repair a relationship after a partner committed a sexual infidelity than heterosexual individuals were. A qualitative question component obtained more information about the participants¿ logic behind their reconciliation choices, and these results along with the quantitative results are discussed and interpreted using themes from earlier research.

Prioritization of Potential Mates' History of Sexual Fidelity During a Conjoint Ranking Task

This series of studies is the first to use conjoint analysis to examine how individuals make trade-offs during mate selection when provided information about a partner's history of sexual infidelity. Across three studies, participants ranked profiles of potential mates, with each profile varying across five attributes: financial stability, physical attractiveness, sexual fidelity, emotional investment, and similarity. They also rated each attribute separately for importance in an ideal mate. Overall, we found that for a long-term mate, participants prioritized a potential partner's history of sexual fidelity over other attributes when profiles were ranked conjointly. For a short-term mate, sexual fidelity, physical attractiveness, and financial stability were equally important, and each was more important than emotional investment and similarity. These patterns contrast with participants' self-reported importance ratings of each individual attribute. Our results are interpreted within the context of previous literature examining how making trade-offs affect mate selection.