A new study suggests that less attractive ladies are more likely to cheat in relationships than attractive women.
US researchers from Florida State University followed 233 newly
married couples for three-and-a-half years. They documented intimate
details about the couples’ relationships, including marital
satisfaction, long-term commitment, whether they had engaged in
infidelity and if they were still together.
Following the years of study, they discovered that women who
considered themselves attractive were far more likely to be
faithful. They also found that women who had been promiscuous before
getting married were less likely to cheat. In contrast, less-attractive
females who had limited sexual experience were more likely to engage in
extra-marital entanglements.
Writing in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology lead
author Jim McNulty said: “The most notable predictors of infidelity that
varied across sex were own and partner attractiveness.
“Specifically, own attractiveness was negatively associated with
infidelity among women, but not men, suggesting that less attractive
women were more likely to engage in infidelity.
“Men were more likely to engage in an infidelity when their partners
were less attractive. This latter sex difference is consistent with
evidence that partner attractiveness is more important to men than it is
to women.”
Surprisingly, the researchers found people satisfied with sex in
their relationship were more likely to cheat, perhaps suggesting they
felt more positive about sex in general and would seek it out regardless
of how they felt about their main relationship.
The study also found that people who are less likely to stray are far
better at removing their attention quickly from an attractive
stranger. Individuals who looked away from pictures of highly attractive
people a few hundred milliseconds faster than average were nearly 50
percent less likely to have sex outside marriage.
“People are not necessarily aware of what they’re doing or why they’re doing it,” added Dr McNulty.
“These processes are largely spontaneous and effortless, and they may
be somewhat shaped by biology and/or early childhood experiences.”
“With the advent of social media, and thus the increased availability
of and access to alternative partners, understanding how people avoid
the temptation posed by alternative partners may be more relevant than
ever to understanding relationships.”