- A recent study has found that people exposed to infidelity could end up being more open to cheating in their relationships.
- Published by the Archives of Sexual Behaviour, the authors examined whether people who learned about others' infidelity were predisposed to be unfaithful.
- The authors claim that "knowing that others are having extradyadic affairs may make people feel more comfortable when having such affairs themselves."
Is infidelity contagious? According to a recent study, it could be.
A study published in the Archives of Sexual Behaviour examined whether people who learned about others' infidelity were predisposed to be unfaithful in their own relationships.
According to Psychology Today, the authors of the study reasoned that learning about the high rate of infidelity may actually decrease a person's desire to remain committed to their partner, while increasing desire for an attractive alternate partner.
As a side note, some researchers reportedly estimate the prevalence of infidelity to be as high as 70%.
The authors claim that "knowing that others are having extradyadic affairs may make people feel more comfortable when having such affairs themselves."
Three different studies were conducted to help support their theory.
In the first study, students in committed relationships watched a video which either estimated the rate of infidelity to be at 86% or at 11%. They were then asked to write about a sexual fantasy they had about someone other than their partner.
The study concluded that the rate of infidelity did not affect the desire for those involved in the study to be unfaithful to their partners.
The second study asked students in committed heterosexual relationships that had lasted at least a year to read a confession from another person who had either cheated on their partner or cheated on schoolwork.
The participants then viewed photos of "attractive and unattractive" people and were asked if they thought those people could be potential partners for them.
The study found that participants who responded yes to more images were the ones who read the romantic infidelity case study. They showed a greater interest in the potential of new partners versus those who did not read the case study.
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In the final study, students were shown a report which states that the prevalence of infidelity in relationships is 86%. They then interacted with a researcher through an online chat who showed an interest in getting to know them.
They were then shown an image of an attractive individual and told this is the person they had texted. The study showed that people who had been exposed to the infidelity prevalence study were more likely to want to continue their relationship with the stranger they were texting. Results also showed that, regardless of the cheating condition, men were more likely to be less committed to their current partner than women.
Overall findings show that exposure to infidelity could normalise that kind of behaviour and leave your current relationship vulnerable to cheating.
The authors state that "exposure to adultery norms may, for example, render long-term goals less prominent and thereby reduce guilt feelings or soften resistance toward infidelity by lessening the motivation to protect the current relationship."
More research is needed, though, to show how exposure to infidelity could impact willingness to engage in an affair.