While the majority of individuals start relationships to be faithful, research indicates that up to 75% of men and 68% of women have cheated in some fashion.
Now, according to a study, adultery may be contagious.
Researchers at Reichman University discovered that individuals are more prone to cheat if they are aware of others’ infidelity.
The researchers noted, “We demonstrated that exposure to adultery standards diminished commitment to the current relationship while boosting displays of desire for alternative mates.”
While prior research has examined the causes of infidelity, it has primarily focused on individual and interpersonal aspects.
The purpose of the current study was to determine whether external factors also raise the risk of cheating.
In their study published in the Archives of Sexual Behaviour, the researchers stated, “Relationships do not live in a vacuum.
As a result, their functioning is likely influenced by both the social setting and internal causes.
The researchers conducted three trials to determine whether exposure to online cheating influences the urge to cheat in person.
In the first study, 145 participants saw a film that referenced research on the percentage of persons who have cheated on their relationships.
Some participants were informed that the percentage was 86%, while others were informed that it was 11%.
Participants were asked to describe a sexual fantasy involving someone other than their current partner after viewing the movie.
These fantasies were coded for displays of sexual desire for both current and potential partners.
The results demonstrated that hearing about a higher prevalence of infidelity had no significant effect on the sexual urge of the participants for alternative partners.
In the second study, 132 individuals heard admissions about cheating on a present spouse or academic work.
The participants were then given images of attractive strangers and asked if they could envision them as potential mates.
Participants who had read about cheating in a relationship were more likely to consider strangers as potential partners, according to the research.
In the third and final trial, 140 individuals were shown the findings of a survey regarding the prevalence of cheating on a spouse or present work.
Cheating was prevalent in both settings (85 percent).
Participants were then informed that they would be interviewed via Instant Messenger by a researcher, and shown a photo of the the’researcher’ – a fairly beautiful individual of the opposite sex.
The interviews contained predetermined questions about interests, dietary preferences, positive characteristics, and home-entertainment advice.
The interviewers wrote after the interview, ‘You piqued my interest! I want to see you again, this time in person.
Participants were invited to leave a last note for the interviewer after the interview, which was subsequently coded by the researchers.
Participants who read about the prevalence of cheating in a relationship were more inclined to send a flirtatious and romantic message to the interviewer, according to the findings.
Male participants are substantially more likely to send suggestive messages than female ones, indicating that gender appears to have a role.
Overall, the findings indicate that exposure to affairs increases the likelihood of people cheating on themselves.
The researchers stated that in Study 1, exposure to adultery standards did not have a significant influence on the desire for both current and alternative partners, at least as represented in sexual fantasies.
‘Study 2 demonstrated that seeing the adulterous behavior of others affected more overt symptoms of sexual desire, with individuals expressing greater interest in appealing alternatives.
“Study 3 extended these findings by demonstrating that greater perceptions of adultery norms were not only associated with a greater desire for alternative partners, but also with a greater effort to interact with them in the future.”
Some environments, according to the team, may eventually develop a culture of infidelity.
“In a period where there are “buzz” surrounding applications for extradyadic affairs, infidelity may be viewed as more prevalent,” they found.
According to our research, such beliefs tend to liberate individuals from the constraints of their morality, unleashing extradyadic urges and fostering their proliferation.
