Lifestyles such as swinging, open relationships and polyamory may be on the rise, but it is clear that in the West, at least, monogamy is here to stay.
But what happens when you add infidelity into the mix?
Well, a research team from Reichman University decided to explore the extradyadic factors of cheating – AKA, behaviours occurring outside of a committed relationship.
More specifically, looking at whether online exposure to norms of adultery would influence the likelihood of cheating.
And the results are in.
It turns out people are more likely to have an affair if they know that others around them are also cheating on their partners.
More simply put – cheating is contagious.
While previous research looks at the reasons for cheating has focused on individual characteristics and factors within monogamous relationships, this study decided to look at the external reasons that increase the likelihood of cheating.
The researchers carried out three studies to find out whether exposure to infidelity online would influence the participants’ desires to cheat in real life.
In the first study, 145 participants were shown a video talking about the number of people who had cheated on their partner. Some participants were told the amount of people who had cheated was 86%, while others were told the figure was only 11%.
After watching the video, participants were asked to write the first sexual fantasy that came to their minds. These were reviewed by judges, who found that hearing about cheating didn’t have much of an impact.
However, reading about it did.
In the second study, researchers asked 132 participants to read confessions that described incidents of cheating on either a current partner or on academic work.
After reading the confessions, participants were shown pictures of ‘attractive’ strangers and asked to indicate whether they could see the person pictured as a potential partner.
Results found that those who had read about cheating on a partner were more likely to consider the strangers as potential partners.
In the third and final study, 140 participants read the results of a survey which suggested that a big percentage of people (86%) were cheating on current partners or academic work.
Across both circumstances, the prevalence of cheating was high (around 85%).
To conclude the study, participants were interviewed by a researcher and were told to leave one final message for them – and those who read about cheating on a partner were more likely to send a flirty and romantic message.
Interestingly, the study also found gender played a significant role, with male participants more likely to send suggestive messages than female participants.
Overall, researchers found that exposure to cheating makes people more likely to have an affair themselves.
Researchers concluded: ‘In an era in which there is a “hype” surrounding applications for extradyadic affairs, infidelity may become more easily perceived as common.
‘As indicated in our research, such perceptions tend to liberate people from the shackles of their morality, unleashing extradyadic desires and increasing their spread.’
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source https://metro.co.uk/2022/08/31/people-are-more-likely-to-cheat-if-they-know-others-are-having-affairs-17272391/
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