Table of Contents

Title Page No.

I. Infidelity – Definition.......................................................................................................3

II. Types of Infidelity

A. Sexual Infidelity........................................................................................................3

B. Emotional Infidelity..................................................................................................3

III. Impact of Gender Related Traits to Infidelity

A. Concept and Implications..........................................................................................4

IV. Gender Differences in Infidelity

A. Biological Differences..............................................................................................6

B. Men’s Evolutionary Past...........................................................................................6

C. Men’s Evolutionary Past on Polygamy.....................................................................7

D. Why Women are Faithful..........................................................................................8

E. Why Men are Promiscuous.......................................................................................9

F. Women and Promiscuity...........................................................................................9

G. Men Can Isolate Love from Sex.............................................................................10

V. Other Factors that Affect an Individual’s Capacity for Infidelity

A. Educational Level and Infidelity..............................................................................11

B. Personality and Infidelity.........................................................................................12

VI. Conclusion...................................................................................................................13
VII. Reference List.............................................................................................................14

VII. Bibliography...............................................................................................................15

Infidelity: Why Both Sexes Do It

Infidelity is defined as a violation of the commitment to sexual loyalty by one or both

members of a committed romantic relationship or breach of the expectation of sexual

exclusivity (Glass & White, 1985) Infidelity can comprise a number of activities

including: "Having an affair", "extramarital relationship", "cheating", "sexual

intercourse", "oral sex" ,"kissing", "fondling", and "emotional connections that are

beyond friendships" (Zare, 2011) Infidelity is defined as unfaithfulness by virtue of being

unreliable and the cheating on a relationship partner that takes place despite a

commitment to exclusiveness. Sexual infidelity by a marriage partner is commonly called

philander, adultery or an affair. Infidelity research has addressed two types of betrayal

that occur in committed romantic relationships: sexual or emotional (Zare, 2011)

Sexual and Emotional Infidelity

Sexual infidelity, as its name suggests, refers to sexual activities that are committed

with someone other than one’s partner. Behaviors that constitute sexual infidelity range

from kissing to sexual intercourse and include behaviors such as sexual touching and oral

sex. Emotional infidelity refers to becoming emotionally involved with someone other

than one’s partner (Roscoe et al., 1988). Behaviors such as flirting, dating, spending time

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together and falling in love with someone other than one’s partner are identified as acts of

emotional infidelity or betrayal (Roscoe et al., 1988).

Emotional infidelity, on the other hand, is defined as having a deep, emotional bond

with someone other than one’s partner. Women tend to state that their affairs are more

emotional than sexual this is because Women have historically depended on men for

resources and protection. Hence, women may be sensitive to a partner’s emotional

infidelity, as it signals he may allocate resources and protection to other women, and

therefore, they express jealousy over a mate’s emotional infidelity (Buss et al., 1992). On

the contrary, men tend to state that their affairs are more sexual than emotional (Glass and

Wright, 1985). One reason, according to Daly et al. (1982) is that throughout

evolutionary history, men have sought to establish paternal confidence so as to avoid

erroneously investing time, resources, and energy in children who are not biologically

related to them.

However, according to psychologists, there is still no universal definition and

distinction between the two types of infidelity due to the fact that the act of infidelity

alone is already emotional, and that human and sexual relations have a tied connotation

of intense emotional states that binds two people together (Thornton & Nagurney, 2004).

Impact of Gender Related Traits to Individual’s Capacity for Infidelity

Concept

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 Gender related traits are those traits considered to be more common in one sex than

the other. The two types of gender-related traits are agency and communion. According to

the study of Thornton and Nagurney (2004) agency refers to the extent to which an

individual focuses on his or her own personal achievements and the belief that one exists

as an individual. Sexual, psychological and mental concepts are included in the trait of

agency. One is self-protection and the creation of unique identity. The other trait is the

communion. Communion refers to the extent to which an individual focuses on building

and maintaining supportive relationships with others and the belief that one is part of a

larger social structure. Cooperation and attachment are the two primary domineering

characteristics of people having the trait of communion (Thornton & Nagurney, 2004).

Implications

According to the study of Thornton and Nagurney (2004), males scored higher in

questions pertaining to the trait of “agency” than females.. Agency, as reiterated, refers to

the individual’s self-concept, self-esteem, and sense of existence. With this finding,

Thornton and Nagurney (2004) concluded in their study that males are more conscious of

their public image in terms of their overall well-being and self-esteem which they

oftentimes get from job satisfaction and power. However, aside from positive recognition

males get from jobs, position, and other skilled-oriented activities, they get their

recognition from other illicit activities such as infidelity when they feel dissatisfied,

disappointed, or stressed.

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 On the other hand, according to Thornton and Nagurney (2004) study, their survey

results showed that females scored higher in questions pertaining to the gender-related

trait “communion” than males. The reason why women are less likely to commit

infidelity compared to men is that they value and maintain supportive relationships and

perceive another individual as a part of a larger relationship. That, the destruction of one

relationship is pretty much detrimental to females which affects their image that she who

has not been able to maintain the relationship lacks nurturing characteristics—of which

females rank as one of the top values that they seek for themselves.

Gender Difference in Infidelity

Biological Differences Between Males and Females

The sex center is located in the hypothalamus, a part of the brain that controls the

emotions, heart rate, and blood pressure. The size of the hypothalamus can be compared

to that of a size of a cherry and weighs around 4.5 grams. It is larger in men than in

women and homosexuals. Although the hypothalamus constitutes less than 1 percent of

the total volume of the brain, it has an important influence on many of the body's

functions (Pease, 2001).

Men’s Evolutionary Past

Men’s impulsive sex drives can be traced back to its evolutionary purpose – to ensure

that the human species continues. Similar to most mammals, men had to evolve with

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several elements for its success. Firstly, a man’s sex drive had to be intensely focused and

not easily distracted. The intensity of his focus would allow him to procreate under harsh

conditions such as in the presence of potential threats of wild animals and enemies

(Pease, 2001).

That is, promiscuity is wired into a man’s brain and is a legacy of his evolutionary

past. Throughout human history, wars greatly diminished the numbers of men so it made

sense to add to the size of the tribe as often as possible. The number of men returning

from battle was usually lower than at the start. This meant that there was always a large

number of widows, and so creating a harem for the returning males was an effective

survival strategy for the tribe (Pease, 2001)

Hypothalamus also contains hormones specifically the testosterone, the one

responsible for the stimulation or desire for sex. Since men have 10-20 times more

testosterone than women, and a larger hypothalamus, the male sex drive is more intense

and powerful. This can make men capable of having sex virtually anytime not regarding

of what place. This is also one reason why men are more sexually active than women

(Pease, 2001)

Men’s Evolutionary Past on Polygamy

Polygamy is defined as having one partner or spouse at one time. During most of the

human evolution, more than 80% of all human societies were polygamous societies,

mainly for survival reasons (Roscoe et al., 1988).

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 On the other hand, the main opposite of polygamy: monogamy. Monogamy is defined

as one person permanently paired with one opposite sex (one male paired with one

female and vice versa) which is the natural state for a number of animal species, such as

foxes, geese, and eagles. Monogamous male and female animals are generally the same

physical size and parenting responsibilities are divided 50/50 (Pease, 2001)

According to Pease (2001), in polygamous species, the males are usually bigger, more

aggressive, and have minimal involvement in parenting. The males of polygamous

animals mature sexually much later than the females so that competitive conflicts are

avoided between the older males and younger, inexperienced males who are less likely to

survive a fight. The physical specifications of polygamous species fit human males; it is

of no wonder why men have a constant battle to stay in a monogamous relationship

(Pease, 2001)

Why Women Are Faithful

Women have a much lower sex drives than men and are less aggressive. This trait can

be mainly attributed to women’s hypothalamus, which is smaller than a man’s. A woman

has relatively small amounts of testosterone needed to activate the hypothalamus (which

is a gland, and glands need hormones in order to activate). Nature has a purpose why

women are less likely to engage in sexual activities. The reason is that a woman’s

pregnancy takes time – from the time of conception to child-rearing and to the child’s

self-sufficiency. For a significant part of the nine-month human pregnancy period, most

women are physically restricted and it takes at least five years before a human child can

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