Sexual jealousy

Last updated
Two are Company, Three Are None, 1872, a wood engraving by Winslow Homer On the Beach -- Two Are Company, Three Are None.jpg
Two are Company, Three Are None, 1872, a wood engraving by Winslow Homer

Sexual jealousy is a special form of jealousy in sexual relationships, based on suspected or imminent sexual infidelity. The concept is studied in the field of evolutionary psychology.

Contents

Basis

Evolutionary psychologists have suggested that there is a gender difference in sexual jealousy, driven by men and women's different reproductive biology. [1] The theory proposes that a man perceives a threat to his relationship's future because he could be fooled into raising children that are not his own. In contrast, a woman risks losing to another the relationship and all the benefits that entails. Research has shown that men are impacted more by sexual infidelity, while women are more impacted by emotional infidelity. [2]

An alternative explanation is from a social-cognitive perspective. Typically, men place importance on their masculinity and sexual dominance. When the male's partner commits sexual infidelity, these two components of his ego become severely threatened. Women are more emotionally invested in a relationship, and therefore experience a threat to their self-perception when a partner commits infidelity, more concerned with risk to the emotional content than the sexual. [3]

Some research has suggested that there are no gender differences in sexual jealousy, concluding that males and females both equally experience distress over emotional and sexual infidelity. [3] Sexual jealousy is cross-culturally universal but how it manifests itself may differ across cultures. [4]

Gender-specific behaviors

Female

Are You Jealous? by Paul Gauguin. Based on a real-life episode during Gauguin's stay on Tahiti, the painting shows two Tahitian women. Eh quoi! Tu es jaloux%3F by Paul Gauguin.jpg
Are You Jealous? by Paul Gauguin. Based on a real-life episode during Gauguin's stay on Tahiti, the painting shows two Tahitian women.

Psychologists have found that males react very strongly to sexual infidelity, whereas females are more likely to forgive a one-time sexual adventure if it does not threaten the male parental investment. [5] Therefore, jealousy is likely to be evoked in females if they feel that their partner may leave them for another woman; this has been shown to be more likely to occur if the male commits emotional infidelity. [3] Emotional infidelity occurs when one partner develops a meaningful, emotional attachment with someone outside of their primary romantic relationship. [6]

Emotional jealousy

Many studies have shown that females tend to place a stronger emphasis on the emotional aspect of infidelity over the sexual aspect; it is this emotional infidelity that becomes the focus of female sexual jealousy.[ citation needed ] The most direct evidence for female's focus on emotional jealousy comes from Buss et al. (1992) [2] who presented participants with scenarios in which they were asked to choose between a partner's sexual unfaithfulness and a partner's emotional unfaithfulness as the most distressing event. They found that more females than males reported a partner's emotional infidelity as the most distressing event. As well as using self-report measures, the researchers measured the participants' physiological responses (heart rate and electrodermal activity) to the scenarios; women were also found to be more physiologically upset to the idea of their partners committing emotional infidelity. [7]

Male

Male sexual jealousy functions to defend paternity confidence, [8] and is likely to have evolved through natural selection [3] to prevent cuckoldry — a threat to males since they risk expending resources to support the biological offspring of others.[ citation needed ] The male reaction stereotypically manifests as the emotion of jealousy, using or threatening violence to protect sexual exclusivity, and thus the inclination to control women. [8] This idea of males ensuring sexual exclusivity has also led to laws on adultery.

From an evolutionary perspective, sexual jealousy arises from this threat of investing in non-biologically related offspring and thus is most strongly felt over their mate's sexual infidelity than their emotional infidelity. [3] It can take several forms in behaviour: aggression and violence, [9] and possessiveness or controlling behaviour towards their mate. [10] In some cases, sexual jealousy can lead to uxoricide. Threats to a relationship can arise from other sources too, such as the presence of rivals, cues to infidelity, and partner dissatisfaction with the relationship. [11] Morbid jealousy is also concurrent with male sexual jealousy [3] – an obsession with thoughts of a partner's suspected sexual infidelity. A 2012 meta-analysis found that sexual jealousy in males can also lead to emotions such as distress, hurt and disgust being experienced. [12]

Expression

Expression in females

Aggression

While most empirical research suggests that males are more likely to act aggressively in response to sexual jealousy, some studies have shown that females may also display aggression and violence. [13]

Women have been found to report that their hypothetical sexual jealousy would manifest itself as anger and physical aggression towards the man. It has been suggested that this is because women are more empathetic towards the "victim", triggering strong aggression towards the unfaithful man. [14] However, it is not known if these hypothetical reports would become actions in real life situations. Furthermore, statistics on domestic violence continue to show that in relationships it is primarily men who are the abusers, rather than the women. [14]

Because it is the woman who ultimately chooses the mate, aggression caused by infidelity may be directed at the rival female. As a result, when a woman is around a suspected rival female, she may be more likely than a male counterpart to announce that her companion is "taken" and go out of her way to enhance her appearance to her spouse.[ citation needed ]

Self-blame

Following infidelity, women are more likely to focus their sexual jealousy on their own relationship and self-blame. They are also more likely to experience symptoms of depression following the infidelity. [3] Evidence for the interpretation that in jealousy situations women focus more on their own functioning as a partner comes from research by Dijkstra and Buunk (2002). [6] This research suggests that unlike men's jealousy, women's jealousy stems more from comparing their own qualities with those of the rival. The higher the level of social comparison, a personality characteristic referring to the tendency to compare one's characteristics with those of others, the more jealousy various rival characteristics evoked. [15]

Expression in males

Mate guarding behaviour

One form of male sexual jealousy is mate guarding. This tactic is used to prevent partner infidelity and thus may be used when there are perceived threats in the environment. [16] It results in several behaviours, and researchers have documented up to 19 different tactics used. [17] This includes (but is not exclusive to):

  • Violence (or at least hostility) directed towards competitors,
  • Taking up all of the mate's time so that they have no time to meet other potential mates,
  • Emotionally manipulating their mate,
  • Increase their possession signals with jewelry, clothing, cars, etc.,
  • Enhancing their appearance (e.g. fixing their hair, clothing, etc.).

Attachment style

According to attachment theory, the quality of a child's interactions with caregivers during times of need shape their future interactions; this includes later relationships. [18] Research has shown that insecure-avoidant individuals tend to report more sexual jealousy than those who are securely attached. This may be due to the fact that, in comparison to securely attached individuals, those who are insecurely attached tend to experience lower levels of trust, intimacy and stability in their romantic relationships. [19] Evidence suggests that people who experience low self-esteem are much more afraid that their partner is dissatisfied and being unfaithful, which again increases the likelihood that they will experience sexual jealousy. [20]

Sex drive

Sex drive, also known as libido, is the physiological need for sexual activity. [21] Sex drive has been found to be a significant predictor of higher sexual jealousy in both men and women; those who had a higher sex drive showed greater distress at the idea of their partner committing sexual infidelity. [22] This is consistent with other empirical research that has shown that individuals who value sexual gratification highly were more likely to be distressed by sexual infidelity. [1] To explain this finding, researchers have suggested the key threat that sexual infidelity poses for individuals with a high sex drive is loss of access to sexual gratification, as their partner is granting sexual access to a third person. [6]

Relationship quality

Research has shown that individuals who reported high jealousy scores had more stable and successful relationships than individuals who reported comparatively low jealousy scores. [22] Furthermore, individuals in committed relationships tend to experience higher levels of jealousy than individuals in less committed relationships. [22] To explain this, researchers have proposed that those in better quality, more committed relationships would have more to lose if their partner were to leave them for someone else, and therefore worry more about infidelity. [23] Therefore, such individuals experience greater sexual jealousy if they feel the relationship is threatened. [24]

Explanations

Researchers have proposed a number of theories to explain sexual jealousy in both males and females. In addition, some of these explanations can be used to explain the sex differences in sexual jealousy and why there may be differences in the degree to which people experience jealousy. [3]

Evolutionary psychology perspective

Evolutionary psychologists propose that the core function of sexual jealousy is to retain access to a valuable mate. [23] This explanation is known as jealousy as a specific innate module, "JSIM". [25] According to this perspective, sexual jealousy should be activated by threats to the relationship; in particular, threats of sexual infidelity by the female and threats that the male may share his resources (money, protection, or time) with another woman. For males, their biggest concern when they commit to a relationship is ensuring that any offspring produced is biologically theirs, therefore, sexual infidelity is a huge threat to them as there is then a chance that they are not the genetic parent. [26] If a male raises a child that is not genetically his own, he has effectively wasted his resources raising another man's child who will not pass on any of his genes. [23]

As women have genetic certainty when they bear a child, this is not a concern to them. However, they do face a different evolutionary problem. If the woman's partner becomes emotionally attached to another woman, there is a real chance that the male may share his resources with the other woman or leave their current relationship altogether. Either way, the female loses some of the male parental investment, and the loss of her mate's resources may significantly reduce the survival of herself and her offspring. [27]

The evolutionary psychology perspective has been supported by a study conducted by David Buss. [28] He observed that male sexual jealousy is triggered by sexual infidelity, whereas female sexual jealousy is triggered by emotional infidelity. The study concluded that sexual jealousy may be an adaptive function that is triggered in order to retain access to a valuable mate. [23]

Researchers David Buss and Todd Shackleford propose and test several hypotheses about sexual jealousy: [29]

  1. Men will devote more resources to mate retention when their partner is younger than them than men whose partner is older than them. This hypothesis rests on the evolutionary principle of mate value. Younger women are likely to have more mate value because they are more fertile. Therefore, it is predicted that men are likely to engage in mate retention behaviours more often when their partner is younger rather than older than them.
  2. Again based on the principle of mate value is the prediction that men will devote more resources to mate retention when their partner is perceived to be more physically attractive than when their partner is perceived to be less physically attractive. Females who are physically attractive have a higher mate value than those who are less physically attractive.
  3. Women will allocate more resources to mate retention when their partner has a wealth of resources than women whose partners have few resources. This hypothesis also rests on the mate value principle. Men who have more resources and wealth have a higher mate value than those who do not.
  4. If a man perceives his partner as having a higher mate value than him, then he is more likely to engage in efforts towards mate retention than men who perceive their partners as having a lower or equal mate value than them. This hypothesis rests on perceived mate value. If a male's partner has a higher mate value than him, she is more likely to be able to attract other men who may be of a similar mate value to her. As such, the male is at a greater risk of losing her to another man with a higher mate value.
  5. Individuals who suspect their partners are being unfaithful are more likely to devote effort towards mate retention than those who do not suspect their partners are being unfaithful. This hypothesis relies on the perceived probability of infidelity. Men risk being cuckolded into raising children that are not genetically theirs, and women risk losing their mate's resources and time.

Their research provided evidence to support all above hypotheses except for hypothesis 5; this effect was unique to men only. This suggests that a woman who suspects her male partner of being unfaithful is not necessarily more likely to devote more effort to retaining them: [29]

One could speculate that a partner's sexual infidelity signals less of a loss for women than for men given the reproductive logic of paternity uncertainty, but this explanation does not square with the findings that women become just as upset as men by a partner's infidelity, particularly when it represents a serious, emotionally involved relationship (Buss et al., 1992).

The double-shot hypothesis

This hypothesis contradicts the evolutionary perspective. [30] It proposes that these gender differences in feelings of sexual jealousy stem from beliefs as opposed to being evolved traits. [30]

The double-shot hypothesis (also known as the two-for-one hypothesis [31] ) suggests that women have a belief that men can have sexual relations without emotionally committing themselves. Women also believe that for men to have emotional commitment, sex is a prerequisite. [32] Therefore, if men and women place importance on different aspects of relationship, this explains why they may also be upset by different types of sexual jealousy differently. [33]

Social-cognitive perspective

As both forms of jealousy are threatening to men and women, the social-cognitive perspective suggests that there are no inherent, evolutionarily induced gender differences. Instead, both emotional and sexual jealousy are believed to occur when an individual believes that a rival is posing a threat to what one perceives to be a valuable interpersonal relationship. When the relationship or one's self-esteem is threatened, jealousy is evoked. [3]

The perspective also provides explanations as to why men would be more upset by sexual infidelity than women. Men are socialized to be masculine, which includes having great sexual prowess. If a man's partner commits sexual infidelity, this brings into question his sexual prowess and therefore threatens his masculinity. This results a strong, negative reaction in response to the sexual infidelity, which does not tend to occur in response to emotional infidelity. In contrast, women are taught to be emotional nurturers in a relationship, therefore, if their partner commits emotional infidelity, this may threaten her sense of self more than if her partner commits sexual infidelity. [34]

The social-cognitive perspective also proposes the transactional model of jealousy, which can be used to explain why there may be differences in the degree to which individuals experience sexual jealousy within genders, as well as between genders. This model examines how three variables – (1) arousability, (2) commitment and, (3) insecurity – moderate jealousy. [35]

  1. Individual differences in sexual jealousy are determined by the difference in levels of physiological arousal: individuals who are easily aroused have more intense jealous reactions than those with lower physiological arousal
  2. Commitment refers to the degree of dedication a person has in the relationship: the more committed a person is to a relationship, the greater the threat of loss, which leads to greater feelings of jealousy
  3. Insecurity refers to the perceived level of commitment of the partner: if we perceive our partner to be un-involved or disinterested in the relationship, we feel more insecure. [36]

The degree to which these factors are experienced together determine the intensity of sexual jealousy felt by an individual. [3]

Culture

Sexual jealousy is cross-culturally universal in industrialised countries and affects both men and women. [4] However, the extent of sexual jealousy varies across cultures. Sexual jealousy is strongly mediated by culture in both heterosexual and homosexual couples. [37] It is said to be prevalent in males who are from patriarchal cultures (where heritability runs through the male side). [38]

Evocation

There are cross-cultural differences in behaviours that evoke sexual jealousy. [4] Specifically, one study focused on seven different countries: Hungary, Ireland, Mexico, the Netherlands, the Soviet Union, the United States, and Yugoslavia. Different behaviours were found to elicit different extents of sexual jealousy. For instance, flirting, kissing and sexual involvement elicit sexual jealousy across all these nations. However, dancing, hugging and kissing evoke very different reactions across cultures. In the Soviet Union, the most sexual jealousy is seen across dancing, hugging, flirting and kissing behaviours. Yugoslavian participants display the most intense sexual jealousy to flirting behaviour but the least to kissing. Dutch participants show the least sexual jealousy to kissing, dancing and hugging behaviours.[ citation needed ]

In Western cultures

Societies that permit extra-marital sexual relations often discourage sexual jealousy. [39] For example, in Denmark very low sexual jealousy rates are determined by the very low 10% disapproval of extra-marital sex. On the other hand, individuals in the American Midwest show high feelings of sexual jealousy which corresponds to the 90% disapproval of extra-marital sex. [40]

American men also feel more sexual jealousy compared to German men [41] when asked which would cause them more distress: i) a partner having formed a strong emotional attachment with another person or ii) a partner having passionate sexual intercourse with another person. Scenario i) measured emotional jealousy and scenario ii) measured sexual jealousy. The American men reported 33% greater sexual and emotional jealousy compared to German men.

Greater sexual jealousy seen in American men may be because in American culture, love, sex, family relationships and marriage are strongly connected. [42] So when partners entangle with others, loss of love and relationship and therefore sexual jealousy, are all likely to be felt. [43]

Additionally, in Western culture, women are more likely than men to trigger sexual jealousy. Inducing sexual jealousy is to increase their partner's attention towards them and counteract sexual and emotional jealousy. [44]

However, Western culture now is mainly monogamous which is very different from the environments in which the majority of evolution thus far has occurred. [43] Therefore, evolutionarily it is likely that different past cultures also showed differences in sexual jealousy. [43]

In Asian or Eastern cultures

Cross-cultural comparisons between China and United States reveal that, regardless of nation, men show greater sexual jealousy than women. Females show significantly higher levels of emotional jealousy. In contrast, between the nations, both men and women from the United States show greater sexual jealousy than Chinese individuals. [45]

In contemporary India, sexual jealousy is a primary cause of violence towards women compared to other causes. In an Indian sample, approximately fifty-one per cent of the violence towards women was due to sexual jealousy. [46]

In history, between 1880 and 1925, there was a large number of suicides amongst Indian immigrants on plantations in Fiji that reports attributed to sexual jealousy. [47] Sexual jealousy was high amongst these immigrants due to the disproportionate ratio of sexes: a high number of men to a low number of women. In suicide reports, sexual jealousy was described as a "racial trait" belonging to Indian men and was evoked when European men slept with Indian women during an era of European colonization of India. [48]

Explanations for cross-cultural differences

Evolutionary psychology model

The differences in feelings of jealousy across cultures support the evolutionary psychological model. Different weights are given to triggers of sexual jealousy depending on the culture. In liberal cultures, male mating effort is based on the number of women the male has copulated with. These men therefore invest less time in each woman and thus exhibit less sexual jealousy. [41]

Paternity certainty

Paternity certainty is the extent to which a man knows or believes that a woman's child is his. [49]

In polygamous societies, men feel greater sexual jealousy when there is low paternity certainty. [43] This is because they do not want to risk wasting time, energy and resources on a child that is not theirs. [41]

Socio-economic differences between cultures also affect paternity certainty. [38] In a natural fertility country such as Namibia, 96% of males show sexual jealousy. [50]

Additionally, there is greater likelihood of paternity loss and paternity uncertainty when there is a lack of contraceptives. [50] This provides an explanation for why industrialised countries tend to show lower sexual jealousy compared to pre-industrialised countries.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jealousy</span> Emotion

Jealousy generally refers to the thoughts or feelings of insecurity, fear, and concern over a relative lack of possessions or safety.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sexual attraction</span> Attraction on the basis of sexual desire

Sexual attraction is attraction on the basis of sexual desire or the quality of arousing such interest. Sexual attractiveness or sex appeal is an individual's ability to attract other people sexually, and is a factor in sexual selection or mate choice. The attraction can be to the physical or other qualities or traits of a person, or to such qualities in the context where they appear. The attraction may be to a person's aesthetics, movements, voice, or smell, among other things. The attraction may be enhanced by a person's adornments, clothing, perfume or hair style. It can be influenced by individual genetic, psychological, or cultural factors, or to other, more amorphous qualities. Sexual attraction is also a response to another person that depends on a combination of the person possessing the traits and on the criteria of the person who is attracted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seduction</span> Process of enticing a person to engage in sexual behaviour

In sexuality, seduction means enticing someone into sexual intercourse or other sexual activity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Infidelity</span> Cheating, adultery, or having an affair

Infidelity is a violation of a couple's emotional and/or sexual exclusivity that commonly results in feelings of anger, sexual jealousy, and rivalry.

Sociosexuality, sometimes called sociosexual orientation, is the individual difference in the willingness to engage in sexual activity outside of a committed relationship. Individuals who are more restricted sociosexually are less willing to engage in casual sex; they prefer greater love, commitment and emotional closeness before having sex with romantic partners. Individuals who are more unrestricted sociosexually are more willing to have casual sex and are more comfortable engaging in sex without love, commitment or closeness.

A fake orgasm occurs when a person pretends to have an orgasm without actually experiencing one. It usually involves simulating or acting out behaviors typically associated with orgasm, such as body movements, vocal sounds, and sequences of intensification followed by apparent release. It can also include giving verbal indications that orgasm occurred.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Buss</span> American evolutionary psychologist

David Michael Buss is an American evolutionary psychologist at the University of Texas at Austin, researching human sex differences in mate selection. He is considered one of the founders of evolutionary psychology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parental investment</span> Parental expenditure (e.g. time, energy, resources) that benefits offspring

Parental investment, in evolutionary biology and evolutionary psychology, is any parental expenditure that benefits offspring. Parental investment may be performed by both males and females, females alone or males alone. Care can be provided at any stage of the offspring's life, from pre-natal to post-natal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Psychological adaptation</span>

A psychological adaptation is a functional, cognitive or behavioral trait that benefits an organism in its environment. Psychological adaptations fall under the scope of evolved psychological mechanisms (EPMs), however, EPMs refer to a less restricted set. Psychological adaptations include only the functional traits that increase the fitness of an organism, while EPMs refer to any psychological mechanism that developed through the processes of evolution. These additional EPMs are the by-product traits of a species’ evolutionary development, as well as the vestigial traits that no longer benefit the species’ fitness. It can be difficult to tell whether a trait is vestigial or not, so some literature is more lenient and refers to vestigial traits as adaptations, even though they may no longer have adaptive functionality. For example, xenophobic attitudes and behaviors, some have claimed, appear to have certain EPM influences relating to disease aversion, however, in many environments these behaviors will have a detrimental effect on a person's fitness. The principles of psychological adaptation rely on Darwin's theory of evolution and are important to the fields of evolutionary psychology, biology, and cognitive science.

Human male sexuality encompasses a wide variety of feelings and behaviors. Men's feelings of attraction may be caused by various physical and social traits of their potential partner. Men's sexual behavior can be affected by many factors, including evolved predispositions, individual personality, upbringing, and culture. While most men are heterosexual, there are minorities of homosexual men and varying degrees of bisexual men.

Extra-pair copulation (EPC) is a mating behaviour in monogamous species. Monogamy is the practice of having only one sexual partner at any one time, forming a long-term bond and combining efforts to raise offspring together; mating outside this pairing is extra-pair copulation. Across the animal kingdom, extra-pair copulation is common in monogamous species, and only a very few pair-bonded species are thought to be exclusively sexually monogamous. EPC in the animal kingdom has mostly been studied in birds and mammals. Possible benefits of EPC can be investigated within non-human species, such as birds.

Error management theory (EMT) is an approach to perception and cognition biases originally coined by David Buss and Martie Haselton. Error management training is a related area that uses this theory. The objective of it is to encourage trainees to make errors and encourage them in reflection to understand the causes of those errors and to identify suitable strategies to avoid making them in future.

In sexual relationships, concepts of age disparity, including what defines an age disparity, have developed over time and vary among societies. Differences in age preferences for mates can stem from partner availability, gender roles, and evolutionary mating strategies, and age preferences in sexual partners may vary cross-culturally. There are also social theories for age differences in relationships as well as suggested reasons for 'alternative' age-hypogamous relationships. Age-disparate relationships have been documented for most of recorded history and have been regarded with a wide range of attitudes dependent on sociocultural norms and legal systems.

Mate preferences in humans refers to why one human chooses or chooses not to mate with another human and their reasoning why. Men and women have been observed having different criteria as what makes a good or ideal mate. A potential mate's socioeconomic status has also been seen important, especially in developing areas where social status is more emphasized.

Promiscuity tends to be frowned upon by many societies that expect most members to have committed, long-term relationships. Among women, as well as men, inclination for sex outside committed relationships is correlated with a high libido, but evolutionary biology as well as social and cultural factors have also been observed to influence sexual behavior and opinion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human mating strategies</span> Courtship behavior of humans

In evolutionary psychology and behavioral ecology, human mating strategies are a set of behaviors used by individuals to select, attract, and retain mates. Mating strategies overlap with reproductive strategies, which encompass a broader set of behaviors involving the timing of reproduction and the trade-off between quantity and quality of offspring.

Mate value is derived from Charles Darwin's theory of evolution and sexual selection, as well as the social exchange theory of relationships. Mate value is defined as the sum of traits that are perceived as desirable, representing genetic quality and/or fitness, an indication of a potential mate's reproductive success. Based on mate desirability and mate preference, mate value underpins mate selection and the formation of romantic relationships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human sperm competition</span> Form of sexual selection

Sperm competition is a form of post-copulatory sexual selection whereby male sperm simultaneously physically compete to fertilize a single ovum. Sperm competition occurs between sperm from two or more rival males when they make an attempt to fertilize a female within a sufficiently short period of time. This results primarily as a consequence of polyandrous mating systems, or due to extra-pair copulations of females, which increases the chance of cuckoldry, in which the male mate raises a child that is not genetically related to him. Sperm competition among males has resulted in numerous physiological and psychological adaptations, including the relative size of testes, the size of the sperm midpiece, prudent sperm allocation, and behaviors relating to sexual coercion, however this is not without consequences: the production of large amounts of sperm is costly and therefore, researchers have predicted that males will produce larger amounts of semen when there is a perceived or known increase in sperm competition risk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mate guarding in humans</span> Behaviours used to retain a mate

Human mate guarding refers to behaviours employed by both males and females with the aim of maintaining reproductive opportunities and sexual access to a mate. It involves discouraging the current mate from abandoning the relationship whilst also warding off intrasexual rivals. It has been observed in many non-human animals, as well as humans. Sexual jealousy is a prime example of mate guarding behaviour. Both males and females use different strategies to retain a mate and there is evidence that suggests resistance to mate guarding also exists.

In humans, males and females differ in their strategies to acquire mates and focus on certain qualities. There are two main categories of strategies that both sexes utilize: short-term and long-term. Human mate choice, an aspect of sexual selection in humans, depends on a variety of factors, such as ecology, demography, access to resources, rank/social standing, genes, and parasite stress.

References

  1. 1 2 Duncombe, J., Harrison K., Allan., G, & Marsden., D (2014). The state of affairs: Explorations in infidelity and commitment. New York, NY: Routledge.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. 1 2 Buss, David (2006). "Strategies of Human Mating" (PDF). Psychological Topics. 15 (2): 239–260.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Harris, Christine R. (2003-05-01). "A Review of Sex Differences in Sexual Jealousy, Including Self-Report Data, Psychophysiological Responses, Interpersonal Violence, and Morbid Jealousy". Personality and Social Psychology Review. 7 (2): 102–128. doi:10.1207/S15327957PSPR0702_102-128. ISSN   1088-8683. PMID   12676643. S2CID   7357390.
  4. 1 2 3 Buunk, B; Hupka, R (1987). "Cross-cultural differences in the elicitation of sexual jealousy". Journal of Sex Research. 23 (1): 12–22. doi:10.1080/00224498709551338. JSTOR   3812538.
  5. Wright, R. (2010). The moral animal: Why we are, the way we are: The new science of evolutionary psychology. New York, NY: Vintage.
  6. 1 2 3 Salovey, P. (1991). The Psychology of Jealousy and Envy. New York, NY: The Guildford Press.
  7. Brody, L. R., & Hall, J. A. (2008). "Gender and emotion in context" (PDF). Handbook of Emotions (3): 395–408.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. 1 2 Daly, Martin; Wilson, Margo; Weghorst, Suzanne J. (1982-01-01). "Male sexual jealousy". Ethology and Sociobiology. 3 (1): 11–27. doi:10.1016/0162-3095(82)90027-9. S2CID   40532677.
  9. "Sex Differences in Mate Preferences, Jealousy, and Aggression". www.personalityresearch.org. Retrieved 2016-03-02.
  10. Wilson, Margo I.; Daly, Martin (1996-01-01). "Male Sexual Proprietariness and Violence against Wives". Current Directions in Psychological Science. 5 (1): 2–7. doi:10.1111/1467-8721.ep10772668. JSTOR   20182377. S2CID   53494025.
  11. Buss, David (2002). "Human mate guarding". Neuroendocrinology Letters. 23: 23–29. PMID   12496732.
  12. Sagarin, Brad J.; Martin, Amy L.; Coutinho, Savia A.; Edlund, John E.; Patel, Lily; Skowronski, John J.; Zengel, Bettina (2012). "Sex differences in jealousy: a meta-analytic examination". Evolution and Human Behavior. 33 (6): 595–614. Bibcode:2012EHumB..33..595S. doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2012.02.006.
  13. Campbell, A. (2013). A mind of her own: The evolutionary psychology of women. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  14. 1 2 Cross, C. P., & Campbell, A. (2011). "Women's aggression". Aggression and Violent Behavior. 16 (5): 390–398. doi:10.1016/j.avb.2011.02.012.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. Brehm, S. S. (1992). Intimate relationships (2 ed.). New York, NY: Mcgraw-Hill Book Company.
  16. Goetz, Aaron T.; Shackelford, Todd K.; Weekes-Shackelford, Viviana A.; Euler, Harald A.; Hoier, Sabine; Schmitt, David P.; LaMunyon, Craig W. (2005-03-01). "Mate retention, semen displacement, and human sperm competition: a preliminary investigation of tactics to prevent and correct female infidelity". Personality and Individual Differences. 38 (4): 749–763. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2004.05.028.
  17. Buss, David (1988). "From vigilance to violence: Tactics of mate retention in American undergraduates" (PDF). Ethology and Sociobiology. 9 (5): 291–317. doi:10.1016/0162-3095(88)90010-6. hdl: 2027.42/27156 .
  18. Cassidy, J. (2002). Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, and clinical applications (PDF). New York, NY: The Guildford Press.
  19. Theiss, J. A.; Solomon, D. H. (2006). "Coupling longitudinal data and multilevel modeling to examine the antecedents and consequences of jealousy experiences in romantic relationships: A test of the relational turbulence model" (PDF). Human Communication Research. 32 (4): 469–503. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2958.2006.00284.x.
  20. Kelley, H. H. (2003). An atlas of interpersonal situations (PDF). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  21. Lippa, R. A. (2007). "The relation between sex drive and sexual attraction to men and women: A cross-national study of heterosexual, bisexual, and homosexual men and women". Archives of Sexual Behavior. 36 (2): 209–222. doi:10.1007/s10508-006-9146-z. PMID   17380375. S2CID   9613158.
  22. 1 2 3 East, M. P., & Watts, F. N. (1999). Jealousy and envy. pp. 569–588. doi:10.1002/0470013494.ch27. ISBN   9780470013496.{{cite book}}: |journal= ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  23. 1 2 3 4 Buss, D. M. (2013). "Sexual jealousy". Psihologijske Teme. 22 (22): 155–182.
  24. Harmon-Jones, E., Peterson, C. K., & Harris, C. R. (2009). "Jealousy: novel methods and neural correlates" (PDF). Emotion. 9 (1): 113–117. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.658.7360 . doi:10.1037/a0014117. PMID   19186923.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  25. Harris, Christine R. (2000). "Psychophysiological responses to imagined infidelity: The specific innate modular view of jealousy reconsidered". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 78 (6): 1082–1091. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.78.6.1082. PMID   10870910. S2CID   18180981.
  26. Carpenter, C. J. (2012). "Meta-analyses of sex differences in responses to sexual versus emotional infidelity men and women are more similar than different". Psychology of Women Quarterly. 36: 25–37. doi:10.1177/0361684311414537. S2CID   145698926.
  27. Buss, D. M. (2000). The dangerous passion: Why jealousy is as necessary as love and sex. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.
  28. Buss, David M. (2013). "Sexual jealousy". Psychological Topics. 22: 155–182.
  29. 1 2 Buss, David M.; Shackleford, Todd K. (1997). "From vigilance to violence: Mate retention tactics in married couples". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 72 (2): 346–361. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.387.7053 . doi:10.1037/0022-3514.72.2.346. PMID   9107005.
  30. 1 2 Buss, D.M.; Larsen, R.J.; Westen, D (1996). "Special Section Commentary: Sex Differences in Jealousy: Not Gone, Not Forgotten, and Not Explained by Alternative Hypotheses". Psychological Science. 7 (6): 373–375. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.1996.tb00392.x. JSTOR   40062983. S2CID   8729149.
  31. Whitty, M.T; Quigley, L.L. (2008). "Emotional and sexual infidelity offline and in cyberspace" (PDF). Journal of Marital and Family Therapy. 34 (4): 461–468. doi:10.1111/j.1752-0606.2008.00088.x. hdl:2381/10041. PMID   19017185.
  32. Desteno, D.A; Salovey, P (1996). "Evolutionary origins of sex differences in jealousy? Questioning the "fitness" of the model". Psychological Science. 7 (6): 367–372. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.1996.tb00391.x. S2CID   12606080.
  33. Wiederman, M.W.; Kendall, E (1999). "Evolution, sex, and jealousy: Investigation with a sample from Sweden". Evolution and Human Behavior. 20 (2): 121–128. Bibcode:1999EHumB..20..121W. doi:10.1016/S1090-5138(98)00046-4.
  34. Hart, S. L., & Legerstee, M. (Eds.) (2013). Handbook of jealousy: Theory, research, and multidisciplinary approaches. West Sussex: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  35. Erber, R., & Erber, M. W. (2016). Intimate relationships: Issues, theories, and research. New York, NY: Routledge.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  36. Sagarin, B.J., Martin, A.L., Coutinho, S.A., Edlund, J.E., Patel, L., Skowronski, J.J., & Zengel, B. (2012). "Sex differences in jealousy: A meta-analytic examination" (PDF). Evolution and Human Behavior. 33 (6): 595–614. Bibcode:2012EHumB..33..595S. doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2012.02.006.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  37. Hawkins, R.O. (1990). "The Relationship Between Culture, Personality, and Sexual Jealousy in Men in Heterosexual and Homosexual Relationships". Journal of Homosexuality. 19 (3): 67–84. doi:10.1300/j082v19n03_04. PMID   2212631. ProQuest   617891480.
  38. 1 2 Wood, W; Eagly, A.H. (2002). "A cross-cultural analysis of the behavior of women and men: implications for the origins of sex differences". Psychological Bulletin. 128 (5): 699–727. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.128.5.699. PMID   12206191. S2CID   6751650.
  39. Crocker, W; Crocker, J (1994). The Canela: Bonding through kinship, ritual, and sex. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace College.
  40. Christensen, H.T. (1973). "Attitudes toward marital infidelity: A nine-cultural sampling of university student opinion". Journal of Comparative Family Studies. 4 (2): 197–214. doi:10.3138/jcfs.4.2.197. JSTOR   41600842.
  41. 1 2 3 Buunk, B.P.; Angleitner, A; Oubaid, V; Buss, D.M. (1996). "Sex differences in jealousy in evolutionary and cultural perspective: Tests from the Netherlands, Germany, and the United States". Psychological Science. 7 (6): 359–363. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.1996.tb00389.x. S2CID   27485391.
  42. Ellis, A (1962). The American Sexual Tragedy. Oxford, England: Lyle Stuart. p. 320.
  43. 1 2 3 4 Wiederman, M.W; Allgeier, E.R (1993). "Gender differences in sexual jealousy: Adaptionist or social learning explanation?". Ethology and Sociobiology. 14 (2): 115–140. doi:10.1016/0162-3095(93)90011-6.
  44. White, G.L. (1980). "Inducing Jealousy A Power Perspective". Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. 6 (2): 222–227. doi:10.1177/014616728062006. S2CID   143628753.
  45. Geary, David C; Rumsey, Michael; Bow-Thomas, Christine; Hoard, Mary K (1995). "Sexual jealousy as a facultative trait: Evidence from the pattern of sex differences in adults from China and the United States". Ethology and Sociobiology. 16 (5): 355–383. doi:10.1016/0162-3095(95)00057-7.
  46. Panchanadeswaran, S; Koverola, C (2005). "The voices of battered women in India". Violence Against Women. 11 (6): 736–758. doi:10.1177/1077801205276088. PMID   16043569. S2CID   20369445.
  47. Manderson, L; Jolly, M (1997). Sites of desire/economies of pleasure: Sexualities in Asia and the Pacific. University of Chicago Press.
  48. Lal, B.V (1985). "Veil of Dishonour: Sexual jealousy and suicide on Fiji plantations". The Journal of Pacific History. 20 (3): 135–155. doi:10.1080/00223348508572516. JSTOR   25168874. PMID   11617439.
  49. Greene, P.J. (1978). "Promiscuity, paternity, and culture". American Ethnologist. 5: 151–159. doi: 10.1525/ae.1978.5.1.02a00110 .
  50. 1 2 Scelza, B.A. (2014). "Jealousy in a small-scale, natural fertility population: the roles of paternity, investment and love in jealous response". Evolution and Human Behavior. 35 (2): 103–108. Bibcode:2014EHumB..35..103S. doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2013.11.003. S2CID   18381206.

Further reading