Distress in Response to Emotional and Sexual Infidelity: Evidence of Evolved Gender Differences in Spanish Students

Abstract

The authors studied gender differences in response to hypothetical infidelity in Spanish students. Using a forced-choice methodology, the authors asked a sample of 266 participants to indicate which kind of infidelity would be more distressing: emotional or sexual. Men were significantly more distressed by sexual infidelity than were women, and women were significantly more distressed by emotional infidelity than were men. Results supported the hypothesis that particular infidelity types, which resemble adaptive problems that human beings faced in the past, contribute to the psychology of jealousy. The results are consistent with previous cross-cultural research.

Effects of Sex, Sexual Orientation, Infidelity Expectations, and Love on Distress related to Emotional and Sexual Infidelity

“…In a correlational study, undergraduate males' desire for having genetically-related children was positively related to distress attributed to thoughts of sexual infidelity, thereby lending support to the evolutionary perspective that males are more upset by sexual infidelity due to fear of raising children that are not genetically theirs (Mathes, 2005). Additional cross-cultural support for the evolutionary hypothesis was established in a sample of university students in Spain (Fernandez et al, 2007).…”

“…These results marginally support the well-documented sex difference, where women are said to be significantly more distressed by emotional infidelity than men, and men are said to be significantly more distressed by sexual infidelity than women (Buss et el., 1992;Buss et al, 1999;Buunk et al, 1996;Cramer et al, 2001;Cramer et al, 2008;DeSteno & Salovey, 1996;DeSteno et al, 2002;Edlund et al, 2006;Fernandez et al, 2007;Green & Sabini, 2004;Harris, 2003;Harris & Christenfeld, 1996;Penke & Asendorpf, 2008;Sabini & Green, 2004;Sagarin et al, 2003;Schützwohl, 2008;Ward & Voracek, 2004). According to Penke & Asendorpf (2008), the evolutionary hypothesis can only be confirmed when all four differences (two between-sex and two within-sex) are found in the predicted directions.…”

“…However, the other ordinal effect, with men reporting significantly more distress to sexual infidelity than women, is typically not found, which leads to the absence of an interaction effect. Moreover, multiple within-sex analyses reveal that men are either equally or more distressed by emotional infidelity than sexual infidelity (Buss et al, 1992;Buss et al, 1999;Buunk et al, 1996;Edlund et al, 2006;Fernandez et al, 2007;Green & Sabini, 2006;Harris, 2002;Harris & Christenfeld, 1996;Penke & Asendorpf, 2008;Sabini & Green, 2004;Schützwohl, 2008;Ward & Voracek, 2004). Therefore, women seem to be responsible for the presence of this sex difference by responding with incredibly high levels of distress to emotional infidelity and less distress to sexual infidelity as compared to their male counterparts.…”

“…Because "research that limits the definition of infidelity to sexual intercourse minimizes the devastating effects that other types of sexual involvement and emotional connections can have on relationships" (Blow & Hartnett, 2005, p. A plethora of researchers agree that both infidelity types must be explored in order to gain a more comprehensive understanding of this phenomenon, and many have done so in relation to which infidelity type is more distressing or upsetting: emotional infidelity or sexual infidelity. Across a multitude of studies, a reported sex difference has emerged regarding which infidelity type is viewed as more upsetting, with men seemingly more distressed by sexual infidelity as compared to women, and women experiencing more distress towards emotional infidelity than men (Buss, Larsen, Westen, & Semmelroth, 1992;Buss et al, 1999;Buunk, Angleitner, Oubaid, & Buss, 1996;Cramer, Abraham, Johnson, & Manning-Ryan, 2001;Cramer, Lipinski, Meteer, & Houska, 2008;DeSteno & Salovey, 1996;DeSteno, Bartlett, Braverman, & Salovey, 2002;Edlund, Heider, Scherer, Farc, & Sagarin, 2006;Fernandez, Vera-Villarroel, Sierra, & Zubeidat, 2007;Green & Sabini, 2004;Harris, 2003;Harris & Christenfeld, 1996;Penke & Asendorpf, 2008;Sabini & Green, 2004;Sagarin, Becker, Guadagno, Nicastle, & Millevoi, 2003;Schützwohl, 2008;Ward & Voracek, 2004).…”

“…Using Buss et al's (1992) forced-choice methodology, another groups of researchers studied potential sex differences in responses to emotional and sexual infidelity in a sample of Spanish-speaking individuals from Spain (Fernandez, Vera-Villarroel, Sierra, & Zubeidat, 2007).…”