Top 5 Fascinating Facts about Cheating
But just how often?
And what does the way our brain is wired have to do with it?
And were our prehistoric ancestors just shagging everyone and anyone?
Welcome to WatchMojo's Top 5 Facts, the series where we reveal five random facts about a fascinating topic. In this instalment, we're not endorsing adultery, and we're not judging either, we're just counting down the five most interesting facts that you probably didn't know about cheating.
#5: Cheating is a Good Evolutionary Strategy
If you think about it, the only thing that matters to your evolutionary biology is that you can produce offspring that are strong enough to reproduce in turn so that your genes are passed on. Both men and women can benefit, therefore, from mating with multiple partners, as it diversifies their genetic line. Psychologists theorize that if there were a lot of cavemen and women gettin’ a little something on the side, then this explains why the gene pool is so full of cheater genes– more on that later. Way to keep it in your pants, Flintstone.
#4: Mate Poaching is a Pronounced Trend
Mate poaching is the practise of trying to lure someone away from their relationship to start one with you. Roughly half of the people surveyed in one international study admitted to trying to do this at some point or another. South American men, at 70%, were the most likely to admit to it. At the other end of the spectrum, only 15% of women in East Asia said they had tried to lure a man away. Furthermore, nearly 70% of people say that they’ve been the target of a mate poacher, and half of those people have actually succumbed to a poacher.
#3: Our Brain Gives Us Mixed Messages
Neurology tells us that our brains have evolved three systems related to love. Three? Woah, good job, brain! One is for romantic love, and it helps us focus our wooing energies on a specific partner. The next is partner attachment, designed for us to stay with a partner in order to, say, raise children. And the third is simply the sex drive, for baby makin’ with a variety of partners. Trouble is, these systems can all be working at the same time. Good job, brain. That means while you’re totally attached to your wife and baby, you can also be having romantic feelings for, say, the girl next door, and really having feelings for Alison Brie. Or, I mean, whoever.
#2: Even Happy Spouses Cheat, Because Genetics
At least one study has shown that as many as 56% of male or 34% of female philanderers rated their marriage as happy or very happy-- but they cheated nevertheless. Our brain systems may have to do with this, but there may also be a specific gene at work. Researchers in 2008 found that men carrying this gene had unhappier spouses, less partner bonding, and more marital crises, all factors that the researchers say contribute to infidelity. Of course, I’m sure this isn’t the only way “genes” can contribute to infidelity.
#1: Economically Dependent Spouses are More Likely to Cheat
American research published in 2015 suggests that the more economically dependent you are on your spouse, the more likely you are to cheat. This is true of men and women, however the non-breadwinning men are three times as likely to cheat as women. The study also found that there’s an ideal income-earning ratio to preserve monogamy in a heterosexual marriage; husbands who earn 70% of the household income are the least likely to stray. Looks like pay inequality finally has an argument in its favour, albeit an awful, terrible, feeble one.
So, what do you think of these facts? Anything you want to get off your conscience? For more loyal Top 10s and roving tom cat Top 5s, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.
