Find out whether men or women are more likely to forgive cheating..

Which gender would you say is more likely to forgive cheating? Men or women?

According to a study I read about just the other day, it all depends on the type of cheating.

Whereas men are less likely to forgive cheating of a sexual nature, women are less willing to forgive emotional cheating.

In a way, these findings should come as no surprise to us. The research supports what many of us have been hearing for a really long time: That men are physical creatures and thus more interested in sex, and women are emotional ones.

We've all seen movies where a woman catches her boyfriend sleeping with someone else. After much crying and bickering, the woman takes her cheating boyfriend back for one simple reason: He manages to convince her that he doesn't love the other woman. Now firmly believing that her boyfriend only has feelings for her, she reasons there must be a legitimate reason why he had intercourse with the other woman. A lot of thoughts begin to run through her head: Maybe she hasn't been giving her boyfriend enough sex, or maybe she isn't good enough in the bedroom. Thereafter, she sets out to work on these things so that he never again goes looking for sex.

On the other hand, when a woman cheats on a man, he is more inclined to forgive her if she hasn't slept with him. The reasons for this might seem a little murky, but men tend to associate sex with offspring. So when he discovers that she has indeed slept with someone else, it leads him to wonder whether that man in turn impregnated his girlfriend. Remember, in the animal kingdom, males are biologically programmed to spread the seed to as many females as he can. That his girlfriend actually gave another man the green light to potentially reproduce with her is viewed as wholly unacceptable.

No matter what these studies suggest, I would not forgive my wife if she engaged in either kind of infidelity. Any kind of cheating is a violation of trust and of the bond two people share with one another. I'd be just as hurt catching her knocking boots with someone else as I'd be if I saw her writing him a love letter.

What are your thoughts?

Please share this post with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Google +.

To read prior entries, please click here: How to Understand People

Comments

Do you have Isolophilia? Find out...

You're probably asking yourself, "What in the world does Isolophilia mean?" It sounds like it would be something negative, doesn't it? After all, words that end in "philia" (e.g., pedophilia) tend to involve things we want nothing to do with. But Isolophilia isn't something all people deplore. In fact, introverts like me welcome it. Put simply, Isolophilia is defined as having a strong affinity for solitude. It describes a person who relishes being alone. While extroverts can only take so much solitude, we introverts find that it rejuvenates us. In order to recharge our batteries, we need to retreat to a quiet environment where we we're left alone to rest and/or gather our thoughts. Extroverts, on the other hand, become bored and drained when they're alone for a lengthy period of time. Social interaction is the fuel that drives them. So while an extrovert would probably do anything to avoid feelings of Isolophilia in most cases, an...

No response from someone IS a response

Make no mistake about it: When you don't get a response from someone -- whether they fail to answer your texts or return your phone calls -- it is still a response, and a powerful one at that. When a person fails to respond, it's a direct reflection of their interest -- or lack thereof -- in the relationship. Few things are more aggravating than having to hound a partner, friend, or relative for some sort of reply after we've reached out to them. Yes, we get busy from time to time, but that doesn't give anyone the right to leave the other person hanging. A terse text with something like "Been busy, will reach out soon" doesn't say much, but at least it shows some effort to bring the other person up to speed on why they've fallen off the radar. Failing to provide a response for weeks -- if not months -- communicates that you are just not a priority, and that you'll have to wait your turn to get this individual's attention. This is n...

An important note to women about men and attraction

I was raised by my mom, grandma, and two older sisters. Growing up, never did I ever take any interest in the girls at school who tended toward exposing more skin. I always treated them as I would my female family members -- with the utmost courtesy and respect. And anytime I suspected that a male friend or acquaintance of mine adopted a hump-and-dump attitude toward women, I nixed them from my life. I held men who treated women as objects in very low regard, and still do to this day. If women feel empowered to show off their bodies because they love and work hard on their physique, more power to them. In other words, if they're doing it to please THEMSELVES and no one else, good for them. However, those who do it specifically to curry men's favor are making a big mistake. It sends the wrong signals and actually makes it less likely that a man will want to stick around for a committed relationship (if that's what you want as anyway). Granted, if you're not lookin...

How To Understand People

Search This Blog