New! Sign up for our free email newsletter.
Science News
from research organizations

Gender Affects Perceptions Of Infidelity

Date:
October 30, 2008
Source:
Wiley-Blackwell
Summary:
A new study explored how men and women perceive online and offline sexual and emotional infidelity. When given the choice, men were more upset by sexual infidelity and women were more upset by emotional infidelity.
Share:
FULL STORY

A new study in the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy explored how men and women perceive online and offline sexual and emotional infidelity. Results show that men felt sexual infidelity was more upsetting and women felt emotional infidelity was more upsetting.

Monica T. Whitty and Laura-Lee Quigley of Queen’s University Belfast surveyed 112 undergraduate students and asked them questions about sexual and emotional infidelity both offline and on the internet.

When given the choice, men were more upset by sexual infidelity and women were more upset by emotional infidelity.

Additionally, “men were more likely to believe that women have sex when in love and that women believe that men have sex even when they are not in love. It was not, however found that either men or women believe that having cybersex implied the other was also in love or that being in love online implied they were having cybersex.”

“Given the newness of the internet, the rules have still not been clearly defined as to what are acceptable online encounters,” the authors note. “Our results support a social-cognitive model as they demonstrate that social shifts have led men and women to think differently about sex and love.”


Story Source:

Materials provided by Wiley-Blackwell. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Whitty et al. Emotional and Sexual Infidelity Offline and in Cyberspace. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 2008; 34 (4): 461 DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-0606.2008.00088.x

Cite This Page:

Wiley-Blackwell. "Gender Affects Perceptions Of Infidelity." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 30 October 2008. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081029121925.htm>.
Wiley-Blackwell. (2008, October 30). Gender Affects Perceptions Of Infidelity. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 28, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081029121925.htm
Wiley-Blackwell. "Gender Affects Perceptions Of Infidelity." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081029121925.htm (accessed March 28, 2024).

Explore More

from ScienceDaily

RELATED STORIES