Psychologist Gian Gonzaga recently conducted a study at UCLA trying to answer the question, why do we cheat? It’s a good question, especially this week. Even though we don’t really want to know why when it comes to politicians; we mostly want to know what, with who, and when. Oh, and how often and how much did it cost. And then we want the story repeated on the news 500 times, in case we missed something.
“When it comes to resisting sexual temptation and remaining faithful to one’s partner in life, The Beatles got it right: All You Need Is Love. A new study published Wednesday said that people who are in love with their partners are less attracted to other people.”
Really? But all those cheating husbands always say they really love their wives. Weird!
The study goes on to say:
“But when it comes to love and lust, this otherwise reliable human trait — get it while you can — leads to a paradox: Why do people in stable relationships so often pass up the chance for a little sexual gratification on the side, even if they can get away with it?”
Because we’re not stupid, that’s why. It has nothing to do with having morals or being a stronger or better person; it’s all about street smarts. When you cheat, people find out (don’t shake your head, you know they will sooner or later…) and then you’ll be in trouble. Deep trouble. The kind of trouble that comes for a visit, makes itself comfortable, and stays a while. And just in case your partner really doesn’t have a clue, you’ll have to be on your toes for the rest of your life.
Read the full article:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/sciencepsychologysexloveoffbeat;_ylt=Ai4QIfe3NosGD7PAEIHM1r0jr7sF
1 response so far ↓
Bija Andrew Wright // March 19, 2008 at 7:51 pm
The article has a really strange interpretation of the study. From the article, it seems that the study definitely did not prove that “people who are in love… are less attracted to other people.” It proved that people who were directed to contemplate love were less likely to check a box that said they were thinking about someone else. Which kind of makes sense from an action/consequence perspective. Clearly, even though committed lovers still do notice other attractive people, we learn not to ogle when our devoted partners are right beside us, and we learn to say “But he’s certainly not hotter than you.” So if you’re concentrating on a thought about Hubby Dearest, you’re less likely to acknowledge thoughts about Eye Candy because it feels like HD is right there.
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