Evolutionary: Infidelity

Nota:

• Suspicion of infidelity is a vital predictor of violence.

1. 2006 BBC Survey

   Nota:

   • Men more likely to perform in extra-marital affairs than women. But 1 in 10 females admitted to being unfaithful.
   • Sexual infidelity lead to pregnancy, thus males invest in another child, limiting their own reproductive success. Therefore, the violence could be designed to terminate the pregnancy, so the female is free to bear his offspring.
2. Buss et al

   Nota:

   • Measured stress levels in US student.
   • Males=higher levels when viewing pictures of sexual infidelity. Female=higher level for emotional infidelity.
   • Different environmental cues trigger aggression in males and females.
   • Culturally biased as only looks at US.

Nota:

• Buss et al findings true of imagined scenarios. In real life both men and women respond to emotional infidelity.
• Could be men were aroused.

Nota:

• Nicaragun study. Half sample of pregnant women physically abused suffered blows to abdomen. Violence designed to abort.

Nota:

• Evolutionary perspective cannot account for why different males, when faced with infidelity, respond differently.