Sex differences in jealousy: the processing of cues to infidelity

Abstract

The hypothesis derived from the evolutionary view of jealousy that men's jealousy mechanism (JM) preferentially processes cues signaling a mate's sexual infidelity, whereas women's JM preferentially processes cues signaling a mate's emotional infidelity was tested. Depending on the condition, the participants were successively presented with a series of cues signaling either a mate's sexual or emotional infidelity in ascending order of cue diagnosticity. The participants had to determine two thresholds of the jealousy feeling. The first threshold dealt with the cue to infidelity that elicits a first pang of jealousy. The second threshold concerned that cue to infidelity where the intensity of the jealousy feeling becomes intolerable. No sex-specific differences were found with respect to the number of cues to sexual or emotional infidelity until the first threshold. However, after the first feeling of jealousy had been elicited, men needed significantly fewer cues to sexual infidelity and women needed significantly fewer cues to emotional infidelity until the second threshold. Moreover, men were significantly faster in determining the two thresholds for cues to sexual infidelity, whereas women were significantly faster for cues to emotional infidelity. The implications of the present findings are discussed.