Huffington Post Divorce posted the findings of a study conducted by Texas A&M University which concluded that a male’s stronger sexual impulses could be to blame for his cheating habits, not his lack of self-control.
The first of two studies asked 70 males and 149 females how they responded to past sexual temptations.
The authors of the study, Natasha Tidwell and Paul Eastwick, concluded that men and women have no evident differences in self-control. However…
According to Tidwell, “When men reflected on their past sexual behavior, they reported experiencing relatively stronger impulses and acting on those impulses more than women did.”
Eastwick pointed out that men cheat most often because they give in to their sexual impulses. “Men have plenty of self-control — just as much as women. However, if men fail to use self-control, their sexual impulses can be quite strong. This is often the situation when cheating occurs,” Eastwick explained.
The second study consisted of 326 men and 274 women given a rapid-response test. During the test, researchers showed participants photos of generally attractive/desirable potential romantic partners, as well as generally unattractive/undesirable potential romantic partners. Each photo was also accompanied by computer-generated compatibility information. The participants were asked whether or not they’d like to enter into a romantic relationship with that person.
The study found that, “men were more likely to accept attractive people, regardless of whether the computer deemed them a good or bad match. According to the researchers, this indicates that men have a stronger impulse to become romantically involved with desirable individuals even if the relationship would be bad — like an affair would be.”