The Reasons for Female vs. Male Infidelity Explained by Evolutionary Psychologist David Buss

Why Women Cheat

In this section, the speaker discusses the leading hypotheses about why women cheat and how his views on the topic have changed over time.

Pursuing a Dual Mating Strategy

• Women may cheat to pursue a dual mating strategy, seeking investment from one partner and good genes from another.

• The good genes theory suggests that women seek partners with markers of good genetic quality, such as masculine or symmetrical features.

• Affairs are costly for women and can result in reputational damage, social ostracism, and even violence.

Doubts About the Good Genes Theory

• Studies have failed to replicate the finding that women change their preferences during ovulation to prefer more masculine or symmetrical features.

• Some initial studies suggested that affairs tend to coincide with ovulation, but gathering data on this is difficult and time-consuming.

Other Possible Explanations

• Men also face costs if their infidelity is discovered, but these costs are not as catastrophic as they are for women.

• Other possible explanations for why women cheat include dissatisfaction with their current relationship or seeking emotional connection rather than just physical pleasure.

Mate Preferences and Ovulation

In this section, the speaker discusses how mate preferences change during ovulation and how researchers study these changes.

Studying Changes in Mate Preferences

• Researchers track women throughout their menstrual cycle to see if their mate preferences change.

• Hormonal assays are used to assess ovulation.

• Women rate photographs of men's faces for attractiveness.

• Researchers look at whether women rate more masculine men as more attractive when they are ovulating.

Conceptual Problems with the Studies

• There are conceptual problems with using masculinity and symmetry as indicators of good genes.

• Larger studies have failed to replicate preference shifts at ovulation.

Affairs and Dual Mating Strategies

In this section, the speaker discusses why women have affairs and whether it supports the idea of dual mating strategies.

Mate Switching Hypothesis

• The mate switching hypothesis suggests that women use affairs as a way to switch mates when their current partner is no longer suitable.

Mate Switching Hypothesis

This section discusses the mate switching hypothesis and how it applies to women.

Women's Emotional Attachment

• 79% of women become emotionally involved or fall in love with their partner, suggesting a long-term attachment to the other guy rather than the regular partner.

Unhappiness in Relationships

• Women who are unhappy with their regular relationship either sexually or generally are more likely to have affairs.

• Men who have affairs do not necessarily differ in how happy they are with their relationship compared to men who don't.

Male vs Female Motivations for Affairs

• Men have a tremendous desire for sexual variety, which drives most men into affairs.

• Desire for sexual variety pushes most men into affairs, while mate switching is the primary motivation for most women.

• Women may also engage in affairs for sexual variety but this is a minority.