Interesting USA Today Story on Infidelity

A right time to fool around?

By Sharon Jayson, USA TODAY

Some men cheat on their partners. So do some women. Now researchers say it is more than a wandering eye that might cause a woman to stray.
Maybe Diane Lane couldn’t help being Unfaithful it could have been her biology talking. Maybe Diane Lane couldn’t help being Unfaithful— it could have been her biology talking.
Twentieth Century Fox

Feelings of lust actually may be rooted in women’s biology, according to a small study of 38 college women to be published online Wednesday in the scholarly journal Hormones and Behavior.

Studies from the University of California-Los Angeles and the University of New Mexico-Albuquerque suggest an evolutionary tendency toward infidelity during ovulation, which is the most fertile part of the menstrual cycle. The studies suggest the propensity is more likely if women don’t view their partners as sexy.

“Something biologically wakes up around high fertility and says, ‘Is your romantic partner the best sexual partner for you, given that you’re likely to conceive?’ ” says Martie Haselton, assistant professor of communication and psychology at UCLA’s Center for Behavior, Evolution, and Culture.

Along those evolutionary lines, men more than women desire a variety of sexual partners because genes carrying that trait were passed along in men, Haselton says.

Women tend to be choosier, she says.

Previous research has found that women at midcycle report greater sexual attraction to men other than their partners. That is a result of the ancestral belief that good looks often equal good genes for offspring, so although the partner may be a good long-term mate and represent sought-after qualities in a father, a more physically attractive man may spark desire in ovulating women, she says.

“Those with stable but relatively unattractive guys are particularly attracted to other men at midcycle,” says Steven Gangestad, a psychology professor at New Mexico who helped analyze the data. “If a sexy guy is the primary partner, they don’t show the effect. This is about the men.”

Women don’t intend to feel attracted to others, Haselton says. “It’s a natural thing for women to kind of look around, and every once in a while to feel attracted to someone other than their partner. It does not mean the relationship is in peril.”

Study subjects completed questionnaires every day for 35 days in which they assessed their feelings and experiences as well as reporting how their partners behaved toward them. Most, but not all, reported having a partner.

Gangestad says men who aren’t necessarily tuned in to their partners’ cycles somehow are still aware that their ovulating women might stray. During such times, unattractive men were more attentive and possessive, but attractive guys didn’t shift their behavior, the women reported.

A second study involving 43 coeds who report their feelings during high and low points of fertility supports the findings.

Because both studies are small samples of students in relationships of varying seriousness, Gangestad says, the findings can be generalized only to the college population. Further study would be needed to say whether the findings apply to married couples or those in longer-term relationships.

“Haselton is not saying, ‘Go fool around on your guys in the middle of the month,’ ” says Daniel Fessler, director of the UCLA center. “She’s saying, ‘Women have changes in what they’re attracted to in ways that are predictable.’ “