Sexual jealousy
Sexual jealousy is a special form of jealousy in sexual relationships, present in animals that reproduce through internal fertilization, and is based on suspected or imminent sexual infidelity. It is founded on the instinct of keeping genes in the gene pool and expecting sexual partners to care for the offspring. The concept is studied in human and non-human primates in the field of evolutionary psychology.
Sexual jealousy is felt differently between men and women. For men it is felt as a threat to his relationships future because he could be cuckolded into raising children that are not his own. For women they can lose their relationship and all the benefits that entails to another. Research has shown that men have are impacted more by sexual infidelity, while women are more impacted by emotional infidelity, or their partners “falling for” another.
See also
Further reading
- Buss, David (2006). "Strategies of human mating". Psychological Topics (Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Croatia) 15 (2): 239–260.