19 July,2016 10:24 AM IST | | midday online correspondent
Infidelity is a major problem that couples face in marriages and relationships. We look at a few factors that lead to betrayal...
adultery
Am I good in bed?
Anxiety related to sexual performance and a lack of concern about the consequences such as pregnancy and sexually-transmitted diseases make both men and women more likely to cheat on their partners, a new study has found.
Women who worry about their ability to stay aroused and orgasm are 8 percent more likely to stray for each sexual concern.
Men, on the other hand, are 6 percent more likely to cheat for each worry, such as impotence and premature ejaculation, that they have.
Researchers found that men who admitted to becoming easily sexually excited were at least 4 per cent more likely to cheat. Sexual excitement has no bearing on women's likelihood to stray.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, being unhappy in a relationship was found to increase the chances of a woman straying by between 2.6 and 2.9 per cent.
Women âmore likely to cheat than men'
Think that women are more loyal to their partners than men? Think again.
A poll for dating website has revealed that women are now as keen to cheat on their partners as men and admit to more affairs, reports a major newspaper.
A whopping 26.4 pc of Brit female said they have cheated, compared with 25.7 pc of men.
And 43 pc of women even think they can have a one-night stand without being truly unfaithful, compared to 33 pc of men.
Gadgets make cheating easier
Couples with the propensity to cheat are finding it easier to do so with the help of Internet, social networking and smartphones, experts have claimed.
Clinical psychologist Karen Nimmo said new technologies made the potential for cheating a growing issue for her clients.
"Many people go through others' phones and check what they have been up to. And there are also all the emotional affairs people conduct. They might not be having sex but they are only a step or two from it," a popular website quoted her as saying.
It would be unfair to blame technology for infidelity, but it was definitely a facilitator for those so inclined, according to private investigator Kerrie Pihema.
"Now there's more opportunity, more online dating sites. It is so much easier to have two phones ... to rekindle old flames ... to be anonymous. Technology creates a new platform, for those who want to cheat, to cheat."
The Internet was also making it easier for people to meet and progress sexual relationships faster than they would otherwise, experts say.
It's a norm for most men
Even if they love their partners, most men will always end up cheating just to have more sex on their side, an American sociologist has claimed.
According to the study, men who do not cheat are setting themselves up for âsocially-compelled sexual incarceration' however, men who cheat, enjoy best of both worlds.
The study, which surveyed 120 undergraduate men - both gay and straight, revealed that 78 per cent of those with partners cheated, âeven though they said that they loved and intended to stay with their partner.'
Blame it on daddy!
A study has revealed that cheating really does run in the family, at least as far as men are concerned.
A team of Czech scientists carried out the study that confirmed the old adage ''like father like son'.
They concluded that while men and women both had affairs, men were more likely to stray if their fathers had been unfaithful as they were growing up, reports a major newspaper.
The scientists, based at Charles University in Prague recruited 86 couples for the research.
They found that whether or not a man was satisfied and happy in his main relationship had no effect on the likelihood that he would stray.
Men usually have affairs because they want sex and a greater number of sexual partners, not because they are fed up with their wives, he said.
It's a matter of power!
Scientists believe that it is a person''s power, rather than gender, that plays the greatest role in infidelity.
A team of researchers conducted an anonymous Internet survey of 1,561 adults and found that there is a higher risk of unfaithfulness in people of positions of power, no matter the sex.
The study revealed two key discoveries to why powerful people cheat.
First, there is a strong association between power and confidence, and the amount of confidence a person has is the strongest link between power and unfaithfulness.
Second, the researchers found that among powerful people, gender made no difference in past digressions or the participants' desires to cheat.
Too much creativity
Probability of cheating is more in creative people than in the non-creative lot, a new study has suggested.
According to the research conducted by Harvard University, this is possibly because of the talent possessed by the original thinkers, which increases their ability to rationalize their actions.
The researchers used a series of recognized psychological tests and measures to gauge research subjects' creativity.
They also tested participants' intelligence. In each of the five experiments, participants received a small sum for showing up. Then, they were presented with tasks or tests where they could be paid more if they cheated.
The experimenters also told participants they would be paid more for more correct answers and led them to believe that they could cheat without detection when transferring their answers. However, all the papers had unique identifiers.
The results showed the more creative participants were significantly more likely to cheat, and that there was no link between intelligence and dishonesty - i.e., more intelligent but less creative people were not more inclined toward dishonesty.
Fancy wheels
If you own a luxury car, you are more likely to have an extra-marital affair, according to a new survey.
The survey from UK-based dating website claims to have polled its 640,000 members and found that 19.21 per cent of male members who admitted to being unfaithful were luxury sedan owners.
A spokesperson from the website said, "there's an intrinsic link between success and cheating".
"Successful people are often risk-takers, and have got to where they are by setting their standards high," the Herald Sun quoted her as saying.
"However, these people are also less likely to settle for unsatisfying relationships or monotony," she added.