If single women are more attracted to married men than to available men, this is bad news for married women and bad news for single men. And, it may spell divorce for guys who follow through with flirtations.
Personally, I find this astonishing. What is the point of dating a married man? Is it a game? Are women stupid? Even if the guy were to leave his wife, would anyone want a man with a history of cheating? Well, let’s look at the studies. Maybe knowledge will somehow keep guys from straying, thus cutting down on the number of divorces.
Birds Do It
Is it possible that being attracted to a married man is normal, maybe even genetically preprogrammed? That is what one psychologist argues. According to the article “Single Women Find Married Men More Attractive: Study” on straitstimes.com, “Psychologist Anthony Little said female birds and fish find a male more attractive if they have already seen him in the company of another female.”
The article continues, “This phenomenon is known as 'mate poaching' and extends to the human world.” The reason that scholars believe humans are the same as the birds and the fish is that they conducted a study. The results showed that women were more attracted to photos of men who the psychologists said were in a relationship. The women gave the "relationship" men a higher rating.
Why Would a Woman Lust After a Married Guy?
Well, I guess your answer is in the title of this article from dailymail.co.uk, “Why Single Women Go for Married Men: We Take Our Cue From Others When Deciding Who’s Attractive” by Fiona MacRae. This article talks about Angelina Jolie and her mate poaching of Brad Pitt, even though Pitt seemed happily married.
And, the article mentions another study, published in the Journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, where women rated photos of men more highly if the men were pictured as surrounded by other women. Ratings did not go up if the man was pictured alone or with other men.
Does this explain why Hugh Hefner is going to walk down the aisle again?
Think for Yourself
The Royal Society study seems to indicate that women should start thinking for themselves instead of being overly influenced by their women friends, television, and society in general. If a woman is able to think for herself when searching for a mate she might:
- Not become a mate poacher when she thinks about ending up with a sleazeball who likes to cheat on his wife (wives).
- Decide that she would be better off with the nice stable accountant rather than the hottie waiter who her friends think is cute.
- Stop daydreaming about her best friend’s boyfriend and go out to find her own fixer-upper.
If anything I have said saves just one person from going through a divorce, I have done my good deed for the day. If you are a single woman, who is attracted to a married man, please read this over and over until the reality of the situation sinks in. Just because you are attracted to guy, it does not mean you should act upon that urge.
Resources and Sources:
Parker, Jessica & Burkley, Melissa. Who’s chasing whom? The impact of gender and relationship status on mate poaching Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 45 (2009) 1016–1019 (accessed on January 4, 2010)
"Single Women Find Married Men More Attractive: Study" straightstimes.com (accessed on January 4, 2010)
MacRae, Fiona. “Why Single Women Go for Married Men: We Take Our Cue From Others When Deciding Who’s Attractive” dailymail.co.uk (accessed on January 4, 2010)
More Articles:
- College Pell Grants for Divorced or Single Moms: What Are Good Two-Year Associates Degrees for Getting a Job?
- Best Jobs for Single Moms & College Info: Best Healthcare Jobs and Non-Clinical Healthcare Careers
Christina Gregoire - Christina Gregoire writes about divorce, fashion, and baby boomers. Her forte is explaining complex ideas in simple language.
Join the Conversation