Infidelity is one of the biggest obstacles a relationship can overcome. In fact, in most cases, it is the cause of the alteration. In these cases, in many cases, the problem arises from the individual differences that may exist in the definition and perception of infidelity. It often seems that men and women don’t understand it the same way.
In fact, it is not so easy, in some cases, to determine whether infidelity occurred or not. If we consider the strongest consensus, we believe that most people agree that infidelity occurs when you have sex with someone outside the couple.
- However.
- What’s wrong with texting someone and keeping them a secret.
- What’s wrong with receiving suggestive photos through social media or other digital media.
- Can it be considered infidelity to keep friends with a former partner?.
These are important issues that deserve dialogue and consensus where boundaries are clear, especially when you consider a study that has found data that supports the hypothesis that men and women generally have very different ideas about what it really means to be unfaithful. Not clarifying this and not reaching an agreement can lead to serious problems in the relationship.
Research published in the scientific journal Sexual
To determine how gender, among other factors, influences perception of infidelity, researchers asked 354 college students to complete a questionnaire on the subject. Participants rated different acts from 1 (certainly not infidelity) to 4 (certainly infidelity), including sexual acts. , such as kissing or sex; emotional actions, such as falling in love, but not acting accordingly; and fantasies, like going to a strip club or watching porn.
The questionnaire also included questions to identify other aspects that may have a significant relationship with perceptions of infidelity, such as fear of rejection and anxiety. As for the fear of intimacy and the sensitivity to rejection, there was no difference between the sexes. I considered it more often than “communion. ” It meant infidelity, understanding communion as the exchange of intimate thoughts and feelings, especially on a mental or spiritual level.
Women in the study were more likely to see sexual and emotional acts as infidelities. At this stage, for most men, only acts, such as sex, are classified as infidelities; however, for women, the exchange of intimate thoughts and feelings, especially when the exchange takes place on a mental or spiritual level, can also be considered infidelity. Of course, there would be exceptions for both sexes.
The suggestion that women include a greater variety of acts, behavioral or mental, that they would consider infidelity, is supported by previous research. “This pattern of results suggests that women are more sensitive than men to possible violations of infidelity within the boundaries of a romantic relationship. relationship,” the authors write. ” Those above on the scale of communion are more sensitive, perhaps to protect their relationships with a loved one. “
The study could help couple therapists educate their clients/patients, so no matter what they have done or can do with each other, if couples decide to leave, they must come to an agreement where certain limits are clear. It is that some of the people who commit infidelity, in the eyes of their partner and according to the criteria, have not committed it, it may be essential to point out and work at this point to achieve a reconciliation and agreement that we can have already indicated.
On the other hand, if someone doesn’t know/doesn’t have the intuition that the other person may consider something they’re doing as an infidelity, why wouldn’t they or wouldn’t it continue?”An ideal result of therapeutic intervention would be better understanding and communication between partners, commitment to the relationship and satisfaction of the relationship,” concludes the study.
However, far from being a purely abstract issue, individual differences in “infidelity criteria” can set the course for a relationship, generating resentments and misunderstandings. So while it’s not a comfortable topic, this is one of the conversations that every couple should have at the beginning of their relationship for their well-being and progress.