Are men more possessive and prone to jealousy than women, or are women actually the ones who experience jealousy more? A recent study has found the answer.
In a publication in the journal Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences, American researcher Alyssa M. Sucrese (from the University of Texas) and her colleagues assert that in all relationships, women are always the ones who are more prone to jealousy.
According to scientists, jealousy is an “evolutionary advantage” of humans to protect what we cherish. Social psychologists describe jealousy as a “spice” in relationships, but only when it reaches a moderate romantic level. – (Photo: PSYPOST)
Previously, there have been studies on feelings of jealousy when a partner cheats, but not many social psychology studies have focused on the context of close cross-gender friendships. In Alyssa M. Sucrese’s study, she and her colleagues focused on the emotions of both genders when their spouse had a purely platonic friendship with a member of the opposite sex.
A group of 364 participants was selected for the study, all of whom were married and at least 18 years old. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four groups, responding to different scenarios involving their spouse meeting a new friend of the same or opposite gender.
The results showed that both men and women experienced feelings of jealousy when their spouse had a friendship with someone of the opposite sex. However, the level of jealousy among female participants was higher than that of male participants, even when it was simply a friendship without romantic feelings.
Most previous research findings indicate that men tend to feel more jealous and angry than women when it comes to discovering their girlfriend or wife is cheating. Interestingly, most of them only feel jealous when they are certain that their partner is engaging in sexual relations with another man. This is because it threatens their reproductive success and increases the risk of raising children who are not genetically theirs.
On the other hand, women tend to feel more emotionally jealous than sexually jealous. Subconsciously, they perceive a greater risk of “losing their boyfriend/husband” to another woman if he develops feelings for her.
However, the results of Alyssa M. Sucrese’s study did not show any difference in the jealousy emotions of both genders when it came to sexual matters. Notably, women felt jealous of any female friend who was close to their husband. The level of jealousy was partly influenced by the attractiveness of the “rival.” The more youthful, capable, and attractive the “rival” was, the higher the level of jealousy evoked.
The researchers concluded: “Perhaps women’s feelings of jealousy serve as an ‘adaptive solution’ for any situation that may arise in their relationships. They are not only worried about whether that female friend could become a ‘third party’ in the future. Subconsciously, they worry that their partner will allocate time, money, and other resources to the rival more than to them—even if it is just a close friendship or colleague relationship.”
The study was conducted shortly after researchers from the University of California identified the presence of feelings of jealousy in monkey brains and declared that we inherit this trait as an evolutionary advantage to help protect our most valuable resources.
