Sex differences (and similarities) in jealousy. The moderning influence of infidelity experience and sexual orientation of the infidelity

Abstract

Past demonstrations of sex differences in jealousy have generally employed Buss et al.'s [Psychol. Sci. 3 (1992) 251] forced-choice methodology, a limitation criticized by DeSteno and Salovey Psychol. Sci. 7 (1996) 367]. The present studies address this criticism by demonstrating the sex difference using both forced-choice and continuous measures of jealousy. In addition, the results distinguish two important moderators of the sex difference: infidelity experience, in which male victims and female perpetrators of infidelity reported greater distress in response to a sexual infidelity, and sexual orientation of the infidelity, in which the sex difference disappears completely when infidelity carries no risk of conception because an opposite-sex partner has become involved with a same-sex lover. © 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.