sexual jealousy

• jealousy 


  emotional state that's aroused by a perceived threat to a relationship or position.

  motivates people to behave in a way that counters the threat. a reaction relates to fear and rage. protect, maintain, prolong the association of love
• sexual jealousy

  male aggression - may be due to sexual jealousy if they think their partner has been unfaithful

  if female becomes pregnant - parental uncertainty for male, might not know if the child is their own. men are at risk of 'cuckoldry' where they invest their resources on a child that isn't their own
• sexual infidelity 


  acts as a cue that triggers sexual jealousy among men

  they become angry and aggressive if they suspect their wives of infidelity.
• why sexual jealousy has evolved 


  helps protect his genes by ensuring that the investment he is making will be to his own offspring - males will employ aggressive strategies to prevent their partner from 'straying'.
• direct guarding 


  strategy which refers to vigilance over their partners behaviour. examples - checking texts, demanding to know where they are going and who they are with

  these behaviours are linked to violence -

  • Wilson found that women who reported these behaviours were twice as likely to suffer from physical violence, of these 73% needed medical attention and around 50% said they feared for their lives due to violence from their partner
• evidence to support 


  experimental evidence supports evolutionary prediction of male aggression is response to threat from a rival suitor

  • Young asked students to describe their likely reactions to a jealousy inducing situation shown in a film - someone else chats up their partner in front of them
  • men predicted their response = angry , get drunk and threaten rival
  • women = crying, pretending not to care, try hard to increase their own attractiveness in order to regain the attention of males
  • showing sexual jealousy triggers aggression in males
• research to support


  • study of women living at a women refuge. 2/3's reported that their husbands were extremely jealous
  • another study investigated 100 cases of spousal violence - husbands frustrated over not being able to control their wives with accusations of infidelity being most common complaint

  have to be careful using domestic violence data in murder cases and psychologists are reliant upon testimonies gathered by police at time of crime.

  also alcohol and drug abuse, low socio-economic status also correlate highly with domestic abuse