What does it mean to cheat within romantic relationships? Most people have unique perspectives on this interpersonal phenomenon, which have inevitably been influenced by their past experiences. This research paper begins with a literature review discussing possible relationships between individuals’ attitudes and behaviors as related to cheating. To address some of the possible beliefs and behaviors associated with cheating, this paper will also examine how personal characteristics, gender differences, and personal histories, among other variables, can relate to cheating through a data analysis of a short survey. Although findings are varied, this research aims to highlight interesting associations with cheating practices and mention important information that will be valuable in future research.

Infidelity in romantic relationships can be devastating, and can cause many complex emotional reactions. The Jealousy as a Specific Innate Module (JSIM) hypothesis posits that due to differing reproductive pressures over evolutionary history, men and women have evolved different mechanisms to respond to infidelity. JSIM proposes that men, due to fears of cuckoldry, will respond with intense jealousy to a partner's sexual infidelity. It proposes that women, who are certain of their maternity but may suffer severe consequences if their mate falls in love with another and diverts his resources elsewhere, will respond with intense jealousy to emotional infidelity. These gender effects were examined in a study of participants who had recently been cheated on sexually, emotionally, or both, by romantic partners. Distress, forgiveness, and couple identity were measured. Results among actual victims of infidelity failed to support the JSIM hypotheses. Men and women responded with similar levels of distress to both types of infidelity. Both men and women were less forgiving as sexual infidelity severity increased, yet the severity of sexual infidelity was associated positively and significantly with less forgiveness for women, and it was associated less positively and non-significantly with less forgiveness for men. Men reported more couple identity after infidelity than did women. In a larger sample that used hypothetical scenarios, it was found that men responded with more upset to sexual infidelity and women responded with more upset to emotional infidelity when using a forced choice method.

Research on infidelity has been criticized for its lack of theoretical approach and emphasis on the negative impacts on marriage. Twenty in-depth interviews were conducted with individuals who had an affair, or experienced the affair of a spouse. Combined with a critical sociological approach to the existing literature on infidelity, this study explores the usefulness of theoretical concepts and perspectives adopted by other researchers. This study offers suggestions for future areas of inquiry and stresses the importance of studying extramarital relationships from a sociological perspective.

Research on infidelity has been criticized for its lack of theoretical approach and emphasis on the negative impacts on marriage. Twenty in-depth interviews were conducted with individuals who had an affair, or experienced the affair of a spouse. Combined with a critical sociological approach to the existing literature on infidelity, this study explores the usefulness of theoretical concepts and perspectives adopted by other researchers. This study offers suggestions for future areas of inquiry and stresses the importance of studying extramarital relationships from a sociological perspective.

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Biological factors, attachment styles, socioeconomic status, and religion are among some of the variables researched as casual factors of infidelity. However, limited research is available for infidelity originating online. This study aimed to investigate causal factors for engaging in online infidelity via social networking site use. A cognitive behavioral perspective guided the research. Review of literature on offline infidelity, online behavior, and Davis' work on generalized problematic internet use identified the variables relationship satisfaction, impulsivity, permissive sexual values, and the intensity of social networking site use for exploration. Research questions addressed any contribution these four variables may have to engaging in online infidelity. A cross-sectional online survey including the Relationship Assessment Scale, Barrett Impulsivity Scale, Brief Sexual Attitudes Scale, and Problematic Internet Use Questionnaire targeting individuals 21 years of age and older, who reside in the United States, as well as, the U.S. Virgin Islands was available to the public. 136 respondents completed the survey. The study identified relationship satisfaction, rather than relationship dissatisfaction, as the primary predictor of engaging in online infidelity. Additionally, a stronger presence of permissive sexual values was associated with an increase in relationship satisfaction. Those attempting to engage in online infidelity, a group not previously researched, is predicted by impulsivity. The findings from this study can be used by individuals and professionals alike for improving individualized therapeutic practice. The research findings indicate future research in respect to online infidelity, social networking site use, and the population of individuals that attempt to engage in infidelity would be beneficial.

The intention of this thesis is to explore whether New Zealand trends in online dating parallel those identified by overseas studies, or whether patterns are emerging that are unique to New Zealand society. The Internet Windows Messenger instant messenger service (MSN) was used to interview 32 subjects about their experiences with online dating, covering areas such as motivation for using online dating; types of relationships sought; barriers to online dating; online rapport and offline chemistry; online infidelity; and managing 'difference'. Drawing on these responses, this thesis presents findings pertaining to a diverse group of New Zealanders' attitudes towards and uses of online dating. Some of the key findings show that online rapport does not guarantee offline chemistry; that there are gender differences in attitudes towards appearance, age, and receiving sexually explicit material online; and that sexual experimentation and infidelity are being facilitated through online dating. The issue of 'difference' as it relates to online dating has been largely neglected by overseas researchers, and for this reason was extensively included in this research. Key findings relating to 'difference' show that there is a clear split between those interviewees whose 'difference' impacted positively on their online dating experience (those with sexual 'difference' falling into this category), and those whose 'difference' impacted negatively (those with physical or mental 'difference'). In addition, those interviewees with a sexual 'difference' have been able to connect with other like-minded people through online dating, contributing to the 'normalization' of previously considered deviant behaviours. Based on the research presented in this thesis, it appears that New Zealand online dating activities are consistent with overseas trends, although there are indications that some behaviour may be more specific to New Zealand society, such as gender differences in relation to bisexuality, and covert same-sex encounters involving men who are either married or who state in their profiles that they are 'straight' or heterosexual.

For this thesis, my aim was to deconstruct the notion of heterosexual love in order to question if and how current stories of love are involved in producing gender inequality. Using discourse analysis, informed by feminist theory, I analysed, in detail, qualitative interviews with eleven women and eleven men about their most important intimate heterosexual relationships and their experiences of love. The traditional view of romantic love as a symbol of freedom and redemption has been challenged by feminist arguments that romantic love obscures male privilege in intimate heterosexual relationships. Mainstream social psychological research has tended to measure and categorize 'love' with little regard to wider historical and social contexts which means that the few in-depth explorations of the complex meanings of love are primarily sociological. Where some research has suggested that gender inequality may proceed from women's investment in romance and men's in emotional illiteracy (e.g. Jackson, 1993; Langford, 1999), others conceive that a wider democratization of social life is producing a shift to more rational and equitable intimate relationships (e.g. Giddens, 1992; Illouz, 1997). My findings demonstrate that talk of love is extremely complex while also cliched and inchoate. I identified two broad and pervasive discourses, in tension with each other - the discourse of romantic love and the work discourse of love and intimacy. The romantic discourse was inextricably inscribed with discourses of emotion where the work discourse was associated with doing rather than feeling. The work discourse allowed the male interviewees, in particular, to construct relationships as contexts for their own personal growth work and exercise of expertise. The democratization of heterosexual love may not be well underway if a shift to rational intimacy involves a transformation of romantic feeling into a narcissistic discourse of personal success. I also identified how male privilege was instantiated in discourses of infidelity.

The responses from a probability discounting procedure was collected to make between and within-group comparisons of the quality of sex with different sexual partners and monetary rewards between individuals who have engaged in infidelity in the past and individuals who have never engaged in infidelity in the past. A modification to the quality of the overall relationship was introduced to identify whether discounting outcomes could be altered. Gender differences were also examined. Results showed a significant difference between groups when discounting the quality of sex of differing sexual partners but no difference between groups with monetary rewards. There was also a significant difference between commodity types within the group that have never engaged in infidelity but no difference between commodity type within the group that has engaged in infidelity in the past. The modification of the quality of the overall relationship resulted in no significant difference in responses to the probability discounting trials and there were no significant gender differences.

While a great deal of research has been completed on the relationship between biological sex and infidelity, no research currently exists that examines the relationship between masculine gender norms and infidelity. In this study, 202 men and 486 women were recruited from a Midwestern university, the surrounding community, and nationallyon line. Their Conformity to Masculine Norms (CMNI) scores were compared to threeinfidelity measures: a modified version of the Attitudes Toward Marital Exclusivity Scale(ATME), the Justification for Extramarital Infidelity Questionnaire (JEIQ) sexual justifications subscale, and the JEIQ emotional intimacy justifications subscale. Participants' CMNI total score was hypothesized to be correlated with ATME total scores, JEIQ sexual justification, and JEIQ emotional intimacy justification scores. Further, scores on four CMNI subscales ("risk taking", "dominance", "playboy", and "pursuit of status") were hypothesized to predict ATME total scores, as well as JEIQ sexual and emotional intimacy justification subscales scores for both men and women. Preliminary analysis identified significant variance between men's and women's responses to the ATME and JEIQ sexual intimacy subscales. Results were therefore presented for both men and women separately. Men's, but not women's, CMNI total scores were found to be correlated with their ATME total and JEIQ sexual scores. Both men's and women's scores on identified CMNI subscales scores were found to predict ATME, JEIQ sexual, and JEIQ emotional scores. For men, only "playboy" scores were related to the variance these scores. For women, "playboy" was associated with variance in ATME scores, both "risk-taking" and "playboy" were associated with variance in JEIQ sexual scores, and both "playboy" and "pursuit of status" were associated with variance inJEIQ emotional scores. From these results, utility of overall conformity to masculine in understanding men's attitudes about infidelity is established. Additionally, masculine nonrelational sexuality norms are found to be useful in understanding attitudes and approval of sex based infidelity.