Women who are victims of infidelity win in the long run, since their partner intelligence (emotional intelligence in the context of the couple) is reinforced after the breakdown of the relationship, which will allow them to choose better in the future. That is what emerges from an Anglo-American research recently published by Science Daily and carried out by the University of Binghamton (New York, USA) and University College London.
According to the biocultural anthropologist Craig Morris, lead author of the study, his thesis “is that the woman who loses her partner because she leaves with another person will go through a period of pain after the breakup, but will leave that experience with an intelligence of Superior partner that, in the future, will allow you to better detect the signs that a potential partner is not the right one . So, in the long run, she wins. ” “However, the other woman loses, as she is left with a partner who has a proven record of cheating and infidelity,” added Professor Morris.
The American and British researchers, who based their conclusions on the results of an anonymous survey of 5,705 people from 96 different countries, consider that an infidelity followed by a breakup can represent an adaptive evolution and also be beneficial in terms of personal growth .
Although the study focuses on women and does not mention if something similar happens in those cases in which it is the man who suffers from infidelity, the biocultural anthropologist did specify: “If we have evolved to seek and maintain relationships, it seems logical to think that we have developed mechanisms and responses to the end of a relationship, since more than 85% of people will experience at least one throughout their lives ” .
Within the framework of this macro-study, Professor Morris already published last year, in the journal Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences , the conclusions to the response of who takes less time to recover from a couple breakup : men or women?
The thesis was that, although women suffer a greater emotional and even physical impact due to the breakup – “since they tend to be more selective when choosing a quality partner, and the loss of that quality partner hurts more ”, according to professor Morris -, they used to recover before the men and in addition they became stronger emotionally.
“Man will probably feel the loss deeply and for a very long period of time as he realizes that he must ‘start racing’ again to replace what he has lost. Or even worse: you can conclude that the loss is irreplaceable, “concluded the Anthropology researcher at Binghamton University.
Image: Katie Tegtmeyer via Flickr / cc
