Motivations for infidelity in heterosexual dating couples: The roles of gender, personality differences, and sociosexual orientation
Abstract
A motivational/individual differences model of infidelity is proposed in the course of empirically evaluating the traditional dichotomy between emotional and sexual motives. A scale assessing motivations for infidelity was developed and administered to 432 college students, 120 of whom reported past dating infidelity. Four motivations were identified and were associated as predicted with Big Five and other trait constructs; Sex was predicted by male gender, lower age, and unrestricted sociosexual orientation (SO); Dissatisfaction was predicted by female gender and Extraversion; Neglect was predicted by Neuroticism; and Anger by Neuroticism and low Agreeableness. As predicted, a two-factor model provides a poorer fit with the data than a multi-factor model. Unrestricted SO partially mediates the gender difference in endorsement of a sex motive for infidelity.
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Extraversion, high neuroticism, low conscientiousness, and high psychoticism are positively correlated with engaging in infidelity.
“Some research used the Big Five personality traits and found extraversion, high neuroticism, low conscientiousness and high psychoticism to be positively correlated with engaging in infidelity [76,79].”
From Love and Infidelity: Causes and Consequences (2023) · cites this paper as [79]
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References 53 · Cited by 223
- Authors
- Barta, W. D., & Kiene, S. M.
- Affiliations
- Washington University in St. Louis (US)
- ORCID
- Kiene, Susan M.
- Venue
- Journal of Social and Personal Relationships
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2005-06
- Volume
- 22
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 339-360
- ISSN
- 0265-4075 (ISSN-L)
- 1460-3608
- OpenAlex
- W2130413643
- Cited by
- 223
- References
- 53
- Citations by year
- 2026: 12 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 18 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 16 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 15 · 2015: 12 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 9
- FWCI
- 12.15
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Social and Personal Relationships (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Marriage and Sexual Relationships
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
- Keywords
- infidelity, dating couples, sociosexuality, gender differences, Big Five personality traits, emotional motives, sexual motivation, relationship dissatisfaction, neglect, anger, university students, scale development
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