Stereotypes abound when you start to examine the phenomena of adultery. But in a world of new and emerging norms about commitment, intimacy, the right to personal happiness, and open relationships are there also new patterns of this ancient behavior? Has the truth about adultery changed?
Absolutely, says Helen Fisher, acclaimed author of The Anatomy of Love and scientific advisor to Match.com. In this short video, she draws on research from the 20’s and 40’s and combines those findings with highlights from the most recent 6 years of Match.com’s Singles in America research to give you a snapshot of adultery today.
Take 3 minutes to learn the truth about adultery from Fisher. I think you’ll be surprised.
Fisher says the data shows that, among people under the age of 40, women are just as adulterous as men. She goes on to mention two follow-up questions to the adultery question in the Match.com survey: “When a partner asks you how many sex partners you’ve had in the past, do you lie?” and “If you do lie, do you lie and say more or do you lie and say less?” The consensus? Only about 27 percent of the 25,000 singles in the study lied at all.
Rich Simon
Richard Simon, PhD, founded Psychotherapy Networker and served as the editor for more than 40 years. He received every major magazine industry honor, including the National Magazine Award. Rich passed away November 2020, and we honor his memory and contributions to the field every day.
Helen Fisher
Helen Fisher is a biological Anthropologist at Rutgers University. She studies the evolution, brain systems (using functional Magnetic Resonance—fMRI) and cross-cultural patterns of romantic love, marriage, adultery, divorce, gender differences in the brain, personality, temperament, and mate choice. She has written five internationally bestselling books including, Why Him? Why Her?, Why We Love, and Anatomy of Love. Other publications include articles in Journal of Comparative Neurology, Journal of Neurophysiology, Journal of Forensic Sciences, and others. She lectures worldwide; among her speeches are those at the World Economic Forum at Davos, TED, United Nations, Smithsonian and Aspen Institute. For her work in the media, Fisher received the American Anthropological Association’s Distinguished Service Award.
