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Gender-Typical Responses to Sexual and Emotional Infidelity as a Function of Mortality Salience Induced Self-Esteem StrivingUniversity of California, Davis, jgolden{at}ucdavis.edu
University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
University of Arizona
Skidmore College
Boise State University The authors propose that gender-differentiated patterns of jealousy in response to sexual and emotional infidelity are engendered by the differential impact of each event on self-esteem for men and women. Study 1 demonstrated that men derive relatively more self-esteem from their sexlives, whereas women’s self-esteem is more contingent on romantic commitment. Based on terror management theory, it is predicted that if gender-differentiated responses to infidelity are motivated by gender-specific contingencies for self-esteem, they should be intensified following reminders of mortality. In Study 2, mortality salience (MS) increased distress in response to sexual infidelity for men and emotional infidelity for women. Study 3 demonstrated that following MS, men who place high value on sexin romantic relationships exhibited greater distress in response to sexual infidelity, but low-ex-value men’s distress was attenuated. The authors discuss the implications for evolutionary and self-esteem-based accounts of jealousy as well as possible integration of these perspectives.
Key Words: terror management theory • gender-differentiated jealousy • evolution • self-esteem
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Vol. 29, No. 12,
1585-1595 (2003) This article has been cited by other articles:
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