Cheating breakups depend on the sex

A man is much more likely to continue dating a girlfriend who cheated on him with another woman than a girlfriend who had sex with another man, a new study finds.

However, a woman is more likely to stick with a man who had sex with another woman than a man who had an affair with another man.

The findings provide new insight into the general male desire to have a number of sex partners and the general female desire to have a committed partner, said the researchers at the University of Texas at Austin.

Evolution of jealousy

"A robust jealousy mechanism is activated in men and women by different types of cues - those that threaten paternity in men and those that threaten abandonment in women," study author Jaime C. Confer, a doctoral candidate in evolutionary psychology, said in a university news release.

The study included 700 college students who were asked to imagine they were in a committed relationship and how they would respond to different types of infidelity.

Reaction to flings

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Among men, there was a 50 percent likelihood they would continue to date a girlfriend who had a lesbian affair, and a 22 percent likelihood they would stay with a woman who had a heterosexual affair.

Among women, there was a 28 percent likelihood they would keep dating a boyfriend who had a heterosexual affair, and a 21 percent likelihood they would stay with a man who had a homosexual affair.

The study was published in the January issue of the journal Personality and Individual Differences. - HealthDay