Summary: Sex Differences In Jealousy

Background In the research report “Sex Differences in Jealousy: Evolution, Physiology, and Psychology” conducted by Buss, Larsen, Westen, and Semmelroth (1992), the primary purpose of their study is to differentiate the gender differences, particularly in humans. This interest seems to originate from the difference between humans and all of the other animals, whereby paternity is most significant to humans – specifically males. They believe this varies from other animals that can display lowered paternity probability and greater cuckoldry, which stems from female animal’s biological capability of internal female fertilization (251). Hence, females of most species will most certainly know that they are the mother of the off spring, but emotional infidelity from the male partner via spending resources on another female for instance, is a potential consequence experienced by the female giving birth. With men, it differs on the basis of cuckoldry, in the sense that their potential consequence is when their female partner engages in sexual activity with another male – in the animal kingdom it is known as the rival gametes (251). Simply put,

Ultimately, this means that it comes down to how one perceives and comprehends the question being asked. In other words, males associated acts of sexual infidelity with emotional (‘love’), triggering more distress. Similarly, but not in the same way, females are more distressed by emotional infidelity, even though it may or may not be associated with sexual infidelity. Therefore, sex is not a biological factor in determining jealousy – rather it’s the social context and one’s understandings and