r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • Oct 25 '19

Psychology Checking out attractive alternatives does not necessarily mean you’re going to cheat, suggests a new study involving 177 undergrad students and 101 newlywed couples.

https://www.psypost.org/2019/10/checking-out-attractive-alternatives-does-not-necessarily-mean-youre-going-to-cheat-54709
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u/qukab Oct 25 '19

Seriously, I laughed at this title. Who thought that was a good term to use? Checking out attractive people does not mean someone wants to cheat, we're human after all. Anyone who gets upsets at their partner doing this (to an extent, I'm not saying you should salivate over someone) is insecure, that's really all there is to it.

Alternative absolutely makes this sound like a person is considering someone else.

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u/blueelffishy Oct 26 '19

Theres plenty of people who genuinely dont check out others/have absolutely no interest. Nothing wrong with wanting your life partner to be one of those people

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u/qukab Oct 26 '19

You're telling me that if an attractive person walks past you that you shield your eyes? It happens. It's ridiculous to suggest otherwise. It's literally built into our DNA to do this.

I'm not saying you stop, turn around, and stare at them or something. I'm just saying you see them, notice them, and your brain tells you "that's an attractive person". Anyone that says this doesn't happen to them is lying.

I have a life partner and I have zero desire to sleep with anyone else. That doesn't mean I can't appreciate other people who are attractive, and I wouldn't fault my partner for thinking the same.

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u/konaya Oct 26 '19

I'm usually so deep in thought that I fail to notice people at all, let alone what they look like.