Scientists Report That People Who Have Been Unfaithful Will Do It Again

Jan 08, 2019 by apost team

Cheating is a taboo topic. While we all want to believe that both partners in a relationship are truly committed to each other, this isn't always the case.

Cheating happens more often than we'd like to admit. The truth is that nobody is perfect. Sometimes, infidelity does happen. Whether you've experienced cheating or have cheated yourself, infidelity is an unfortunate part of life.

Considering this truth, many people wonder how cheaters should navigate their relationships in the future. Can someone that once cheated in the past enjoy a positive monogamous relationship? Should someone that has been unfaithful once be labeled as a cheater for life? Whether you're trying to have a relationship again after being cheated on or hoping to figure out where to go after being unfaithful, the following information may help you:

It turns out there is some truth to the idea that a cheater never stops cheating. While this idea is dependent on each individual, there may just be some scientific data that backs it up.

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According to a study by the Department of Psychology at the University of Denver, individuals that have cheated in the past are more likely to do so again. Researchers studied 484 participants that were in romantic relationships.

When researching the participants' infidelities, the scientists uncovered that individuals that had reported cheating in an earlier relationship were likely to cheat later on in other relationships. The participants that were consistently faithful in past relationships were more likely to keep doing so. The faithful partners that knew of their significant other's infidelities were more likely to suspect their partner of cheating. While this isn't exactly fair to the other partner, these suspicions are hard to shake.

Part of the reason for these statistics could be that our brains get used to lying. A study published in the Nature Neuroscience Journal showed that small lies work to desensitize the brain, making it easier to tell more lies later on. That is how little white lies can snowball into larger and more complex untruths. This is how a single fling can become a series of affairs, even turning into years of infidelities.

During the study, individuals were divided into pairs. One was given an image of a jar filled with coins. The other one got a blurry photo of that same jar. The person that had the clear image was allowed to assist the other one in guessing the number of coins in the jar. Some individuals were told they'd receive a cash prize if their partner was to overestimate the number of coins in the jar, this encouraged them to get their partner to do so by lying and exaggerating. When these participants lied, a part of their brain responded initially but weakened in response when more lies were told.

Neil Garrett, a researcher at Princeton Neuroscience Institute pointed out that the study suggested that what prevents partners from cheating is their emotional response to it. Whether they'll lie again is directly related to how badly they feel. 

Through adapting to this feeling, liars will eventually become used to lying more frequently. The same can be said of cheaters. Serial cheaters likely felt bad about their actions in the beginning. However, as time goes on, cheaters get used to the feeling and have adapted to the practice of cheating and the emotions that go along with it.

Another possibility for serial cheaters' actions is that they never experienced an initial negative response to the action. Thus, they are comfortable with infidelity from the very beginning.

Do you think cheaters will continue to cheat? How can someone that has once cheated address any relationships in the future? Leave your thoughts in a comment and be sure to pass this article on to your friends so they can join the discussion.