Higher perceived power in romantic relationships increases individuals’ interest in alternative partners, and this effect is driven by their perception of having higher mate value than their partner. Both men and women in the power condition were more likely to consider alternatives.
New research sheds light on why relationship power is linked to interest in alternative partners
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I’ve linked to the news release in the post above. In this comment, for those interested, here’s the link to the peer reviewed journal article:
The Power to Flirt: Power within Romantic Relationships and Its Contribution to Expressions of Extradyadic Desire
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-024-02997-0
From the linked article:
A new study published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior found that higher perceived power in romantic relationships increases individuals’ interest in alternative partners, and this effect is driven by their perception of having higher mate value than their partner.
The results consistently showed that perceptions of power within romantic relationships increase individuals’ desires for alternative partners, and this link is mediated by the perception of higher relative mate value. In Study 1, participants who were induced to feel more powerful reported greater sexual desire for alternative partners in their written fantasies. This effect was particularly pronounced for men, suggesting that men may be more likely to express sexual interest in alternatives when they feel powerful in their relationships. However, the power manipulation did not significantly affect women’s desire for alternative partners in this study.
Study 2 supported these findings, with participants in the power condition showing a greater automatic tendency to view attractive strangers as potential partners. Both men and women in the power condition were more likely to consider alternatives, suggesting that relationship power diminishes motivation to protect the relationship from outside temptations. This was a more direct measure of attraction, using rapid judgments under time pressure to reveal unconscious desires.
Together, these studies suggest that a sense of relationship power leads individuals to believe they have better mating opportunities, which fuels their interest in alternative partners.
So people get inflated egos because they see themselves as having higher “value” since there’s at least one person who finds them desirable enough to be in a relationship with them. And this perception gives people the idea that they could have something “better” which makes them unsatisfied and actively search out something better in order to confirm this belief?
“Everything in the world is about sex, except sex. Sex is about power.” -Oscar Wilde
“Everything in the world is about sex, except sex. Sex is about power.” -Oscar Wilde
Or: why famous people cheat so much.
Egalitarianism is the way.