We will never be able to predict with certainty in advance whether a person will be unfaithful and cheat on a partner or not. Only after this happens can we think that, given his / her family history, character, relationship situation and so on, it could probably have been predicted, but the conclusion is that human behavior is not predictable according to the current situation.
Nevertheless, there are numerous surveys and data collections that provide us with statistical and sometimes exciting data on unfaithful people. For example, which professional groups have relatively frequent affairs or where a particularly large number of people cheat. Here are a few recent discoveries briefly…
6 things we know from fraud research
1. Extroverted
The 2021 survey, conducted by dating portal Ashley Madison, involved a good 2,100 cheaters, and most of them (59 percent) rated themselves as extroverted. Perhaps this is not surprising: introverts usually relax better and recharge their batteries when they are alone. An affair could be more of a burden than a pleasure.
2. Firstborn
The same study on Ashley Madison found that most cheaters are the oldest siblings: 39 percent of the cheaters surveyed were firstborns, 29 percent younger, and 24 percent somewhere in the middle between older and younger siblings. Only eight percent of respondents who participated in the survey were single.
3. Low self-control
A Carolina University study, published in the Journal of Family Psychology in 2020, suggests that cheaters are not only difficult to resist sexual temptations but generally show a low level of self-control. Whether it’s a top-notch application upgrade that they don’t really need (U.S. scientists tested respondents with it), a fourth beer in the evening (and there should have been only one), or an emotional outburst for every little thing – self-control seems to be a quality that runs through many areas of life. And obviously the lack of the same.
4. Management
According to the already cited research by Ashley Madison, most respondents have a managerial position at work. As many as 13 percent of respondents are managers, and another 7 percent are CEOs.
5. Ownership of a house or apartment
Given real estate prices, there is certainly a large proportion of unfaithful directors: about 66 percent of respondents in the Ashley Madison portal survey said they have their own home in which to live.
6. Recognizable facial features (in men)
As part of an Australian study, published in 2019 in the journal Royal Society Open Science, scientists found that men who cheat usually have a strikingly masculine shape and facial features, for example a strong jaw, striking eyebrows, narrow lips. In this study, the researchers did not find a significant association between appearance and fidelity in women.
