Know who are most likely to be unfaithful

Arnold Schwarzenegger , 63, actor and former governor of the state of California in the United States has been involved in a scandal and a divorce , after announcing that she had a child with a domestic worker 10 years ago. What adds one more case of infidelity by powerful politicians.

What is it that seems to make this strain of men (and sometimes women) more likely to be unfaithful? Not all people fall under temptation. If you are happy in your relationship partner, What's stopping you from giving your phone to that pretty girl you met in the cafe?

At times like this, there is a conflict between your biological instinct (having sex with that person) and your long-term goal (which would be to maintain the commitment to your partner ). Having the impulse is not necessarily bad, but a sign that you are human. We are not in control if we find another person attractive, and in fact activates the reward system of our brain see it in the eyes.

But nevertheless, we are not all infidels . So, why do some resist it and others do not? Recent research suggests that it has to do with cognitive control in the brain . The natural state is to act on impulse. Controlling strong emotions requires mental effort, and the more attractive options you have, the more difficult it is to control impulses.

The "executive functions" of the brain, the area of self-control, They are the last part of the brain that evolved. Involves the ability to plan, inhibit or delay responses. If someone is very focused on a single task and ignores distractions, that area is activated. If this area is activated it can even predict if the person has enough willpower to resist eating a chocolate when you are on a diet.

The "executive control" of the brain can play an important role in the infidelity behaviors . The University of Nijmegen in Radboud found that under normal circumstances, romantically related individuals report less interest In person attractive of the opposite sex than those who are single.

However, the same individuals subjected to tests of brain agility under a lot of pressure of time (when the executive control is "with the defense low"), there are no differences between single and committed.

It seems that people committed to their partner they only reject an attractive person when they have the necessary cognitive resources to resist the temptation and decide consciously.

The tests included subjecting individuals, engaged or single, to mental tests of executive control , which went from answering questionnaires about fidelity to keeping letters in the memory while simultaneously processing information about another topic. This requires constant updating of memory, which affects the executive functions of the brain.

Men with lower levels of executive control they had much more flirty behaviors compared to those who obtained high levels, when meeting attractive women.

 

Why is executive cognitive control so important to resist the temptation to be unfaithful?

One theory is that executive control helps to inhibit acting on impulses that we all feel. It can also help to inhibit communicating interest in another person (flirting) or be prone to entering situations where this may occur.

This type of Cognitive ability It could help to maintain the image of the couple present, when interacting with an attractive person. The investigation indicates that people are more likely to be unfaithful if you experience high levels of psychological stress Imagine being a celebrity or politician with many options of sexual partners and a lot of work ... basically it's theformula to be unfaithful, although it is not a justifiable excuse to do so.

Resisting temptation requires a cognitive effort If you have high executive control, you are less likely to cheat on your partner. If you are under control, let's hope that you are not rich, famous, attractive and very stressed at work because you would be in trouble.

Test your level of executive control through this game.

Source: Psych Central and Huffington Post.