Why Men Feel Compelled to Cheat
A survey from the Bed Bible shows that men tend to cheat on their partners more often than women. Throughout life, 10 to 26 percent of men admit to infidelity. And that’s just the guys who admit to it.
If you ask a group of cheaters, you’ll probably get a lot of different explanations for why they stray. Some of those reasons carry more weight than others. Still, it’s interesting to look at the reasons why men feel compelled to cheat.
Men Are Genetically Predisposed to Cheating
According to many evolutionary psychologists, some men are genetically programmed to cheat on their partners because it gives them more opportunities to spread their genes through the population.
Let’s say a man and woman are committed to each other. The man, however, convinces another woman to have sex with him. Now, that man has the opportunity to impregnate two women. When the other woman’s son is born, there is a good chance that an unrelated male will help raise the child.
From an evolutionary perspective, the cheating guy has found a way to have two children without investing more resources.
Men Need to Prove That They’re Attractive
Men living with low self-esteem may feel compelled to cheat because it validates them and makes them feel more attractive.
Man and low self-esteem don’t get discussed together much, but there’s plenty of research showing that mean don’t feel good about themselves. About one in four teenage boys develop eating disorders. Some grown men can’t make themselves leave the gym because they suffer from “muscle dysmorphia,” a condition that makes them feel puny even when they’re buff.
Having sex with a new person is a quick way for many men who cheat to boost their self-esteems. Getting the attention of an attractive, young someone will put a spring in any man’s step. Unfortunately, some of those men decide that flirting isn’t enough.
Cheating certainly isn’t the only way to improve your self-esteem. Improving your appearance could give you a similar boost. Start by getting a new hairstyle that accentuates your best features and using hair care products that will keep you looking attractive.
Men Have to Get Their Sexual Needs Met
You can call b.s. on this if you want, but some men say that they cheat on their partners because their sexual needs aren’t getting met at home. If you want to act out a fantasy that turns off your partner, then you may decide to find someone who’s more willing to follow your lead.
In some cases, the problem is more severe. According to Newsweek, 15 to 20 percent of married couples are in sexless relationships. If a man stuck in one of those relationships still has a strong libido, then he might find a willing partner somewhere else, either as a fling or ongoing, separate relationship.
This perspective could also explain why men feel little to no shame about masturbating pretty much all of the time.
Men Are Narcissists Who Don’t Care About Their Partners
Very few men who cheat fall into this category, but it’s undeniable that some do. Only 1 percent of the population has Narcissistic Personality Disorder, but most of those people are men.
Narcissists often don’t place importance on the feelings of other people, including their partners. To make matters worse, they may feel like rules don’t apply to them. From the narcissistic perspective, cheating on a partner doesn’t seem like that big of a deal because his needs are getting met and other people are just tools for meeting those needs.
A certain percentage of men will cheat on their partners. Researchers (not to mention cuckolded partners) have plenty of theories about why men feel compelled to cheat. Realistically, there are a lot of reasons that men cheat. Some men just make bad decisions when they drink too much. Others aggressively seek sex because they feel that they deserve it.