Infidelity is a common problem. In fact, cheating has been a problem throughout recorded history and across cultures.

And all the evidence indicates that people struggle with monogamy. Despite our best intentions, close to 50% of all married partners will cheat at some point during a marriage and affairs are common among dating partners as well.

Lending further support to the idea that infidelity is common, research consistently shows that roughly 10% of all children are not the biological offspring of the assumed father.

But, while infidelity is common, not all people will cheat on a romantic partner. All a lot of research has looked at infidelity and some people are simply more likely to cheat than others.

What factors influence an individual's willingness to cheat?

Typically, when it comes to infidelity men and women tend to be a little different. For men, cheating is influence by their mate value (e.g., attractiveness, social status, resources, etc.), their opportunity (e.g., time spent away from partner, amount of social contacts, etc.), and their willingness to take risks.

For women, cheating is influence by their financial independence, the quality of their romantic relationship, as well as the opportunities that present themselves (e.g., time outside of the home, contact with others, etc.).

With the advent of the internet, it is now possible to compare your spouse against a statistical profile of people who cheat. Based on this comparison it is possible to estimate of the "cheating potential" of your romantic partner.

Knowing if your partner is likely to cheat will not solve the problem of infidelity, but it may help make you more aware of the risk and take steps to avoid that outcome.

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