A review of sex differences in sexual jealousy, including self-report data, psychophysiological responses, interpersonal violence, and morbid jealousy. 2003

Christine R Harris
Center for Brain & Cognition, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0109, USA. charris@psy.ucsd.edu

The specific innate modular theory of jealousy hypothesizes that natural selection shaped sexual jealousy as a mechanism to prevent cuckoldry, and emotional jealousy as a mechanism to prevent resource loss. Therefore, men should be primarily jealous over a mate's sexual infidelity and women over a mate's emotional infidelity. Five lines of evidence have been offered as support: self-report responses, psychophysiological data, domestic violence (including spousal abuse and homicide), and morbid jealousy cases. This article reviews each line of evidence and finds only one hypothetical measure consistent with the hypothesis. This, however, is contradicted by a variety of other measures (including reported reactions to real infidelity). A meta-analysis of jealousy-inspired homicides, taking into account base rates for murder, found no evidence that jealousy disproportionately motivates men to kill. The findings are discussed from a social-cognitive theoretical perspective.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007578 Jealousy An irrational reaction compounded of grief, loss of self-esteem, enmity against the rival and and self-criticism. Envy
D008297 Male Males
D005114 Extramarital Relations Voluntary SEXUAL INTERCOURSE between a married person and someone other than the SPOUSE. Adultery,Extramarital Sex Behavior,Behavior, Extramarital Sex,Extramarital Relation,Relation, Extramarital,Relations, Extramarital,Sex Behavior, Extramarital
D005260 Female Females
D005783 Gender Identity A person's concept of self as being male and masculine or female and feminine, or ambivalent, based in part on physical characteristics, parental responses, and psychological and social pressures. It is the internal experience of gender role. Gender,Gender Identities,Identity, Gender
D006708 Homicide The killing of one person by another. Murder,Killing,Wrongful Death,Death, Wrongful,Deaths, Wrongful,Homicides,Killings,Murders,Wrongful Deaths
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000342 Affective Symptoms Mood or emotional responses dissonant with or inappropriate to the behavior and/or stimulus. Alexithymia,Emotional Disturbances,Affective Symptom,Alexithymias,Disturbance, Emotional,Disturbances, Emotional,Emotional Disturbance,Symptom, Affective,Symptoms, Affective
D001143 Arousal Cortical vigilance or readiness of tone, presumed to be in response to sensory stimulation via the reticular activating system. Vigilance, Cortical,Arousals,Cortical Vigilance
D017579 Domestic Violence Deliberate, often repetitive physical, verbal, and/or other types of abuse by one or more members against others of a household. Family Violence,Violence, Domestic,Violence, Family

Related Publications

Christine R Harris
December 1976, Journal of abnormal psychology,
Christine R Harris
May 2020, American journal of preventive medicine,
Christine R Harris
January 2008, Turk psikiyatri dergisi = Turkish journal of psychiatry,
Christine R Harris
September 1990, The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science,
Christine R Harris
November 2006, International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology,
Christine R Harris
January 2013, The Journal of psychology,
Copied contents to your clipboard!