Sex differences in cognitive and moral appraisals of infidelity: Evidence from an experimental survey of reactions to the petraeus affair

Abstract We investigated sex differences in cognitive and moral appraisals of sexual infidelity using the case of General David Petraeus as an example. Because visual stimulation may impact psychological evaluations of other people's behavior, including infidelity, participants were randomly assigned to view either a photograph (n = 127) of General Petraeus with his wife plus a photograph of him with his mistress, or a photograph (n = 195) of General Petraeus alone. Both conditions included an identical brief description of the scandal following his affair with his biographer. Participants provided their moral appraisal and cognitive appraisal of infidelity after viewing the visual stimuli. As predicted, men more than women reported lower scores of moral appraisal (“condemnation”) and higher scores of cognitive appraisal (“understanding”) across both conditions. Men who viewed photographs of General Petraeus with his wife and with his mistress reported higher cognitive appraisal than did men who viewed a photograph depicting General Petraeus alone. These results suggest sex differences in appraisals of infidelity, which are particularly salient when participants are presented with visual stimuli contrasting the wife and the more attractive mistress of the unfaithful man.