Studies: Women Genetically Programmed to Cheat [View All]

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/story?id=1469078

Jan. 4, 2006 —


Two new studies find that women may be genetically predisposed to cheating on their partners.

One study published today by the University of California, Los Angeles Center on Behavior, Culture, and Evolution and the University of New Mexico says women have evolved to cheat on their mates during the most fertile part of their cycle, but only when those mates are less sexually attractive than other men.

The study in the Journal of Hormones and Behavior examined 38 coeds from one large, unidentified U.S. university.

"We found that women were most attracted to men other than their primary partner when they were in the high fertility phase of the menstrual cycle," said Dr. Martie Haselton, a UCLA researcher. "That's the day of ovulation and several days beforehand."