ABSTRACT
Infidelity presents an intriguing irony, which in slightly exaggerated form could be expressed as follows: Everyone disapproves of it, and yet everyone is doing it. Despite the fact that infidelity is widely disdained, sizable percentages of individuals engage in extradyadic sexual activity (ESA). Further, it is a relatively safe conclusion that people view their partners’ infidelities with less tolerance than their own. To complicate matters further, what constitutes infidelity can range from engaging in conversation with someone other than your partner to engaging in sex with someone other than your partner. People typically possess an implicit understanding of which behaviors are exclusive to one’s partnership (McAlister, Pachana, & Jackson, 2005). However, the particular implicit behaviors that fall within the boundaries of infidelity may differ from individual to individual. For example, one person may consider “particular forms of behavior as ‘innocent,’” whereas the person’s partner and outside observers consider the behavior an intentional ESA (Epstein, 2005, p. 140).
