++Addition++An error in the original posting has been updated in response to the astuteness of commenter DK, who pointed out that the figures for male median income were far too high to be plausible. They have been corrected. Also, please see
Blode's comment challenging the assertion that thin women, as measured by GSS interviewers, are likely the most attractive.
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Reading one of
Agnostic's recent posts on the subject of female sexual activity by age led me to wonder what kinds of people cheat. Fast-paced thrillers designed to make the reader feel like an insider (I'm thinking Grisham or Crichton here) tend to portray the high-powered elite types in their forties and fifties and the aspiring members of the next generation in their twenties and thirties who are ready to replace them always running wild, with passionate but shallow mistresses (established elites) or one-night tangles (ambitious up-and-comers). My impression has been that those presentations are American Beauty-esque, portraying the upper-middle and solidly middle classes engaging in behaviors that more accurately characterize the working- and underclasses, especially the urban underclass.
The GSS suggests cheaters are pretty evenly distributed across social category markers. One shortcoming in using GSS data is that it only asks those who are married or have previously been married whether or not they have ever cheated on a spouse. Since those who marry are on average more intelligent and affluent than those who do not, much of the underclass is left out. What should we assume about the 70% of unmarried new black mothers with regards to fidelity? Commitment levels and expectations are a world apart here relative to the burgher world, so it's an apples and oranges comparison, although my experience* tells me faithfulness is more fleeting among the underclass.
In any case, interviewers are asked to report on the respondent's weight. The percentages for each weight class who report to have had sex with someone other than a spouse while married:
Men (N = 659)
Slim -- 29.2%
Average -- 20.1%
Stocky -- 25.7%
Fat -- 30.4%
Women (N = 843)
Slim -- 2.6%
Average -- 12.9%
Stocky -- 15.7%
Fat -- 11.6%
The higher rates of infidelity across the board for men is a result of the
male tendency to overstate sexual activity and/or the female tendency to understate it. But there is little reason to assume that the level of exaggeration shifts by weight categories across genders. The GSS does not ask a question about physical attractiveness, but I would guess slim women tend to be the hottest (and also probably the least masculine--so try to snag a slender girl for marriage!), while average weight is probably the most attractive male category. Three-fourths of male respondents are gauged as average, while nearly two out of three women are. So among both genders, fatties are more likely to roam (probably in part because they tend to be married to other girthy folks who leave them wanting).
The average (mean) years of education for those who have cheated and those who have not, by gender:
Men (N = 6394)
Cheaters -- 13.49
Faithful -- 13.62
Women (N = 8551)
Cheaters -- 13.25
Faithful -- 13.27
There is little difference among cheaters and the faithful in terms of educational attainment.
The average (median) annual individual income, adjusted over time for inflation:
Men (N = 4243)
Cheaters -- $24,782
Faithful -- $24,830
Faithful men are slightly more educated than cheating men are. They make the same amount of money.
I am not sure how to gauge the same for women without artificially skewing the average based on family situation. Since faithful women are presumably more likely to remain married than cheaters are, they are more likely to have a breadwinner at home and consequently have less need to earn an income independently.
Average IQ, as estimated by converting Wordsum test scores, presuming a white male mean and white female mean to each indicate an IQ of 100 (with a standard deviation of 15) for the genders, respectively:
Men (N = 3152)
Cheaters -- 101.4
Faithful -- 99.7
Women (N = 4347)
Cheaters -- 101.7
Faithful -- 99.3
Cheaters tend to be a little more intelligent than the faithful are.
Across three of the four variables, the differences among cheaters and the faithful are modest. Life outcomes in terms of income, intelligence, and education do not seem to substantially predict levels of infidelity, although it is worth noting that those who are faithful appear, in aggregate, to make a little more (income, educational attainment) out of what they're given (intelligence) than the unfaithful do.
What, then, predicts fidelity? The percentage of cheaters for each response to the question of confidence in the existence of God:
Men (N = 2835)
Do not believe -- 30.2%
No way to find out -- 28.3%
Some higher power -- 26.9%
Believe sometimes -- 24.3%
Believe with doubts -- 21.1%
Know God exists -- 20.2%
Women (N = 3747)
Do not believe -- 16.7%
No way to find out -- 18.2%
Some higher power -- 25.0%
Believe sometimes -- 11.0%
Believe with doubts -- 13.6%
Know God exists -- 11.5%
Stay away from
girls who are into mystical stuff like Kaballah, Yoga, and Buddhism.
The percentage of cheaters among self-described political liberals, moderates, and conservatives:
Men (N = 5549)
Liberal -- 25.5%
Moderate -- 21.5%
Conservative -- 18.7%
Women (N = 7247)
Liberal -- 16.5%
Moderate -- 13.1%
Conservative -- 10.5%
Get a girl you're interested in to tell you all her
thoughts on God and the President. Other things equal, find a conservative girl who loves Jesus (and
probably her mom and daddy, too). The same advice applies to women seeking husbands. The firmer his theism is, the less likely he is to run around on you.
* Anecdotally, three times I've been appoached by the girls of guys I'm acquainted with (though not friends with). All three are from working class backgrounds, and two of the three are dysfunctional at that.
GSS variables used: INTRWGHT, CONRINC, WORDSUM, EDUC, EVSTRAY, SEX(1), SEX(2), POLVIEWS, GOD