Motivational Poster - Infidelity: Too Much Power Can Make You a Real Weiner

Thanks for making Weiner Wednesday a smashing success! We've had record breaking traffic to the site thanks to the great articles from Drs. Charlotte and Patrick Markey and Dr. Justin Lehmiller. We'll end the day with one more bit of research on infidelity that is directly applicable to the Weiner affair:

According to a recent study, power, not gender, predicts infidelity. The sex difference we see in cheating (e.g., the abundance of Arnolds, Tigers, and Weiners) is a function of power differentials; that men tend to have higher status in many facets of our society. Furthermore, the association between power and infidelity is not due to the personalities of successful people, like risk-taking, nor caused by their increased separation from their partners (like business travel).

Update-- 6/13/11: Here's a link to an NPR story about this article, including an interview with Dr. Joris Lammers (one of the authors of this study) and Dr. Jon Maner.

Update-- 11/13/11: Due to the investigation regarding the veracity of some of Deiderik Stapel's research, please be cautious in your interpretation of these findings.

Lammers, J., Stoker, J. I., Jordan, J., Pollmann, M. M. H., & Stapel, D. A. (2011). Power increases infidelity among men and women. Psychological Science, 22, 1191-1197.

Reflections On Weinergate: What Do We Know About Cheating?

The recent scandal involving Congressman Anthony Weiner of New York (the guy who "accidentally" sent provocative photos of himself to attractive young females over Facebook and Twitter) has become a media sensation. This probably has something to do with the fact that this guy’s last name is, well, hilarious given the nature of the photos he was tweeting, but also because this guy seemed to have it all.

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Gender, Politics, and the Science of Infidelity: Don’t Be a Weiner

In the last few weeks and months we’ve found ourselves watching the news and repeatedly exclaiming “Really?!”

Arnold Schwarzenegger is married to the beautiful Maria Shriver, has four gorgeous children, and yet he couldn’t resist becoming sexually involved (and having a love child with) his family's housekeeper. Really?!

Christopher Lee, a married New York state congressman, sent a shirtless photograph of himself in response to a Craigslist personal ad. He even went as far as to call himself a “fit, fun, classy guy.” Really?!

Not to be outdone by his fellow New York politician, Anthony Weiner sent numerous pictures of himself, including one of his crotch, to women other than his wife. He was a rising political star and newlywed, but couldn’t resist texting pictures to young co-eds. Really?!

Why do prominent and powerful men seem to find themselves in these sorts of predicaments? 

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