Is Imagination of the Infidelity More Painful than Actual Infidelity

It has previously been reported that men and women are concerned with different aspects of infidelity. However, some researchers question the existence of such a sex difference. This discrepancy might happen because the intensity of emotions differs between those who have experienced infidelity and those who only imagine how they would feel if that happened. Additionally, the emotions that the betrayer experiences have been neglected in previous studies. Moreover, there has been no investigation regarding the differences between imaginative and actual emotions that someone experience regarding ones’ partner's or own’s infidelity. Therefore, the current study aimed to test the emotions that both men and women and both the betrayer and the victim of betrayal experience in the actual and the imaginative infidelities. Results showed that emotions were more intense while participants imagined infidelity than when they recalled an actual infidelity. Also, sex difference was larger in the imaginative infidelity.