Skip to content
Guest Thinkers

Don’t Restrain the Wandering Eye

People in romantic relationships are often tempted to block their partners from seeing attractive alternatives, but a new study suggests that this strategy may backfire.
Sign up for Smart Faster newsletter
The most counterintuitive, surprising, and impactful new stories delivered to your inbox every Thursday.

Psychologists at the University of Kentucky and Florida State University conducted several experiments with students who reported being in a relationship. The students were given a computer task that simultaneously presented them with photos of attractive and average-looking individuals of the opposite sex. Some of the students were prompted to focus their attention almost exclusively on the average-looking individual. After this task, the students whose attention had been directed towards the average-looking individual reported being less satisfied and committed—and more accepting of infidelity—with regard to their relationships.

Sign up for Smart Faster newsletter
The most counterintuitive, surprising, and impactful new stories delivered to your inbox every Thursday.

Related

Up Next
New fish farms out at sea, and cleaner operations along the shore, could provide the world with a rich supply of much needed protein while using more sustainable methods.