In the video below, internet pundits and comedians The Young Turks discuss a study that discovered people who earn more than their partners cheat more.
University of Connecticut Sociologist Christin Munsch conducted a survey that reveals men and women are statistically more likely to cheat when they depend financially on their partners.
Dependent Men Cheat More
The odds of cheating aren’t gender neutral. Financially dependent women are 5% more likely to cheat, but financially dependent men are 15% more likely to cheat.
Munsch studied 10 years of data from 2,750 married men and women between 18 and 32 years of age.
According to one of the video’s presenters, the reason financially dependent men cheat more than financially dependent women may be that men tie their masculinity to their earning power. In other words, a man who relies on a woman to be the breadwinner may feel the need to salve his wounded malehood by cheating.
Another presenter jokes that the key would be to cheat with someone who makes less money than your wife.
“It’s O.K. baby,” says the presenter. “This woman’s dirt poor.”
Also see: The Real Reason You Fight About Money
Men Just Cheat More
The study also found that when women are responsible for 100% of their household’s finances, they don’t cheat at all. However, when men are 100% responsible for the finances they cheat often. According to one of the presenters, comedian Jimmy Dore, this means men cheat when they have more money and when the women have more money. In other words, he says, “Guys like to cheat.”
Men Cheat Less When Income is Equal
So is there ever a time when cheating becomes less likely? Yes. According to the study, when men and women are both making a comparable amount of money, they’re both less likely to cheat.
The group’s only female presenter takes issue with the study’s conclusion.
“So you’re telling me that the woman’s busting her ass at work and she’s like, “Oh my God I love my man, I’m so faithful to him, I’m taking him out and paying for everything,” and then he goes looking for strange *****? That is unacceptable!” she says.
Her conclusion is, “Don’t support your guy!”
Her frustration is based on the fact that women who support men are less likely to cheat, while men who support women are more likely to cheat.
Comedian Jimmy Dore finishes by pointing out that there’s a sweet spot where both partners make the same amount of money, but then when the wife comes home and says, “Hey I got that raise,” the husband has sex with the babysitter.