Women are the biggest sinners

Vittoria D'Alessio reports on the social side of a British Psychological Society conference at Strathclyde. The biggest hypocrites in the infidelity debate are women and not their male partners, Angie Burns, a PhD student at the Open University, told delegates at a social psychology conference at Strathclyde University last week.

Ms Burns compared the story-telling techniques of men and women on the subject of relationships, love and sex following a series of interviews. She found women referred to themselves as faithful, even after a fling, while their partners were branded as hopelessly faithless, even if the evidence suggests otherwise. "The women constructed elaborate, interweaving accounts of love, power, insecurity and instinct to explain their own infidelity, which always included something about having been overwhelmed [before the fling] and about their current relationship being troubled." she says.

"They didn't attempt to explain why men are unfaithful, or what could be lacking in their relationship if their partner were unfaithful. They concentrated on talking about coping with the fact that their men probably are or may be unfaithful. Women's insecurities seem to be very much linked with this idea."

The men interviewed by Mr Burns believed women were more faithful. "They all believed that men found it easier to leave a heterosexual relationship than women."

All 16 subjects questioned by Ms Burns agreed that monogamy was an honourable ideal and that a stable relationship never benefited from "the excitement" of a fling.