How Some Husbands Stay Faithful

Maintaining the relationship, keeping it strong and secure, is right up there in order of importance for most couples. Especially in those early child bearing years. So an experiment that studied the attitudes of men when women are in their most fertile period revealed some intriguing results.

A 21 year old woman was asked to work alongside a group of men over a few months. She was told to be neutral at all times in her attitudes to them and not to chat more than necessary. On no account must she flirt, or show particular interest in any of them. No perfume was to be worn, she had to keep her hair simple, wear ordinary jeans and T-shirt. In other words be less feminine than usual.

It is known from many studies that men can, quite unconsciously, tell when a woman is at peak fertility. They find her body odour more attractive for example and a woman’s voice will be higher pitched than usual. But even if they didn’t notice any of these cues, men know – without knowing it. It’s an instinct that is shared with other creatures and is obviously important for survival of the species. 

What the experiment showed was that when men were questioned about the woman they said they found her most attractive when she was at peak fertility in the menstrual cycle.

But – and this is the most important part of the experiment – it was only the men who were unattached who said this.

The ones in steady relationships said the opposite. They said they found her most unattractive at these times. The conclusion was they realised she was a threat to their ongoing relationship at that particular time – so they told themselves she wasn’t attractive.

The result was they protected their relationship by resisting temptation at a peak period. It may have been an unconscious reaction – but they did it. 

Many women will find that both surprising and reassuring.