If you hold more power, are you more likely to fool around? Dutch research says...
To paraphrase Spider-Man: With greater power comes greater infidelity.
Dutch researchers have released their findings that prove that the further up you are in your career, the more likely you are to cheat on your partner.
The research was published in The Journal of Sex Research, earlier this month. It took in responses from a relatively small sample size of 610 people.
Dr Joris Lammers colleced data from heterosexual Dutch men and women on popular lifestyle sites Men's Health and Marie Claire.
The study showed that nine per cent of people in non-managerial and lower management reported being unfaithful.
In contrast, 24 per cent of people in middle management said they had engaged in infidelity.
As for top management, 37 per cent of people had cheated on their partners.
That result was not so surprising as it has often been mooted that power is an aphrodisiac, often when a high profile affair hits the headlines.
What is surprising, is that the results seem to bust a couple of myths.
One is that power makes men - and not women - more attractive. The study says: "The link between power and infidelity was observed just as strongly in women as in men."
The other myth is that power "increases the appetite for any form of sexuality".
Among singles polled, while the rate of casual sex peaks among those in middle management, it drops dramatically for those in top management.
Source: The Independent, Taylor & Francis Online
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