Cheaters are different. Almost half of what drives infidelity is linked to biological differences in brain chemicals that make cheaters feel they’re entitled or deserve to cheat. Research and clinical experience have identified seven personality traits associated with the psychology of unfaithfulness in love.
Dr. Kenneth Paul Rosenberg, an American psychiatrist with two decades’ experience in treating sexual issues, reveals the personality types who are most likely to stray.
Narcissism. Feeling entitled put one’s own needs first.
Lacking empathy. Being unable to put oneself in a partner’s place.
Grandiosity. Needing validation for ability as a lover. Overestimating abilities, particularly sexual prowess with others.
Impulsiveness. Making important decisions on the spur of the moment without regard to major consequences.
Thrill seeking. Pursuing novelty.
Fearing commitment. Having an avoidant attachment style.
Having self-destructive or masochistic tendencies.
Studies of chemical addictions reveal there are also several environmental factors that free people to make bad behaviors. Psychiatrists call these the three A’s. If a bad behavior is affordable, accessible, and anonymous, a cheater is more likely to indulge.
Dr. Rosenberg identifies the seven personality types most likely to cheat in his book, Infidelity: Why Men and Women Cheat.
