Jealousy appears in mythology, literature and religious writings. Whether motivating Greek gods in ancient myths or inducing misery in the form of Shakespeare's "green-ey'd monster" in Othello, jealousy spares no culture, race or gender. Its causes are complex and its effects are potentially devastating. Jealousy afflicts women in ways similar to, but also possibly different from men.
Evolution and Jealousy
Evolutionary psychology, as described at Personality Research, suggests that men get more jealous than women over matters of sexual infidelity, while women get more jealous than men in the face of emotional infidelity. Evolutionary psychologists argue these gender differences occur because men cannot assure who exactly has provided the genetic material that spawns their wives' offspring. Women, on the other hand, seek to secure the commitment and support of the father, who provides shelter and food while she tends to the children.
Cultural Influences
Psychologist Christine Harris, Ph.D., of the University of California at San Diego suggests, in her article published in the "American Scientist" available on UCLA.edu, that cultural factors may be more important than evolutionary pressures. Dr. Harris found that in real life situations, both men and women focus on emotional aspects of betrayal. She also found significant cultural differences in male and female responses to emotional and sexual betrayal, according to ABC.net, suggesting that culture exerts a greater influence on expression of jealousy than does evolutionary biology.
Personal Causes of Jealousy
Psychiatrist Dr. Gail Saltz suggests at MSNBC that the source of obsessive jealousy may lie in personal history or insecurity. Women who have a childhood history of rejection or who have experienced betrayal in adulthood may develop powerful feelings of jealousy that may be rooted more in personal experience than in current circumstances. Jealousy may also arise due to personal insecurities and poor self-esteem. Women who feel unlovable may fear potential rejection, and so are driven to control their partner in an attempt to avert betrayal.
Just Causes
Estimates suggest that 30 to 60 percent of married individuals engage in some form of infidelity, according to Truth About Deception. The elusive dilemma facing those who experience jealousy lies in the difficult task of ascertaining whether their fears are based on reality or overactive imaginations.
Effects
While love may be blind, jealousy is blinding, at least according to research described on the website, ABC News. Psychologists Steven Most and Jean-Philippe Laurenceau suggest that jealousy can cause "emotion-induced blindness" in women. These researchers induced jealousy by making women believe their partners were viewing attractive women during an experiment. This experimentally created jealousy impaired women's perceptual process, preventing them from identifying target images in a visual task. "The brain seems to be wired to prioritize emotional information," says psychologist, Steven Most at ABC News.
Jealousy rooted in insecurity and past misfortune can wreak havoc on a relationship. The overly jealous woman can become emotionally devastated when her spouse stays late at work, goes out with friends, or engages in an innocent conversation. The trauma and inevitable repercussions that jealousy triggers can drive a wedge in an otherwise strong relationship.
Dealing with Jealousy
If you suffer from chronic jealousy, you subject yourself, your partner and your relationship to painful and possibly destructive pressure. You need to sort through your past relationships, experiences of betrayal and emotional insecurities to identify patterns that may have fostered your inner green-eyed monster. You may benefit from the outside perspective provided by a counselor or therapist as you sift through your current and past situations.
References
- ABC News: Feeling Jealous? It May Blind You
- ABC: Jealousy in Men, Women Not so Different
- MSNBC: Jealousy: Is it the Same for Men and Women?
- Personality Research: Evolutionary Versus Social Structural Explanations for Sex Differences in Mate Preferences, Jealousy, and Aggression
- Truth About Deception: Facts and Statistics About Infidelity
Member Comments