The manner is which this study was conducted is worth mentioning. Participants including both the sexes were asked for their thoughts and ideas on the kind of romantic partner they would prefer and were informed that these would be matched with attributes found in other students through the computer. The researchers also informed one half of the participants that the number of students with whom these expectations would be matched would be single and uncommitted as of now. They informed the other half that the same students were already in a relationship. The participants were then put through a question and answer session on how keen they would be to pursue an affair with such a match.
The result was very surprising. Most of the single women wished to get into a relationship with men who were already committed as opposed to somebody who was still unattached. In fact when mention was made about single men without any attachments, only 59% wished to get into a relationship and the same turned to over 90% when it was made known that these men were already committed to a relationship.
It is pertinent to note that neither men nor women who are already in a relationship bothered to show any such preference and that set the researchers thinking as to what could be the cause of such a behavior amongst single women.
It boiled down to the fact that single women probably considered the pursuit of men who are no longer going to be available to them due to their current commitment as something more interesting. Another reason could be that women considered such men as having already been put through the test of a commitment by another woman and is safe territory. This thought process is of course debatable since a man who can be enticed into another affair despite being committed currently is not exactly the right representative or model for virtuous behavior and the women can definitely not say that he has been put through the test and has come out successful. After all, by showing his affinity for another woman, he has not exactly endeared himself to his current partner and thus cannot be said to have passed the test.
Though this practice of poaching of somebody’s mate has often been shown in movies and television soaps, it is for the first time that such a study has brought out objective and empirical evidence that many single women would actually love to indulge in mate poaching and have no qualms about the fact that they are intruding into somebody’s private domain and spoiling an existing relationship.
The practice seems to be consistent across the globe with other studies confirming this trend with some minor variations. The study by the Oklahoma State University presents a new perspective on how each gender perceives mate poaching and how the single woman seems particularly aggressive and more intent to indulge in this practice. Though there have been other studies that have indicated that women do not look at current commitments of a man before plunging into a relationship with him, this study proves otherwise.
One other reason could also be the fact that single women may have experienced rejections by their partners and may want to get even by indulging in such practices. They might feel that they are getting back at men in their own fashion without realizing the conflict they may be contributing to an existing relationship. This is again debatable but worth pursuing through an analysis of how many of those single women who is in favor of going after men already committed were heart broken or have experienced rejections from their partners. Other factors like their upbringing and their behavior in daily life may also throw some pointers though they may not be conclusive. The idea is to understand the mental make up of such single women which make them consider such options more favorably.
All said and done, such studies really present a perspective that is not often thought of and certainly not expected and is worth pondering about.