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Siyana Mincheva (Psychologist, psychotherapist)
Men are much more inclined to polygamy than women, according to work carried out by British researchers. How to explain this? Doctissimo asked the question to psychologist Siyana Mincheva, to try to see more clearly.
Men are more open to polygamous relationships than women, according to the results of a new study in the United Kingdom. And the difference is not insignificant: men are six times more likely than women to be open to this type of relationship.
Polygamy or having multiple spouses simultaneously
Being polygamous means having several spouses simultaneously. More precisely, we distinguish two situations: polygyny, where a man marries several women, and polyandry, where a woman marries several men.
This type of relationship has always existed and different cultures – such as in Africa, Asia or the Middle East – allow this type of relationship.
In this study, Andrew G. Thomas and his colleagues wanted to assess interest in polygamous relationships in cultures where monogamy is the norm. As they studied the subject, they asked themselves some questions: Could men be more interested in polygamy because it is a means by which they could reproduce with more women? Could single women who are unable to secure exclusive investment from a specific man be more open to polygyny? Or could a younger, more attractive woman with a higher social status be less interested in polygyny?
Two studies to explore these dynamics
In the first study, 393 heterosexual residents of the United Kingdom volunteered to participate in this work. They were 25 years old on average, and 63% of them were women. They were recruited on social networks and answered questionnaires to assess their interest and knowledge of polygamy. These questionnaires defined polygamy as committed, consensual, and exclusive individual relationships, including marriage.
The second study involved 735 heterosexual residents of the United Kingdom. Aged 33 on average, the volunteers were 57% men and 66% were in committed relationships. In the same way, they answered different questionnaires to assess their relationship to these particular relationships.
Men six times more interested than women
The results of the first study showed that 68% of participants understood the benefit of polygamous relationships. Overall, 19% of participants said they were interested in this type of relationship, while 16% said they were more unsure.
For polyandrous relationships, 10% of women said they were interested and 15% were unsure. Overall, men were 3.5 more likely to say yes to polygamous relationships than to polyandrous relationships. Women, for their part, were twice as likely to say yes to polyandry as to polygyny.
Monogamy remains the big winner
The results of study 2 largely confirmed the results of the first study. 62% of participants said they were not interested in a polygamous relationship. However, men were 6 times more open to such a relationship than women.
Overall, monogamous relationships were the most popular, followed by polygamous relationships. “Lhe greatest interest came from men, who liked the idea of polygyny much more than women. In contrast, both sexes had a similar and very low interest in polyandry. A follow-up study confirmed our initial findings that there was little unique profile of traits associated with polygynous interest.” noted the study authors.
Good in his body, good in his head!
To understand these studies, Doctissimo contacted psychologist Siyana Mincheva, in order to gain insight into the nature of these results. “The subject allows us to be interested in the nature of man but also in his culture, because we notice that multi-partner relationships exist in different cultures” explains our expert first.
“Studies show that men are more likely to be polygamous. For what ? This is explained because at the very heart of their nature, the pleasure principle as described by Freud – and the place of fantasy – manifests itself much more than in women.” adds Siyana Mincheva.
“This can vary from one individual to another of course, but we can say that in general, if men tend to be more polygamous than women, it is because of this pleasure principle, associated with a stronger survival instinct and a need for satisfaction of their libido more important than in women” analyzes the psychologist. “Swithout forgetting the criterion of choice, which is sometimes dictated by the fact that a man can be polygamous, like certain other men sharing the same culture as him.
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