It turns out that the age-old saying “once a cheater, always a cheater” may actually be true.
The statement implies that if a person cheats on a partner in a relationship once, he will do it again and again, with sErial cheaters are constantly looking for new sexual partners in a chronic situation pattern of infidelity.
Now researchers believe there is scientific data to support this belief.
About 40 percent of unmarried couples and 25 percent of married couples report infidelity in their relationships, and a 2018 study found that people who cheated in the past were three times as likely to do so again.
Although not a formally recognized label in psychology, researchers have identified certain genetics-driven traits that chronic cheaters have in common, suggesting repeated deception can be written into a person’s DNA.
Scientists believe that people with the ‘sensation-seeking’ gene – called DRD4 VNTR – have a specific variant associated with reduced sensitivity to dopamine, which could mean they need more incentives to be satisfied.
The gene variation could be responsible for this alcohol and gambling addictions, promiscuity and a tendency to cheat.
In one study, cheaters were asked if they could spot three differences in two similar photos, even if there were only one or two. But the cheaters still claimed they found three.
Brain scans performed during the exercise showed that when cheaters were dishonest, areas of the brain associated with reward-seeking behavior lit up.
The study found that when participants thought about whether to be honest or dishonest, certain areas of the brain associated with self-reflection became more active, especially in cheaters who faced moral dilemmas and had to weigh the consequences of their actions.
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While this isn’t a foolproof test to determine if someone is cheating, the results show that cheaters are less likely to think about the impact of their actions on others and how the areas of the brain responsible for self-reflection don’t function the same way. like that in honest people.
But researchers emphasize that having a certain genetic predisposition toward a certain behavior does not guarantee that behavior will manifest. Many people with the DRD4 VNTR gene variation remain faithful in their relationships, and many without it do not.
Genes are not destiny, experts say.
The DRD4 VNTR gene is inherited from a person’s parents and influences how the brain processes dopamine, known as the ‘feel-good’ hormone, which is involved in pleasure, motivation, reward and risk-taking behavior.
People with this variant are less sensitive to dopamine than people without dopamine, meaning they don’t experience the same amount of pleasure from a typical dopamine-producing activity, leading them to seek out more stimulating or risky experiences.
People with this genetic mutation often gamble excessively, act quickly on their desires without thinking about the consequences, and engage in illegal activities or risky sexual behavior.
A 2010 study by researchers from Binghamton University in New York, Brown University in Rhode Island and the University of Georgia studied people with this genetic mutation, as well as their sexual preferences and behavior.
They found that people with the DRD4 VNTR gene were “significantly more likely to report ever having been involved in promiscuous sex (such as a one-night stand).”
President Donald Trump allegedly cheated on his first wife, the late Ivana Trump, with his eventual second wife Marla Maples. He is also said to have cheated on porn star Stormy Daniels while his current wife Melania was pregnant with their son Barron
Anne Heche (right) allegedly cheated on Ellen DeGeneres with her eventual first husband and then allegedly had an affair with her eventual second husband
And among those who admitted to cheating, those with this particular mutation were more likely to do so.
Jessica Alderson, a relationship expert and founder of the dating app So Syncd, which matches people based on personality type, told DailyMail.com: ‘Some people are naturally more prone to cheating, regardless of the state of their relationship.’
Hannah Reeves, a certified marriage and family therapist, added: ‘This is a common question about nature versus nurture and surprisingly, there is evidence that it is the former.
‘Personality traits such as impulsiveness and affinity for risk-taking have genetic components. Some claim that people with these characteristics are more likely to cheat.’
Moreover, serial deception is often based on narcissism or narcissistic personality disorder, a clinical psychiatric diagnosis that affects an estimated 0.5 to five percent of Americans.
Renee Zavislak, a licensed marriage and family therapist based in California, told DailyMail.com that serial cheaters are often individuals with narcissistic traits, including a lack of empathy, an inflated sense of self-importance, sameness, grandiosity and manipulative behavior aimed at their own advantage.
She said: ‘These personalities are the result of a biological predisposition combined with profound emotional rejection, abuse or neglect by primary caregivers in childhood.’
Dr. Cammy Froude, a certified trauma therapist, added that narcissists may view cheating as their ‘right’ and feel little to no guilt about it because they struggle with empathy.
“Traits like narcissism or entrenched entitlement can make someone feel like the rules don’t apply to them.”
Impulsiveness is also a driving factor. Serial cheaters often don’t think about the long-term consequences of their actions when seeking side partners.
Some people are naturally more impulsive, Dr. Froude said, because of genetics or the way they were raised, “and that can make it harder for them to resist temptation or think about the long-term effects of their choices.”
It’s not all bad news, however. Not everyone who cheats is guaranteed to cheat again, according to clinical psychologist and intimate relationship researcher Dr. Kayla Knopp.
Dr. Knopp, co-founder of the therapy clinic and training institute Enamory, regularly works with individuals and couples, focusing on non-monogamy, sexual expansion and psychedelic-assisted therapy.
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For many people, she said, cheating is a slippery slope. The person takes one step, and then another step, and then another step, and then, before he knows it, he gets caught up in something that may not have been his original intention.
Once you give in to something, like a slightly inappropriate flirtation with a coworker, it can make it a little easier to move on the next time.
She told DailyMail.com: ‘We learn what we are capable of from our own past experiences. And once you cross that line, it might not be so hard to cross it again.”
She and a team of psychologists wanted to know whether past infidelity meant a greater likelihood of committing infidelity in the future, and whether people who had previous partners who had cheated on them were more likely to experience it in future relationships.
If someone was guilty of infidelity in a previous relationship, they were three times more likely to do it again in a future relationship.
But Dr. Knopp cautioned that this does not mean that “once a cheater, always a cheater” is always right.
The likelihood of cheating increases again for people with a history of infidelity, but this does not mean that everyone who cheats once will cheat always.
The “three times more likely” statistic reflects higher risk, not a guarantee.
Her research shows that more than half of people who have cheated in the past do not repeat this behavior in future relationships.
Most of the nearly 500 participants reported no repeated infidelity experiences.
She also claimed that no one is actually “born a cheater” and that cheating is not a permanent trait. It is behavior shaped by societal expectations of relationships, especially monogamy.
Chronic infidelity can often be viewed as a discrepancy between the expectations set by societal or relationship norms and an individual’s personality traits, preferences, or natural tendencies.
She said: This is not the case for everyone who cheats in relationships.
“But for at least some of them, it comes down to the fact that they just don’t fit well in a monogamous partnership, and if they can make peace with that, they can live much more honestly, authentically, and openly. in a way that makes them much happier and their partners much happier.’