There are also concerns that Broadwell could have gotten classified information from Petraeus. For example, in a speech in Denver in October, Broadwell brought up details about the U.S. Consulate attack in Benghazi that may not have been public knowledge, according to The Daily Beast.
With risks like that on the line, could an extramarital affair be worth it? As it turns out, men may become blind to risk when an attractive woman enters the picture. One 2008 study found that men who played blackjack after seeing beautiful female faces took more risks than men who played the game after seeing unattractive faces.
This was true if the men were highly motivated in seeking new sexual partners. The blackjack risks seemed calculated to impress potential mates, study researcher Michael Baker, now a professor at Eastern Carolina University, told LiveScience. [The Sex Quiz: Myths, Taboos & Bizarre Facts]
More germane to high-profile affairs, Baker said, the risk of losing one's career or reputation is nothing compared with the evolutionary drive to reproduce. In that sense, while embarking on an affair may seem dumb, it actually shows something called "mating intelligence."
"These individuals have these very high-status, high-power positions, and the whole idea behind why people might be motivated to get these positions is because it gives them better access to resources that could be used to increase their reproductive success and attract more mates," Baker said.
Until the last few decades, extramarital affairs wouldn't have put a crimp in the careers of high-profile men, Baker said. It's only recently that men have been subject to the consequences of infidelity. And, of course, monogamy is often a lofty ideal.
"The human race has had thousands of years of problems with monogamy," Farley said. "The problems have not been resolved."
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- Understanding the 10 Most Destructive Human Behaviors
- 6 Scientific Tips for a Successful Marriage
Copyright 2012 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Add Comment50% of couples experience cheating by one spouse or another over the course of a marriage. Nothing special about Petraeus. It's just sex with someone who didn't yet think she owned him. The problem for Petraeus was not the sex and the affair, but the woman. After he called it off, Broadwell wouldn't go away.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAs the old joke says "Marriage is finding that special someone you can annoy for the rest of your life."
After the affair started, Petraeus likely soon realized that instead of having one woman who would rag on him 24x7, he had two. As from what we currently believe, the affair didn't begin until he came back to the States. He realized he had traded a war in Afghanistan where he was the commander, to a war zone at home, where he commanded nothing. Broadwell was his R&R, a needed respite, until she became just another woman he couldn't handle.
"The risk of destroying a career is nothing compared with the evolutionary drive to reproduce"
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThat pretty much sums it up.
Many men have more testosterone coursing through their brain than they do actual brain waves.
LarryW - Great post.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAlso what people don't realise is that these people are not like the rest of us in every sense. They are high energy, highly driven, passionate people. The passion and drive and energy that drives them to the top, while we sit back and enjoy the TV, draws them to risk taking and to seek excitement.
I think it is tragic when people lose jobs etc for affairs. It has NO affect on their job (assuming secrets were not divulged). I couldn't care less if Clinton had sex with 25 interns ! He did a fantastic job. Too much moralising around.
LarryW, your post was probably meant to be funny, but it just sounds sad. Marriage is not at all like what you describe. Or rather, neither party should stand for it to be like that - probably some out there think they are doing it right if they annoy their partner.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHowardB,I would propose that in both Clinton and this (now expanding) affair, the issue was not the cheating itself, but rather that in our society, affairs are blackmailable, and both were in positions that could not afford to be blackmailed.
The evolutionary perspective is rather interesting. The evolutionary "desire" has little real value for the likes of Petraeus and his paramour who, likely, had little interest (or even the capability, perhaps) in conceiving a child.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThank you.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisEvolutionary impulses apply to a dog, a mountain goat. NOT to a human. Blindly following instincts in a BS excuse for anything - we're rational creatures, didn't you hear? Able to control impulses and decide actions and reactions.
Plus, for a highly intelligent, disciplined and responsible man like this, the 'drive to procreate' theory seems downright ridiculous to me. Bad decisions, definitely; evolutionary drive, hah!
Powerful men like to have their 'extra tush' because they can.
Adultery is unacceptable in these cases because of the potential for blackmail. There is potential for blackmail in these cases because adultery is unacceptable.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSimple.
Holly Patraeus has been married to David for 37 years and raised two children, probably alone a great deal of the time. Now, that the children are raised and gone, her usefulness is gone, too, and it's ok for him to fool around with a woman young enough to be his daughter and the mentality of a high school brat. He doesn't seem to be a soldier too concerned with loyalty or honnor. If his marriage was unsatisifying he could have filed for divorce, and gone shopping. Perhaps, he would have found a woman that wasn't already married with two small sons. Someone that didn't need to use anonymous email accounts to send letters to a person she suspected was making advances to a man on which she had no claim. Someone, that didn't have the green eyed monster whispering in her ear when he was out of sight. No matter how much experience and book learing he's had, he's reduced himself to a stupid man getting led around by his...um...nose. If I were Holly, all of his possessions would be in boxes on a truck making their way to Charlotte, NC where David Petraeus can knock on the door and collect them from Scott Broadwell.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this@Jillnearthesea
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisLet's pretend for one second that nonsense you wrote is true.
David Petraeus wasn't the only one cheating, Paula Broadwell was cheating on her husband too.
So if sleezy men cheat due to lack of loyalty and honor, why did she?
If he should have divorced his wife and found another woman, what should Paula have done?
We are animals just like the other animal species, and we behave just like they do. In fact, the other animals behave just like we do. Some in our species, like you, believe our larger brains means that we might be more capable of imagining we aren't animals acting like animals but instead are guided by rational thought and civilizing instruction.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe sex part couldn't be more primate and more consistent with other animals. Boost a man's testosterone, especially to compensate for declining levels due to age or disease, and one sees sexy women everywhere. Similarly it goes for adding a little T to standard HRT for women. Similar chemical treatments for other animals shows the same results. ** We are the same **.
Evolution would predict these results, and they are confirmed.