What kind of woman is destined to be a mistress?

Women who have already found their partner need to be vigilant, because there is a high possibility that your partner will be noticed by other single women. Many people have long suspected that single women prefer to pursue men who are already in a relationship rather than those who are single. A new study conducted by the University of Oklahoma in the United States found evidence to support this idea.

It is reported that this research on "poaching" other people's partners was conducted by Melissa Berkeley of the University of Oklahoma and her colleague Jessica Parker. "Single women really have a thing for attached men," Berkley said. For the study on sexual attraction, they questioned 184 heterosexual students at the University of Oklahoma and told the participants that a computer program would match them with an ideal partner.

Half of the participants in the study were single, and the other half were no longer single. In each group, there were equal numbers of males and females. Unbeknownst to the participants, Berkeley and Parker had prepared a fictitious potential partner for each of them who had exactly the same interests and hobbies as they did.

In the study, all female participants were shown the same photo of a "perfect partner," while male participants were shown a photo of a perfect partner. Half of the participants were told that their ideal partner was still single, while the other half were told that their ideal partner was already in a relationship.

"All participants were faced with the same situation, the only difference was that some people's ideal partner was no longer single and others were still single," Berkley said. The most surprising finding was the response of single women. When faced with single men, 59% of the participants said they were willing to pursue them. However, when faced with a taken man, the proportion of participants willing to pursue him is as high as 90%.

Men have always liked to pursue new partners, and whether the other party is single or not will not change their minds. Married women are the least interested in married men, but they like single men more than other women.

Berkeley and Parker speculate that single women prefer to pursue attached men because they have been "pre-screened" by other women as desirable partners. In contrast, single men are in a state of agnosticism to a greater extent.

Berkeley said a similar phenomenon of "poaching" mates occurs in birds and fish. In previous studies, participants were only asked whether they found other potential partners highly attractive. To this end, Berkeley designed the study specifically to determine whether participants were more willing to pursue a committed partner.

"The next question to answer is why this happens," said Klee, who plans to conduct further research to further explore women's motivations for pursuing attached men.

In addition to the explanation that they have been "pre-screened" by other women, another possibility is that American women are extremely competitive, and snatching the men they "claim for themselves" from their competitors may be a manifestation of self-esteem.

Other researchers said the study offered some interesting clues about mate poaching. Fiona Moore of the University of Abertay Dundee in the UK said: "This study sheds new light on the role that social desirability plays in mate choice." Moore's research showed that wealthy women were more cautious in choosing their partners.