Comparison of adaptive motivation and executive function in individuals with and without the temptation to engage with attractive alternatives

All the basic theories of committed relationships refer to the availability of attractive alternatives as a negative factor that undermines the commitment and survival of the relationship

The present study aimed to compare adaptive motivation and cognitive activism within individuals with and without the temptation to engage in a relationship with an attractive alternative.

The study population consisted of the married men and women in Mashhad among which 200 individuals were selected as the study participants via convenient sampling procedure who responded to the temptation and likelihood of infidelity questionnaires. Out of 200 participants, 40 individuals were selected via purposive sampling (10 males and 10 females with high rate of temptation as well as 10 females and 10 males with low rate of temptation) who were required to respond to other research questionnaires of the study.

A significant difference was detected between the two study groups (high temptation to infidelity vs. low temptation to infidelity).There was a significant difference in the average scores of adaptive motivation (p<0.05, t=3.05) and also in the average scores of all components of cognitive abilities except for the component of social cognition (8.46, F=p<0.05).

It can be concluded that the participants of the high temptation group had higher temptation rate, less adaptive motivation and more cognitive problems (based on the Cognitive Ability Questionnaire, n-back task, Hanoi Tower task and Go / No go task) in comparison with the low temptation group, which seems to increase the likelihood of infidelity in these people