"How did you meet?"
is a common, and often quite revealing, question that most couples get asked at
some point or another.
Answers
run the gamut from "online" to "through friends." But one
of the most common ways couples get together, according to a recent estimate, is through
so-called "mate poaching."
It is
what it sounds like: one person swoops in and poaches their love interest away
from their previous partner. This phenomenon may sound more innocuous than the
word "poaching" might suggest, but mate poaching isn't without its
consequences.
A new study in the Journal of Research In Personality reveals that partnerships that
result from mate poaching are not the healthiest relationships. In fact, study
participants who left their previous partner for a new person reported feeling
"less committed, less satisfied and less invested in their relationships,"
as articulated by the authors.
In the
first part of the study, involving 138 heterosexual participants who were
followed for up to 36 months, men and women who were "poached"
reported cheating more, feeling increased levels of dissatisfaction and dwindling commitment. A
second sample group, comprised of fewer participants, confirmed these results.
As the
publication name suggests, this study is one concerning personality. Those who
leave one relationship for another may exhibit a set of personality traits that
make them predisposed to "poaching" or being "poached" — to
pursue someone in a committed relationship, or to leave a committed relationship
for what is an arguably riskier alternative. According to the study, some of
these traits include lower empathy and narcissism.
This
makes sense, intuitively. That said, the conclusions drawn by the authors are
indeed general: the samples were made up of all heterosexual participants,
indicating that a sweeping conclusion cannot yet be made about all
relationships resulting from mate poaching.
The
researchers themselves have admitted to the need for further research. We will
be awaiting their upcoming findings and conclusions!
