A new study released by two Oklahoma State University social psychologists has all the attached women in CFN headquarters drawing up defensive plans to protect their relationships.
Melissa Burkley and Jessica Parker reported on their findings of "mate poaching" in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, according to an article in The New York Times.
What is mate poaching, you ask? It refers to single women who are drawn to attached men. We've run across a few of these mate poachers in our day, and we have always had a different name for it. We'll give you a hint: It starts with "B" and ends with "itch harpy succubus."
Burkley and Parker honed in on the poachers with an experiment involving both single and attached men and women. The participants were told they'd been matched with a potentially compatible partner and then were shown a picture of an attractive man or woman (everyone saw the same man or woman). Some of them were then told the person was in a relationship. For all of the men and the attached women, that fact didn't make much difference. But for the single women, it was a big deal " like they'd just discovered a big, old elephant with enormous tusks and all they wanted to do was rip those suckers off and claim their trophy (y'know, because poachers aren't exactly known for compassion).
When the guy was described as single, 59 percent of the single ladies expressed interest in him, but when that same guy was described as "in a relationship," and a committed one at that, a whopping 90 percent of the women were suddenly all about pursuing him.
According to the report: "Single women in this study were significantly more interested in the target when he was attached. This may be because an attached man has demonstrated his ability to commit and in some ways his qualities have already been 'pre-screened' by another woman."
Whoa. Just whoa.
Now, if you'll excuse us, the attached women of CFN have got to get started on our defensive moats and portcullises and maybe do a bit of research on sneaky ways to mark our territory/mate.
