While anyone can cheat, research links serial infidelity to specific personality traits and disorders, primarily narcissism, sociopathy (antisocial traits), and impulsivity, often stemming from deep insecurity, a need for validation, or underlying trauma, rather than a single "cheater personality type". These individuals may exhibit entitlement, lack empathy, seek constant excitement, struggle with commitment, or have poor impulse control, driving them to seek external validation or power.
If you've cheated, you've broken a commitment to someone else. And you've likely lied, been deceptive in your behavior, and deliberately sneaky. It should be no surprise that you've destroyed your ability to be trusted. People who know about your cheating will recognize that your trustworthiness is now limited.
The psychology behind why people cheat in relaionships.
From a therapy perspective, this intense desire is often masking an addiction which is a form of escape, or needing a “high” to feel something. Addiction treatment helps with this. Low Self-Esteem: Cheating can sometimes be an attempt to boost one's self-esteem.
Traits of deceitfulness, manipulation and lack of remorse with zero empathy for their impact on others has been found time and time again in chronic cheaters.
What Makes People Cheat? #psychology. Certain personality traits, such as high extroversion, neuroticism, and narcissism, have been found to be more strongly associated with infidelity. These traits can influence behavior in ways that increase the likelihood of engaging in unfaithful actions in relationships. High Ex.
One thing that cheaters often do is say one thing and do another. For example, it is so easy for someone to tell you they love you, but when you never see them perform any actions that indicate that they love you like: doing something thoughtful like buying you flowers, well, then this could be a red flag.
Type Six Overview. We have named personality type Six The Loyalist because, of all the personality types, Sixes are the most loyal to their friends and to their beliefs. They will “go down with the ship” and hang on to relationships of all kinds far longer than most other types.
There isn't one single "best" predictor of cheating; rather, it's a combination of factors, with relationship dissatisfaction, low sexual satisfaction, mismatched sexual desire, and poor communication being the strongest predictors, often alongside individual traits like insecure attachment styles, impulsivity, and a history of infidelity. Ultimately, a lack of emotional connection and unresolved relationship issues significantly increase the risk, according to this Psychology Today article, this National Institutes of Health article, and this Medium article.
It may also be a symptom associated with certain personality disorders, including narcissistic, histrionic, antisocial, and borderline personality disorders. Finally, people with substance use disorders may be more inclined to cheat when they're under the influence.
Interestingly enough, some individuals who cheat also exhibit signs of dissatisfaction long before they actually stray. They may withdraw emotionally from their partners or display irritability over minor issues—a signal that something deeper is amiss within themselves rather than solely within the relationship.
Causes of Infidelity: What's Missing for Them? People who cheat are often looking for things they don't get from their current relationship. They might want more attention, to feel loved, or just to feel important to someone. It's like they're trying to fill a gap that's been there for a while.
In one camp, you have those who believe someone who truly loves their partner wouldn't cheat due to the pain and embarrassment that discovery would cause them. In the other are those who maintain that, yes, someone can cheat on a partner they love under certain circumstances. David Palmiter, Ph.
The Hippocampus Goes Into Overdrive. The hippocampus records every detail of the betrayal, leading to flashbulb memories—vivid, intrusive recollections that feel stuck in time. Triggers become powerful because the brain links betrayal to specific cues and reactivates the fear response when those cues reappear.
The 80/20 rule in relationships explains cheating as the temptation to abandon a solid partner (80% good) for someone new who seems to offer the missing 20% of needs, a pursuit often leading to regret as the new person lacks the original 80%. Infidelity often arises from focusing on flaws (the 20%) rather than appreciating the substantial good (the 80%), making an affair partner seem appealing for fulfilling that small gap, but ultimately resulting in losing the valuable foundation of the primary relationship.
Below are 19 common signs of cheating to look out for:
Soft cheating (or micro-cheating) involves subtle, often digital, behaviors that cross relationship boundaries and breach trust without being full-blown infidelity, like excessive social media interaction with others, hiding messages, or maintaining secretive contact with an ex, often stemming from a need for validation but eroding intimacy and causing insecurity.
There are several types of personalities that have been found to be more prone to cheating, including narcissists, psychopaths, and those with an avoidant attachment style.
The number one trait of a narcissist is often considered a grandiose sense of self-importance (grandiosity) combined with a profound lack of empathy, where they see others as tools for their own gain and have an inflated, often unrealistic, view of their own superiority, needing constant admiration without acknowledging others' feelings or needs, as highlighted by HelpGuide.org and The Hart Centre. This core creates other behaviors like entitlement, manipulation, and arrogance, making them believe they deserve special treatment.
Surprisingly, these full-blown affairs almost never start at a bar or club. Instead, they usually begin in much more wholesome environments: The workplace. The workplace is where most affairs begin.
The 777 rule for marriage is a relationship guideline to keep couples connected by scheduling specific, regular quality time: a date night every 7 days, a night away (getaway) every 7 weeks, and a romantic holiday every 7 months, often without kids, to foster intimacy, reduce stress, and prevent routine from overtaking the relationship. It's about consistent, intentional efforts to prioritize the partnership.
1. Lack of Honesty. Often when we think of honesty, notably honesty in marital relationships, we think of a very tangible “where were you last night” kind of honesty. While this is obviously critically important, there are many other kinds of dishonesty that can destroy marriages.
What Personality Types are Most Polite?
Using gender to predict loyalty is not the right approach. It misses the real issue. The truth about who stays faithful has much more to do with how we form attachments than whether we're male or female. Research shows that our early life experiences affect our loyalty more than our gender does.
ISFJ: The Classic Romantic
Traditionalist ISFJs excel at “classic” romance like no other personality type: think candlelit dinners, walks on a moonlit beach and timeless proposals, down on one knee. You listen to your partner and remember the little things about them.