Cheating in Romantic Relationships - Research Paper Example

With due consideration to the philosophical understanding about the relationship, in a critical study developed by Gunderson & Ferrari (2008), it was identified that cheating in a romantic relationship is a type of betrayal act, by violating the expectation of his/her partner and results as a deeply hurtful or disrupted relationship. According to the psychological concept, the authors have critically determined that people are more often involved in violating or committing undesired acts, which are barely accepted by his/her partner.

In this regard, there are various psychological factors that often impede trust or the commitment that the individuals are usually obligated to perform in their relationships. In this context, various types of aversive interpersonal behaviors or attitudes, such as lying, cheating, and complaining about many things are a few of the major psychological factors leading to breach in a romantic relationship (Gunderson & Ferrari, 2008).In order to critically understand cheating in a romantic relationship, the empirical study of Williams & Hickle (2011) has provided major insight into the current psychological background.

According to the key findings identified by Williams & Hickle (2011), the term ‘infidelity’ or ‘cheating’ in a relationship simply defines the betrayal act of an individual towards his or her relationship partner. The acts associated with the betrayal behavior of the partner occur or are mostly intentionally performed always conveying major distress in a relationship (Williams & Hickle, 2011). The infidelity or cheating in a romantic relationship can be formed due to differences between both the partners in the context of their individual emotions, feelings, faith, and various other factors.

In this regard, the research study of Norona (2013) has critically stated that infidelity is one of the pervasive factors, which not only damages the stability of a romantic relationship but also has imposed a major impact on the psychological or mental wellness of both the partners.