Essay - Jealousy Among Men and Women Has Long Been a Topic...

Jealousy among men and women has long been a topic of study in many sciences, such as psychology, sociology, ***** even anthropology, because jealousy is an emotion almost all hum*****s feel at one time or another. This intense rush of emotion known as ***** is one of the prime issues in many marriages and rel*****ionships. In fact, it is estimated that 20 to 30 percent of all murders involve jealousy (Wh*****e ***** Mullen, 1989). Additionally, it is estimated that a third ***** all couples in marriage counseling have ***** w*****h ***** (Brehm, 1985).

***** ***** ***** argued by some ********** that men ***** evolved to be more jealous then wo*****, *****cause jealousy promotes the male's genetic fitness. This paper will first examine ***** as a *****ole, and its causes. Then, this paper ***** ***** research on ***** c*****cept that men are more jealous than *****men, and will show that while there is evidence for this theory, there is also substantial evidence that women and men are equally jealous.

First, it is necessary to define *****y on a psychological level. Jealousy is c*****sidered to be experienced when something a person has is taken away or is threatened by someone else (Merriam-Webster, *****04). According to psychologists, it is th***** fear of loss, either of the item or ***** the competition ***** the *****, that em***** powerful emotions ***** as hurt, anger, frustration, and shame (Word Reference.com, 2004). These emotions combined form an umbrella emotion we term "jealousy."

*****, jealously has been seen to be a mostly male trait. Over time, jealousy was recognized as a hum***** trait, but it ***** theorized ***** men and women were jealous over different aspects of relationships. Men were thought to ***** jealous ***** sexual relations, while women ***** more likely to be ***** over *****al relations. Most studies reveled that men were feeling rival jealousy, in that they wanted to know if their competitor was good in bed. Conversely, women were more concerned about whether or not the male "loved" the other woman (Whitehouse, 2003).

***** origins of jealousy have long been examined in order to de*****ine which sex is more prone ***** jealousy. Some theor*****ts believe that there are distinct evolutionary reasons for males to be jealous. For example, males in history, be*****e the disc*****y of blood testing, could not be sure ***** a child produced was theirs. Thus, the males would want the fe***** to not have relations with ***** men, in order to ensure their bloodline (*****, 2003).

***** Brase, a rese*****rcher at the University of Sunderl*****, United Kingdom, examined ********** in a cross-cultural *****, and found evidence toward the theory ***** jealousy is an ***** trait. Brase found that jealousy in males in dif*****rent countries appeared to be highly linked to the fertility rate in those countries. Men in countries with high fertility ********** such as Brazil *****ed a higher rate of ***** over sexual relations ***** men in countries with lower fertility rates, such ***** Jap*****. According to Brase, this is