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Partner-serving moral cognition helps men to maintain romantic relationships from which they benefit more than women

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 June 2026

Pascal Burgmer Open the ORCID record for Pascal Burgmer [Opens in a new window]  and
Alexa Weiss Open the ORCID record for Alexa Weiss [Opens in a new window]
Pascal Burgmer*
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK p.burgmer@soton.ac.uk
Alexa Weiss
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany alexa.weiss@uni-bonn.de Department of Psychology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
*
*Corresponding author.
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Abstract

Wahring, Simpson, and Van Lange’s model is well-argued but underspecifies the psychological processes contributing to men’s relationship maintenance behaviors. Extending their model to the realm of moral cognition, we propose that men utilize partner-serving moral double standards to excuse their female partners’ everyday relationship transgressions. Such hypercrisy helps men to sustain romantic relationships from which they benefit more than women do.

Information

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 49 , 2026 , e94
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press

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References

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