Very interesting!!

Seems there was some bias on the part of the researchers in that they focused on female reactions. One could assume all sorts of things about them from this – for example, they believed that: females were more prone to jealousy than men; females were more insecure; females were more easily distracted, etc.
I have no idea if any of this is true, but I'd be interested in independent research on the researchers' gender attitudes.
By the way, were the researchers both male and female?

Too small a age group 19-21 to consider this a piece of valid research. Or am I just jealous my age category wasn't used. hahahah

Does it really matter? No, the point was to see if jealousy altered. Yes, it would be quite interesting to find out the reaction of males, but only because it would be different but the same, if you know what I mean. This focus on bias all the time is ridiculous and blinds you as all bias does. We are different, men from women, you know. Not exactly the same. Acknowledge it. Everything is not a plot against women. BTW, I am a female, very independent, self supporting, very happy.

I wonder if this emotion puts people into the fight-flight reflex mode. I know that afftects vision.

This test definitely substantiated what was already known, but now has some scientific facts to back it up. Very interesting and I am not surprised by the results. Yes, it would be interesting to see how the test went with males instead of females. Looking forward to hearing about that one.

Jealousy between male and female is what you have covered with your article. At the moment I am having to try to understand the jealousy between siblings. One daughter is convinced that her sister is getting much more financial aid than she is. She is of course quite wrong. Help has been given according to need, as and when required. The fact that the younger sisters need has until now, been greater than her older sister, is a fact. However if the need arose where the older sister needed help of any kind, it would be forthcoming. How is one able to stop the “black thoughts” that is dominating one daughters outlook, and stopping her keeping in touch with all the family? I am at a complete loss to find a way forward. Joan from Wales

Jealousy is a terrible thing if you allow it to consume you. What I have found is that you are only capable of controlling yourself and worrying about what someone else does or doesn't do is an act of futility.

This test was not specific enough for my way of thinking. For instance, I sit in my little cubby hole in an office (as a managment and program analyst for the Army) and people talk all of the time (gossip and politics). I am not distracted unless I find the topic of interest. So just the idea of a person sitting and trying to rate something while a topic of interest is discussed behind a wall or curtain would be enough to be a distraction and causes “out of focus” behavior to evolve. So it may not necessarily be jealousy, but a curious subject matter than draws the person out of focus from their target. Too many holes in this study for my taste.

Not only is gender a possible issue here, but I think results may be different if different age groups were tested. I think as people mature and gain self-confidence, they become less prone to jealousy, and would not have the same level of distractions.

Yes, I like this – especially the use of the control. I suspect it is not gender specific, and am curious about the results if any of the males happened to be control freaks. any thoughts?

The scope is too limited. Although I am jealous becuase I couldn't look at the photos of attractive females.

The only thing the test proves is that distraction can cause a person to loose focus.

Were the women jealous or distracted by a subject of interest?

There should be a follow up to see if the couples stayed together – after all, the females were lead to believe the rated females are also on campus…

I am a very jealous or possessive married woman because I have OCD. But I am also a christian so the Bible has really helped me over the years. It has taught me to take captive my thoughts when they arise. My husband reassures me which helps. And the most helpful part in all this is that I understand that I don't put my trust, my happiness in any human being but rather in Jesus. Mankind messes up, God's love for me is constant. He will never leave me or forsake me. I stand firm on that truth. It is also good to know that God says He is jealous over His children. So jealousy is part of God's character because it is not the selfish kind, but rather centers around the well being of His child. If He sees one of His sheep leave the flock, He will leave the 99 to go out to look for the one that was lured away into danger to bring him back to safety. In that truth I can rest easy and know He has everything under control. So jealousy is a normal feeling when you believe that someone or something is capturing your partner's attention to the point of destruction of your relationship. Open discussion about it and being on the same page helps. And taking into captivity every thought that may endanger a committed relationship is a tool that, when used, will lead to a more enjoyable relationship, free from the mental trips that can lead to bondage. I know.

Jealousy, if left unchecked, is most often detrimental. When I was the age of the test subjects, I was insecure whenever my boyfriend (who is now my husband of 30+ yrs) thought or talked about his ex-girlfriend. If he happened to glance in the direction of where she used to live when we drove by, I would get upset. Finally he explained to me that he wasn't interested in her anymore & the proof was that he was with me, not her. I'm not sure that I was jealous of her, because I was in the better situation; but my insecurity did cause some minor problems. Perhaps I was/am jealous that she spent time with him before me – but we all learn from our experiences & I have no doubt our relationship has been enhanced by both of our past experiences. The main thing is to communicate. Don't let yourself remain jealous of anyone. If you knew the manner concerning how they acheived whatever you are jealous of, you might not be so enthused by it. Unfortunately, we are bombarded with constant images of what the “ideal” is & we can never live up to it's standard. No wonder we are insecure of ourselves and often jealous of others.

I would love to see the same test done with the men listening to thier partners rate attractive men.

This study seems to indicate that emotional distraction is linked to the attentional system, which makes sense as the attentional system is in the heart of the limbic (emotional) system. It does not indicate that it affects vision negatively.

“Everything is not a plot against women.” I agree. BUT we should maintain some empathy and consideration for those women who felt jealous. These are women of varied backgrounds. Some may have experienced events in life that have left them very untrusting of men. Trust can be an underlying factor in jealousy. The researchers did nothing to address life histories and other factors that would surely skew their results. Speaking of gender differences, I'd like to see a study on narcissism in men and its impact on their health. Hey, what's good for one is good for the other… Oh, and by the way, I too am a female who is very independent, self-supporting and very happy.

I'm glad I'm not as jealous as I used to be!!!!

Joan, what you mentioned here is a serious issue in homes. i was once there, thinking my parents never loved me. the truth be told, my siblings got more attention and financial help from my parents than i did and at a point i started wondering if i was actually their daughter. this feeling didn't fly through the window just one morning no, i had to engage my mum in a heart to heart talk and she told me straight to my face ” I and your father have always believe in you, you have the kind of strength and resilience your siblings don't have,you can always stand on your own and face all odds, you have never asked for anything except the basics and it has commanded our respect for you, as far as your father is concerned, you are always head above waters. so why don't we help those who need it'” the whole thing got me more angry, but looking back now i discovered it was true, i still support to a great extent my siblings both younger and older ones. what am i saying in essence open up a communication with her, in simple terms explain to her why things are the way they are, she may not understand now, but will come by with time. also discover her love language : what she cherishes most, is it company, gifts, attention, touch, whatever it is and speak that to her, i believe she will loosen up. hope this helps

Jealousy is not the only emotion that causes temporary 'blindness.' I have often had a “veil” cover my eyes, in that I am looking at someone and couldn't tell you what they were doing, during incidents of confrontation or even when I am 'onstage' as the center of attention. I think this vision distortion reaction could be caused by any causal emotion evoking anxiety and/or anger. Since women, in general, are more sensitive to emotions, I can see it being somewhat more prevalent reaction in females. Many men seem impervious to emotions–that's why they are considered the lesser- evolved gender…in general=).

After reading many responses to this study, it is clear that the majority of readers have focused on the title of the Post, rather than truly understanding the basic results derived from such a simple experiment. The only thing proven is that “emotional” distraction (distraction derived from passion, worry, anger, love, etc) causes ANY person (females in this particular test) to re-focus their attention to some other topic of emotional connection. I can tell you, without a doubt, that men will also loose focus if put in the same situation. This is not a gender issue, but rather an emotional distress response to a situation. In other words, let's say the distraction was not jealousy but rather your partner (man or woman, child???) was in distress, being attacked, you heard your child is lost, or any situation which causes natural reactions or impulses in the brain to re-foucus and re-direct energy to what it percieves as most important at that instant.

In the example of driving while on the phone (or eating, drinking, doing make-up, etc), the brain handles multiple tasks at once; such as calculating the distance required to stop before rear-ending the car in front of you, deciding whether you need more gas or need to step on the brake, processes green or red light, determines a safe lane change and much more. If in this example, you find out that your loved one is screaming on the other end of the phone, I belive everyone will agree that the red light might not be seen.

The brain and body is an amazing marvel. Someone touched on the flight or flee principle, which is exactly what happens everyday, in a sleu of calculations the brain processes. When doing one task, such as the simple one asked of the females to do, the brain can easily process details in the background. But when coupled with emotional (personal) distress, the brain re-directs its energy from processing detail with the eye, to processing detail with the ear. Therefore, senses are turned on and off as situations dictate. Emergency taking over full function over simple tasks.

I just think that we need to always look deeper than what is being advertised. By the way, men & women can coexist in harmonhy if we would just respect each others differences.

Thank you for reading this long response written by a male.

you should do a study about the effects on your partners. when they know you have 'FRIENDSS” on internet sites

I have to wonder if the female, listening to her husband get a variety of tests, became angry and rebellious, and thus didn't care if she missed her objects in the background. Given that the husband had to change tests, he apparently got more attention-another issue which could make her angry at the favouritism and what she could have perceived as unfairness. It would seem to me that the gender of the testers could have had some effect as well.

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