Type of jealousy differentially predicts cost‐inflicting and benefit‐provisioning mate retention

Jealousy is argued to be an adaptive emotion that coordinates the use of mate retention acts, denoting behavior intended to guard a relationship from rivals, to prevent infidelity, and to hinder defection from the mateship. Nevertheless, few researchers have examined these relations. We sampled 144 women and men in romantic relationships and found that anxious (unease over potential infidelity) and preventive (preventing one's partner from consorting with others) but not reactive (anger over a partner being unfaithful) jealousy positively predicted cost‐inflicting mate retention. Only anxious jealousy positively predicted benefit‐provisioning acts. Sex moderated the relations between reactive jealousy with cost‐inflicting and benefit‐provisioning behavior, such that reactively jealous women used more of both kinds of mate retention.