Please cite this paper as follows Women evaluate their partners’ betrayal: Emotional reactions, forgiveness, perceived threats of infidelity Norbert Meskó 1* András Láng 2 1 Institute of Education 2 Institute of Psychology University of Pécs, Hungary, EU * E-mail: meskonorbert@meskonorbert.hu ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The first author is supported by a grant of the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund (OTKA) – PD83794 ABSTRACT In a recent poll women morally convicted husbands’ relations with prostitutes. From an evolutionary point of view women’s reproductive success has been influenced more by their partner’s emotional infidelity than by his sexual infidelity. Women have been less sensitive to sexual than to emotional infidelity, because latter could have resulted in losing their partner’s resources. In our study women reported an unanimous opinion. As compared to a former girlfriend, women reported less intensive negative emotional reactions, and more forgiveness, if their partner betrayed them with a prostitute. Women evaluated betrayal with a prostitute as less threatening for their ongoing relationship. We conclude that it is still the evolutionary interest of women to form a more negative attitude toward betrayal with a former girlfriend than toward betrayal with prostitutes. KEYWORDS: infidelity, emotional reaction, perceived threat, abandonment, forgiveness, attitude. Meskó, N. & Láng, A. (2013). Women evaluate their partners’ betrayal: Emotional reactions, forgiveness, perceived threats of infidelity. In E. Farkas (ed) Acta Szekszardiensium/Scientific Publications, Tom XV. (pp. 47-59.) Szekszárd: Illyés Gyula Faculty, University of Pécs.