Reasons Why Your Husband Thinks You’re Flirting With Other Men

Listen to this article

Women have a long list of things they wish their husband would stop doing. This may include tossing his socks on the floor or leaving crumbs on the counter but the most annoying by far is mistaking your friendliness for flirting. Men often think their wives are flirting with other men when they are just being personable and displaying good manners. Although annoying and frustrating at times, there is a scientific reasoning behind it.

Here’s why your husband thinks you are flirting with other men.

Sexual Misperception

Men often think women are flirting when they are simply being polite because of a phenomenon called sexual misperception. This phenomenon is not only responsible for your husband thinking you are flirting with other men but is the reason why other men may have mistaken your friendly attitude as a sign of interest too. The sexual misperception is basically misperceiving friendliness for sexual interest. Scientists believe this is a direct result of error management theory. They believe men have evolved to over-perceive a woman’s friendliness during communication in order to avoid missing out on an opportunity to reproduce and pass on their genes.
The Effect of Evolution

Of course, in today’s society, men are not laser focused on reproduction but the over perception still remains! Culture is also partially to blame but according to research, it doesn’t play as large of a role as you may think. In 2003, Norwegian psychologists decided to explore this phenomenon among men and women in Norway, a country known for its gender equality. The data was then compared to studies done in the United States and the results were very similar which points to evolution as the main cause.
The Bottom Line

According to scientists, men seem to be hard-wired to mistake manners and non-sexual communication for flirting. The best way to handle this side effect of evolution is to establish trust in your relationship. When there is trust in a marriage, your husband will know your true intentions.