9 facts about cheating that couples — and singles — should know

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It's a lot of couples' worst nightmare: Someone succumbs to temptation and strays.

Maybe it's an emotional affair — they fall in love with a coworker — or maybe it's a sexual affair — a one-night stand after a few drinks.

Psychologists have spent years studying the science of infidelity, including what makes someone inclined to cheat, how your partner is likely to react after you cheat, and how to bounce back from cheating.

Below, we've rounded up some recent findings and how they might help you maintain a strong relationship.

Men and women react differently to flirting outside their relationship

A 2008 study found that, after flirting with an attractive person of the opposite sex, men were less tolerant of their partner's transgressions — while women were more so.

It's possible that men don't feel threatened by temptation and women do, or that men do feel threatened but their response isn't to protect the relationship.

The 2008 study also found that men could be taught to use "if-then" strategies to protect their relationship from tempting alternatives.

In other words: "When an attractive woman approaches me, I will do [whatever] to protect my relationship." In fact, after developing their if-then strategy, men were just as likely as women to protect their partnership, as measured through a virtual-reality game.

If you're economically dependent on your spouse, you're more likely to cheat on them

Recent research suggests that a person who is economically dependent on their spouse is more likely to be unfaithful — and that's especially true for a man who relies financially on a woman.

Interestingly, when women are the breadwinners, they're less likely to cheat. When men are the breadwinners — specifically, when they earn more than 70% of the total household income — they're more likely to cheat.

We think everyone is cheating — except our partner

Relationships are bound to disintegrate — but not yours, of course!

In a recent study, university students reported that the average person of the opposite sex has about a 42% chance of cheating on their partner.

But when it came to their own partners, participants estimated that there was about a 5% chance that their partner had already cheated on them and about an 8% chance that they would cheat on them in the future.

As it turns out, 9% of participants said they'd really strayed.