Unfaithful Minds

Every year, millions of people are unfaithful in their romantic relationship— risking the integrity of their families, finances, and reputations. In surveys, approximately half of unfaithful individuals report that they were happy with their primary relationships when their affairs began. Why would so many people engage in behavior that’s so obviously self-defeating? Unfaithful Minds chronicles the discovery of key hidden brain processes, explains their functions, shows how they interact with other factors, and reveals the specific ways that they influence— and sometimes hijack— unfaithful individuals’ conscious decisions. Couple therapists and self-help books tell us that infidelity results from familiar factors— like stress, poor communication, anger, and substance use. Such factors do play a role, but they are, at most, half the story. What these explanations leave out is the human brain— along with the last few decades of psychological science, which have done nothing less than revolutionize scientists’ understanding of the origins, or sources, of a person’s behavior. Application of the new paradigm can transform our understanding of infidelity, and it makes a fascinating story. Yet remarkably, to date, no book has told it. Unfaithful Minds is the first book to address the role of hidden brain processes in infidelity; it provides an entirely new understanding of unfaithful behavior— and even explains why happy people cheat.

Glenn Hutchinson earned his PhD at Indiana University (Bloomington), where he conducted research that straddled experimental social psychology and clinical psychology. He has been in private practice in Atlanta since the late 1990s. Over the years, he has pursued other career interests, as well. In the early to mid-2000s, Hutchinson served as Vice President of Scientific Development for WeAttract, Inc., where he led research and development of personality tests that were used by Match.com and Yahoo! Personals. The tests were taken by more than ten million users. While at WeAttract, Hutchinson also co-authored a white paper on the false promises made by many online dating sites. The work that Hutchinson and a colleague did at WeAttract was featured in a major article in U.S. News and World Report. Subsequent to his work at weAttract, Hutchinson founded Psyc.TV, an online educational platform with streaming video. The goal of Psyc.TV was to improve the quality of continuing education that is available to mental health professionals. Training modules featured top clinical researchers across the United States. Due to time constraints, Hutchinson eventually discontinued Psyc.TV, but, periodically, he features clips from the videos on his private practice website: glennhutchinson.net. He lives in Atlanta, GA.