%0 Journal Article
%T It¡¯s Not Just Lunch: Extra-Pair Commensality Can Trigger Sexual Jealousy
%A Kevin M. Kniffin
%A Brian Wansink
%J PLOS ONE
%D 2012
%I Public Library of Science (PLoS)
%R 10.1371/journal.pone.0040445
%X Do people believe that sharing food might involve sharing more than just food? To investigate this, participants were asked to rate how jealous they (Study 1) ¨C or their best friend (Study 2) ¨C would be if their current romantic partner were contacted by an ex-romantic partner and subsequently engaged in an array of food- and drink-based activities. We consistently find ¨C across both men and women ¨C that meals elicit more jealousy than face-to-face interactions that do not involve eating, such as having coffee. These findings suggest that people generally presume that sharing a meal enhances cooperation. In the context of romantic pairs, we find that participants are attuned to relationship risks that extra-pair commensality can present. For romantic partners left out of a meal, we find a common view that lunch, for example, is not ¡°just lunch.¡±
%U http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0040445