So , the only way it would work though is if the getting back to your original question uh is if there's a , a large discrepancy between the woman's regular partner , uh and her affair partner in terms of the quality of his genes . And so , with these um these good genes , dual mating strategy theorists propose is that there are certain markers of good genetic quality , they hypothesized masculine features . Um And there's a logic behind that uh they hypothesize symmetrical features .
Um And so , and so the issue is what benefit could be so great to a woman that she's willing to risk all the , all these costs if it's discovered . And so the good genes , dual mating strategy argument could work in principle . Um And it could work if there were no costs .
So how would they find that out ? How would they find out if a woman's mate strategies changed ? And if her preference has changed based on ovulation , so they basically get women and then they track them throughout the cycle .
Um 79% 1 study found 79% of women fell in love with or became emotionally involved with her affair partner . And to me , this is exactly the opposite of what you'd want if you're trying to pursue that dual mating strategy idea . You want you , you want to get the good genes and then forget about the guy .
And uh this is one area where I've changed my mind on uh pretty dramatically . So , uh early on a former student of mine , Marty Hazelton , who's now a professor at UCL A and other friends and colleagues like Steve Gang Aste and Randy Thornton put forward this idea that the reason that women do it is that they're pursuing a dual mating strategy that is they're trying to get investment from one guy like the good dads . Uh but good genes from another guy .
