what do you think the biological function of jealousy is?

[TurdBerglar]

I know it's a weird question.

I rarely get jealous if ever. but there are some people that are just constantly jealous. why do we have this feeling? how does being jealous benefit a species? most other feelings have a very noticeable benefit to survival. it seems like all that jealousy does is make you shitty and angry. it's not motivating or beneficial at all.

have you ever had to deal with someone that tries to make you jealous? they seem to think if they can make someone jealous over them they've gained something. or they do it in spite/retaliation. jealousy is weird.

[kaiser soze]

In the case of relationships I think it is a little bit of biological wiring, emotional dissection, and social expectation that fuels jealousy

Is it a protective response to secure genetic proliferation?

Is it an emotional response to our misdirected self-esteem issues?

Is it a socially created abnormality that has established an idea of ownership of others once a relationship has been created.

who knows - one day we'll all be stoic cyborgs blowing shit up anyways

[Dorothy Wood]

I think maybe jealousy is an instinct meant to be directed inward for self-improvement, but gets perverted by society or indulgence. And men play into it too. so instead of improving oneself to be a more competitive mate, there's just a lot of bad feelings and yelling.

I had a crush on my boyfriend before we dated and I would get super jealous and upset about the girl he dated before me because she was a young and spritely bisexual chick with a perfect body. So when we started dating, if he mentioned her at all I got pissed off irrationally. But now 3.5 years later I don't give a fuck about other girls. I was thinking recently I probably wouldn't even be that pissed if he cheated on me. I guess because I keep trying to improve myself mentally and physically so I have more confidence and figure I would be fine alone or able to pull another dude pretty easily. Not that I'm looking.

[TurdBerglar]

I thought about the self improvement thing too. but, people that generally get jealous misdirect their insecurities to the other person that's making them jealous. denial of their insecurities?

I've had girlfriends and girls that I just know try to make me and others jealous over them. once they see that I'm not jealous they seem to interpret that as if I don't care about them and seem to prefer the other dude that shows at least some semblance of jealousy.

[Dorothy Wood]

Well some people need a direct expression of commitment. I can see why a girl or guy would try to invoke jealousy if they need extra proof that their love interest is still interested. It's petty, but maybe not even that conscious of a decision.

Sometimes I ask my boyfriend if it bothers him that I have so many male friends, because I don't want to be inadvertently disrespectful. He says no, but I know he does get a little put off when I get absorbed in conversation with certain ones. But sometimes at a party I'll be talking to four or five of my bros and forget about my boyfriend, then go find him and he's got a kitchen full of girls talking and laughing. So it's all pretty even. Also we're getting old so we're not as emotionally anxious.