Final answer:
The behavior of Americans engaging in adultery despite professed disapproval illustrates a conflict between societal values and personal conduct, reflecting complexities in American attitudes towards sexuality and extramarital affairs.
Step-by-step explanation:
The discrepancy between the professed attitudes towards adultery and the actual behavior that statistics show illustrates a conflict between societal values and personal conduct. Despite Americans stating a disapproval of adultery, extramarital affairs are not uncommon in practice. This dissonance reveals a complex relationship between society's publicized beliefs and the private actions of individuals. It can also reflect the impact of changing societal norms on personal behavior, as seen historically in the progressive increase of divorce rates following the liberalization of divorce laws and changes in societal structure such as women joining the workforce. The Kinsey Report also highlighted this kind of discrepancy in earlier decades, showing higher rates of infidelity than socially acknowledged.