SEX
The Art of Nothingness
November 7, 2022
Why do we cause harm?
November 12, 2022Why humans have sex
Historically, the reasons people have sex have been assumed to be few in number and simple in nature-to reproduce, to experience pleasure, or to relieve sexual tension.
Several theoretical perspectives suggest that motives for engaging in sexual intercourse may be larger in number and psychologically complex in nature.
Study 1 used a nomination procedure that identified 237 expressed reasons for having sex, ranging from the mundane (e.g., “I wanted to experience physical pleasure”) to the spiritual (e.g., “I wanted to get closer to God”), from altruistic (e.g.,
“I wanted the person to feel good about himself/herself”) to vengeful (e.g., “I wanted to get back at my partner for having cheated on me”). Study 2 asked participants (N = 1,549) to evaluate the degree to which each of the 237 reasons had led them to have sexual intercourse
Adults to engage in sex with their different partners
This study compared motivations of individuals in non-monogamous relationships to engage in sex with their different partners (n = 596, out of which 103 non-consensual non-monogamous, 135 polyamorous, 204 swinging, 154 in open relationships; women-38.8%, men-59.7%, other gender-1.5%; age range: from 18 to 65+ years; 86% of respondents between 25 and 54 years old; majority of the respondents are in a long-term relationship).
The research aim was to identify whether there are differences in reasons to engage in sex with respondents’ primary versus secondary partners. Presented with 17 reasons to engage in sexual activity, the respondents rated the frequency with which they engage in sex for each reason with their different partners
Sexual pleasure and motivation
Individuals engage in behaviors or partake of specific substances because it pleases them. Indeed, without the sensations of pleasure and displeasure we would be unlikely to repeat or restrict behaviors.
Since repetitive sexual activity over the millennia has ensured the continuance of the human race, it is perhaps surprising that pleasure has received little attention in the research literature on sexual function and behavior.
By exploring sexual pleasure and motivation theories and studies relevant to the evaluation of sexual function and dysfunction, a goal response model is presented.
This model proposes a route from sexual stimuli, via cognitive and emotional processing to behavior and subsequent feedback, which illustrates how eudemonic goals could influence treatment outcomes.
On average, the associations between age and both men and women’s sexual desire followed nonlinear trends and differed between genders/sexes and types of sexual desire.
Average levels of all types of sexual desire were generally higher in men. Dyadic sexual desire related positively to self-rated masculinity and having a romantic partner and solitary desire was higher in people with same-sex attraction.
We discuss the results in the context of the evolutionary hypothesis that predict an increase of sexual desire and female reproductive effort prior to declining fertility.
Our findings both support and challenge beliefs about gender/sex specificity of age effects on sexual desire and highlight the importance of differentiating between desire types.
G.I.T.C
Factor analyses yielded four large factors and 13 subfactors, producing a hierarchical taxonomy. The Physical reasons subfactors included Stress Reduction, Pleasure,
Physical Desirability, and Experience Seeking. The Goal Attainment subfactors included Resources, Social Status, Revenge, and Utilitarian.
The Emotional subfactors included Love and Commitment and Expression. The three Insecurity subfactors included Self-Esteem Boost, Duty/Pressure, and Mate Guarding.
Significant gender differences supported several previously advanced theories. Individual differences in expressed reasons for having sex were coherently linked with personality traits and with individual differences in sexual strategies.
Discussion focused on the complexity of sexual motivation and directions for future research.
Questions for 14 reasons to engage in sex were created based on the YSEX? questionnaire and three questions were created specifically for non-monogamous population.
The three new questions addressed the desire for a specific type of sex (such as kink, fetish, etc.), desire to have sex with a partner of another gender than one’s primary partner, and desire to experience the thrill of the forbidden.
The results indicated that there are significant differences in motivation to engage in sex with one’s primary versus secondary partner for most of the reasons.
Additionally, this study investigated whether there are differences in motivation to engage in sex with different partners depending on the relationship arrangement.
The data analysis shows that there are differences in reasons to engage in sex with one’s different partners between non-consensually and consensually non-monogamous groups.
This research compliments existing body of research with new reasons to engage in sex, it demonstrates that non-monogamous people engage in sex with their different partners for different reasons and reveals that these may vary depending on the type of the relationship arrangement.
Age Effects on Women’s and Men’s Dyadic and Solitary Sexual Desire
While most studies on sexuality in later life report that sexual desire declines with age, little is known about the exact nature of age effects on sexual desire.
Using self-reported dyadic sexual desire relating to a partner, dyadic sexual desire relating to an attractive person, and solitary sexual desire from a large (N > 8000) and age diverse (14.6-80.2 years) online sample, the current study had three goals:
First, we investigated relationships between men and women’s sexual desire and age.
Second, we examined whether individual differences such as gender/sex, sexual orientation, self-rated masculinity, relationship status, self-rated attractiveness, and self-rated health predict sexual desire.
Third, we examined how these associations differed across sexual desire facets
