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Touraille P, Ågmo A. Sex Differences in Sexual Motivation in Humans and Other Mammals: The Role of Conscious and Unconscious Processes. Behav Sci (Basel) 2024; 14:277. [PMID: 38667073 PMCID: PMC11047354 DOI: 10.3390/bs14040277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2024] [Revised: 03/20/2024] [Accepted: 03/24/2024] [Indexed: 04/29/2024] Open
Abstract
In self-report questionnaires, men report higher scores than women on variables such as desire for sex, frequency of sexual thoughts, number of sex partners, etc. Based on this, men are considered to have a higher level of sexual motivation than women. However, retrospective self-reports may be unsuitable for estimations of the inherent level of sexual motivation. We review data on automatic (unconsciously controlled) responses and measures of implicit motivation during exposure to sexual stimuli. These responses and measures are inaccessible to willful manipulations and make it possible to determine whether the sex difference in answers to questionnaires is replicated when volitional response manipulations are unlikely. We complement the human data with observations from some rodent and non-human primate species. The attentional resources allotted to stimuli with sexual relevance as well as genital responses to such stimuli are similar in men and women. Measures of implicit motivation also fail to detect any sex difference. Finally, the frequency of masturbation is superior in female infants before the age at which social expectations begin to determine behavior. Neither in rodents nor in non-human primates is there any clear-cut evidence for sex differences in motivation. It seems that males and females are similar with regard to the intensity of sexual motivation. The responses to questionnaires may be affected by social learning of sexual scripts and/or the inferior quality of sexual experiences in women, among other things.
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Affiliation(s)
- Priscille Touraille
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (UMR 7206), Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, 75116 Paris, France;
| | - Anders Ågmo
- Department of Psychology, University of Tromsø, 9037 Tromsø, Norway
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Freyth L, Batinic B, Jonason PK. Social media use and personality: Beyond self-reports and trait-level assessments. Personality and Individual Differences 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2022.111960] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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DelPriore DJ. Examining Associations Between Participant Gender, Desired Partner Gender, and Views Toward Sexually Coercive Behaviors. Evolutionary Psychological Science 2022; 8:391-402. [PMID: 36119563 PMCID: PMC9469069 DOI: 10.1007/s40806-022-00337-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2022] [Revised: 08/26/2022] [Accepted: 08/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Sexual coercion—pursuit of sexual activity with a partner who has not provided full consent (Huppin & Malamuth, Sexual Coercion, Hoboken, New Jersey, 2015) is a pervasive problem that carries psychological and financial costs. Although much past research has focused on sexually coercive acts performed by men and directed at women, the current work evaluates the independent and interactive roles of participant gender, desired partner gender, and sexual orientation in predicting individuals’ views toward sexual coercion, a psychological outcome linked with coercive sexual behavior (e.g., Zinzow & Thompson in Archives of Sexual Behavior, 44:213–222, 2015). To this end, 1021 cisgender men and women (Mage = 26.46 years) who self-identified as heterosexual, gay/lesbian, or bisexual rated the acceptability of sexually coercive behaviors performed by individuals of their gender. Consistent with past behavioral research, men rated these acts to be more acceptable when performed by same-gender others than did women. Extending past research, this gender difference was observed across variation in desired partner genders and sexual orientations. Further, an attraction to women predicted higher acceptability ratings among men but not among women. Finally, identification as heterosexual (as compared to gay/lesbian or bisexual) predicted more favorable views toward these behaviors across participant gender. Taken together, these findings suggest that men who are attracted to women (specifically) may be most likely to view coercive behaviors as acceptable, and thus may be most likely to utilize them, when pursuing sexual activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danielle J. DelPriore
- Division of Education, Human Development, and Social Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, 3000 Ivyside Park, Altoona, PA 16601 USA
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Luberti FR, Blake KR, Brooks RC. Changes in Positive Affect Due to Popularity in an Experimental Dating Context Influence Some of Men’s, but Not Women’s, Socio-Political Attitudes. Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology. [DOI: 10.1007/s40750-022-00188-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Abstract
Gender differences in sexuality have gained considerable attention both within and outside of the scientific community. We argue that one of the main unacknowledged reasons for these differences is simply that women experience substantially worse sex than men do. Thus, in examinations of the etiology of gender differences in sexuality, a confound has largely been unacknowledged: Women and men are treated to different experiences of what is called "sexuality" and "having sex." We discuss four arenas in which women's experience of sexuality may often be worse than men's: (a) anatomical differences, (b) sexual violence, (c) stigma, and (d) masculine cultures of sexuality. Then we consider how each disparity might explain well-known gender differences in sexuality.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Verena Klein
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan
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6
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Abstract
Research has long noted that there are differences between men's and women's responses to casual sexual requests. In this study, we sought to replicate and extend the Clark and Hatfield paradigm while exploring the influence of requestor attractiveness, sexual orientation, and two individual difference measures: sociosexuality (which is how open to sexuality a person is) and personal mate value (which is how high quality of a mate the person is). We found that attractiveness matters in the likelihood of a request being accepted (the more attractive the requester, the higher the proportion of agreement); sexual orientation matters for the overall proportion of responses agreed to (heterosexuals were most impacted by the attractiveness of the target), and that sociosexuality moderates the likelihood of agreeing to the requests (such that participants with higher sociosexuality scores were more likely to agree to requests).
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Laan ETM, Klein V, Werner MA, van Lunsen RHW, Janssen E. In Pursuit of Pleasure: A Biopsychosocial Perspective on Sexual Pleasure and Gender. Int J Sex Health 2021; 33:516-536. [PMID: 38595780 PMCID: PMC10903695 DOI: 10.1080/19317611.2021.1965689] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2021] [Revised: 07/23/2021] [Accepted: 07/31/2021] [Indexed: 04/11/2024]
Abstract
Objective: Various sources of evidence suggest that men and women differ in their experience of sexual pleasure. Such gender differences have been attributed to men's higher innate sex drive, supported by evolutionary psychology perspectives and gender differences in reproductive strategies. Method: This paper presents biopsychosocial evidence for gender similarities in the capacity to experience pleasure, and for substantial gender differences in opportunities for sexual pleasure. Results: We conclude that sexual activity, in most cultures, is less pleasurable and associated with greater cost for heterosexual women than for heterosexual men, even though they do not differ in the capacity for sexual pleasure. Conclusion: Since gender differences in experienced sexual pleasure are not a biological given, a more critical discourse of sexual pleasure might create awareness of current inequalities, help lift restrictions for women's opportunities for pleasure, and could reduce gender differences in the cost of sex. That would truly serve sexual justice around the globe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ellen T. M. Laan
- Department of Sexology and Psychosomatic Gynaecology, Amsterdam University Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Verena Klein
- Institute for Sex Research and Forensic Psychiatry, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Marlene A. Werner
- Department of Sexology and Psychosomatic Gynaecology, Amsterdam University Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Rik H. W. van Lunsen
- Department of Sexology and Psychosomatic Gynaecology, Amsterdam University Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Erick Janssen
- Department of Neurosciences, Institute for Family and Sexuality Studies, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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9
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Abstract
Interethnic romantic relationships are widely seen as a strong indicator of a well-integrated society. However, racial bias may still be evident in the tendency to engage in casual sex versus committed relationships. Using a large, age-diverse sample of 3,453 White British participants, this study found a general preference for White partners over racial minority partners. Furthermore, in line with social structural theory, participants reported a relative preference for marriage (versus casual sex) with White partners, but a relative preference for casual sex (versus marriage) with racial minorities. This pattern was further modified by sex: Men reported a general preference for casual sex (versus marriage) with all racial groups except White partners. Women, however, reported a general preference for marriage (versus casual sex) with all groups, but this preference was strongest for White partners. The pattern was not further modified by sexual orientation. Implications for contemporary interethnic romantic relationships are discussed.
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Strahler J, Baranowski AM, Walter B, Huebner N, Stark R. Attentional bias toward and distractibility by sexual cues: A meta-analytic integration. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2019; 105:276-287. [PMID: 31415866 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.07.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2018] [Revised: 06/06/2019] [Accepted: 07/20/2019] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
From an evolutionary perspective, sexual stimuli are highly salient and are assumed to be processed with high priority. Hence, attentional processing of sexual cues is expected to not only bias attention but to also distract from other cognitive (foreground) tasks. It is, however, unclear to what extent these stimuli capture attention and whether there are differences between men and women. This meta-analysis combined the results of 32 studies employing experiments of attentional bias toward and distraction by sexual stimuli. From these, 13 studies provided data to examine gender differences. Overall, attentional bias and distractibility was lower than anticipated (gz = 0.43, p < .001) and there was support for the assumption of higher attention bias/interference in men (gs = 0.29, p = .031). Importantly, there was evidence for the presence of publication bias. With this in mind, findings are discussed in the context of stimulus features, the impact of provoked sexual arousal and motivational state, and gender-specific and -nonspecific neural processing of sexual stimuli which influence attention toward them.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Strahler
- Psychotherapy and Systems Neuroscience, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany.
| | - A M Baranowski
- Psychotherapy and Systems Neuroscience, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany
| | - B Walter
- Psychotherapy and Systems Neuroscience, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany
| | - N Huebner
- Psychotherapy and Systems Neuroscience, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany
| | - R Stark
- Psychotherapy and Systems Neuroscience, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany
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Luoto S, Krams I, Rantala MJ. A Life History Approach to the Female Sexual Orientation Spectrum: Evolution, Development, Causal Mechanisms, and Health. Arch Sex Behav 2019; 48:1273-1308. [PMID: 30229521 DOI: 10.1007/s10508-018-1261-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2017] [Revised: 05/29/2018] [Accepted: 06/14/2018] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Women's capacity for sexual fluidity is at least as interesting a phenomenon from the point of view of evolutionary biology and behavioral endocrinology as exclusively homosexual orientation. Evolutionary hypotheses for female nonheterosexuality have failed to fully account for the existence of these different categories of nonheterosexual women, while also overlooking broader data on the causal mechanisms, physiology, ontogeny, and phylogeny of female nonheterosexuality. We review the evolutionary-developmental origins of various phenotypes in the female sexual orientation spectrum using the synergistic approach of Tinbergen's four questions. We also present femme-specific and butch-specific hypotheses at proximate and ultimate levels of analysis. This review article indicates that various nonheterosexual female phenotypes emerge from and contribute to hormonally mediated fast life history strategies. Life history theory provides a biobehavioral explanatory framework for nonheterosexual women's masculinized body morphology, psychological dispositions, and their elevated likelihood of experiencing violence, substance use, obesity, teenage pregnancy, and lower general health. This pattern of life outcomes can create a feedback loop of environmental unpredictability and harshness which destabilizes intrauterine hormonal conditions in mothers, leading to a greater likelihood of fast life history strategies, global health problems, and nonheterosexual preferences in female offspring. We further explore the potential of female nonheterosexuality to function as an alloparental buffer that enables masculinizing alleles to execute their characteristic fast life history strategies as they appear in the female and the male phenotype. Synthesizing life history theory with the female sexual orientation spectrum enriches existing scientific knowledge on the evolutionary-developmental mechanisms of human sex differences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Severi Luoto
- English, Drama and Writing Studies, University of Auckland, Arts 1, Building 206, Room 616, 14A Symonds St., Auckland, 1010, New Zealand.
- School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
| | - Indrikis Krams
- Department of Zoology and Animal Ecology, University of Latvia, Riga, Latvia
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Markus J Rantala
- Department of Biology & Turku Brain and Mind Center, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
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Sjoberg EA, Cole GG. Sex Differences on the Go/No-Go Test of Inhibition. Arch Sex Behav 2018; 47:537-542. [PMID: 28608292 DOI: 10.1007/s10508-017-1010-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2015] [Revised: 05/11/2017] [Accepted: 05/25/2017] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Parental investment theory suggests that women, due to greater investment in child rearing, can be more choosy than men when considering a potential mate. A corollary to this is that women should possess greater inhibition abilities compared to men in contexts related to sex and reproduction. This notion has found support from the inhibition literature demonstrating that while women do indeed show greater inhibition on tasks that include a social aspect, no such effect is found on cognitive tasks that do not possess a social component. In the present experiment, participants (N = 66) performed a variant of a classic Go/No-Go task consisting of infrequent No-Go trials in which a response needed to be withheld. Importantly, the stimuli were geometric shapes possessing no social component. Results showed that women outperformed men on the No-Go trials, indicating greater inhibition. No significant difference was found in reaction time on Go trials. Thus, the results cannot be explained in terms of a speed/accuracy trade-off. We discuss the findings in the context of the female-evolved inhibition hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Espen A Sjoberg
- Department of Behavioral Sciences, Oslo and Akershus University College, St.Olavs Plass, P.O. Box 4, 0130, Oslo, Norway.
- Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, CO4 3SQ, UK.
| | - Geoff G Cole
- Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, CO4 3SQ, UK
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Abstract
The authors of sexual economics theory (Baumeister & Twenge, 2002; Baumeister & Vohs, 2004) argue that sex is a female commodity that women exchange for men’s resources; therefore, women (not men) are responsible for the cultural suppression of sexuality, ostensibly to preserve the value of sex. In this article, I describe the central tenets of sexual economics theory and summarize a growing body of research contradicting them. I also explain the negative implications of the claims of sexual economics theory for gender equality and heterosexual relationships. Researchers, clinicians, and educators engaged in understanding human sexuality may use the arguments provided in this article to counteract gender myths. This article also serves as a case study of how feminist scholars can employ empirical evidence to weaken a popularized, patriarchal theory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurie A. Rudman
- Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA
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Rudman LA, Glick P, Marquardt T, Fetterolf JC. When Women are Urged to have Casual Sex More than Men are: Perceived Risk Moderates the Sexual Advice Double Standard. Sex Roles 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s11199-016-0723-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Abstract
Proponents of sexual economics theory argue that women exchange sex for men’s resources. This idea is likely to promote a competitive view of gender relationships that undermines gender equality by characterizing women as manipulative and financially dependent on men. Heterosexual college students ( N = 474) who were randomly exposed to a popular YouTube video describing sexual economics theory increased their (1) behavioral support for sexual exchange concepts, (2) endorsement of the theory, and (3) adversarial views of heterosexual relationships, compared with a control group of students. Sexual exchange theory endorsement and adversarial heterosexual beliefs positively covaried, and both attitudes were related to participants’ sexism. Reading a critique of sexual exchange theory, that emphasized mutual respect and affection as precursors to heterosexual intimacy, counteracted the consequences of exposure to the theory. The findings provide evidence that disseminating sexual exchange theory via video on the Internet negatively affects young adults’ views of gender relationships. Educators, and others who wish to explore sexual economics theory through the use of this video, should also include a discussion of the countervailing evidence available. Online slides for instructors who want to use this article for teaching are available on PWQ's website at http://journals.sagepub.com/page/pwq/suppl/index .
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Affiliation(s)
- Janell C. Fetterolf
- Department of Psychology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
| | - Laurie A. Rudman
- Department of Psychology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
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