Why We ‘Do It’
Granted, social science must always be consumed with caution. Still, papers about people's sex lives are entertaining if not always illuminating. Here, we've taken the 10 most frequent reasons cited by participants of a sex study conducted by the University of Texas psych department in which people were asked to select motivations for having sex from a list of 237 choices. The choices ranged from "I realized I was in love" to "I was slumming."
Granted, social science must always be consumed with caution. Still, papers about people’s sex lives are entertaining if not always illuminating. Here, we’ve taken the 10 most frequent reasons cited by participants of a sex study conducted by the University of Texas psych department in which people were asked to select motivations for having sex from a list of 237 choices. The choices ranged from “I realized I was in love” to “I was slumming.”
We can’t provide the full study, but there are many gems. The paper, “Why Humans Have Sex,” describes both frequently endorsed reasons for having intercourse and the common themes that unify them. Our favorite was “sex just happening due to seemingly uncontrollable circumstances.” The Daily Mail also reported the study.
Your support matters…Why Humans Have Sex Cindy M. Meston and David M. Buss Received: 20 December 2005 / Revised: 18 July 2006 / Accepted: 24 September 2006 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2007
“There were nine themes that appeared to characterize the most frequently endorsed reasons for having intercourse: (1) pure attraction to the other person in general; (2) experiencing physical pleasure; (3) expression of love; (4) having sex because of feeling desired by the other; (5) having sex to escalate the depth of the relationship; (6) curiosity or seeking new experiences; (7) marking a special occasion for celebration; (8) mere opportunity; and (9) sex just happening due to seemingly uncontrollable circumstances.” (p.4)
Top 10 Reasons for Sex
Women 1. I was attracted to the person 2. I wanted to experience the physical pleasure 3. It feels good 4. I wanted to show my affection to the person 5. I wanted to express my love for the person 6. I was sexually aroused and wanted the release 7. I was ”horny” 8. It’s fun 9. I realized I was in love 10. I was ”in the heat of the moment”
Men 1. I was attracted to the person 2. It feels good 3. I wanted to experience the physical pleasure 4. It’s fun 5. I wanted to show my affection to the person 6. I was sexually aroused and wanted the release 7. I was ”horny” 8. I wanted to express my love for the person 9. I wanted to achieve an orgasm. 10. I wanted to please my partner
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