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Why humans have sex.

Cindy M Meston1, David M Buss

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, 108 E. Dean Keeton, Austin, TX 78712, USA. meston@psy.utexas.edu

Archives of Sexual Behavior
|July 5, 2007
PubMed
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People have sex for many complex psychological reasons beyond reproduction or pleasure. A study identified 237 motivations, categorizing them into physical, goal attainment, emotional, and insecurity factors.

Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Human Sexuality
  • Social Science

Background:

  • Traditional views of sexual motivation are limited, often assuming simple reasons like reproduction, pleasure, or tension relief.
  • Theoretical perspectives suggest sexual motives are more numerous and psychologically intricate.
  • Previous research has not fully captured the breadth and complexity of reasons for sexual intercourse.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify and categorize the diverse psychological motives underlying sexual intercourse.
  • To develop a hierarchical taxonomy of sexual motivations.
  • To examine gender differences and links between sexual motives, personality, and sexual strategies.

Main Methods:

  • Study 1: A nomination procedure generated 237 distinct reasons for engaging in sexual intercourse.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Study 2: A large sample (N = 1,549) rated the influence of these 237 reasons on their sexual behavior.
  • Factor analyses were employed to establish a hierarchical structure of sexual motivations.

    • Main Results:

    • A hierarchical taxonomy of sexual motivations was developed, comprising four main factors and 13 subfactors.
    • Key factors identified include Physical (e.g., Pleasure, Stress Reduction), Goal Attainment (e.g., Resources, Revenge), Emotional (e.g., Love, Commitment), and Insecurity (e.g., Self-Esteem Boost, Duty/Pressure).
    • Significant gender differences were observed, and individual differences in sexual motives correlated with personality traits and sexual strategies.

    Conclusions:

    • Sexual motivation is significantly more complex and multifaceted than previously assumed.
    • The identified taxonomy provides a framework for understanding the diverse psychological underpinnings of sexual behavior.
    • Future research should continue exploring the nuances of sexual motivation and its interplay with individual differences.