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Sexual Desire Mediates the Relationship-Promoting Effects of Perceived Partner Mate Value
Gurit E Birnbaum1, Yaniv Kanat-Maymon2, Erica B Slotter3
1Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, P.O. Box 167, 46150, Herzliya, Israel. birnbag@gmail.com.
Archives of Sexual Behavior
|November 2, 2021
Summary
Sexual desire for a partner signals their value, motivating relationship-promoting actions. This research confirms desire encourages investment in partners worth retaining.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Relationship Science
Background:
- Sexual desire is hypothesized to indicate a partner's mate value, prompting relationship investment.
- Empirical evidence supporting this theory, particularly the link between desire and investment behaviors, is limited.
- Understanding the motivational role of sexual desire in relationship maintenance is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To empirically investigate whether sexual desire motivates relationship-promoting behaviors.
- To examine if perceptions of partner mate value drive this desire-investment pathway.
- To test the hypothesis that sexual desire acts as a mechanism for partner investment.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a multi-study approach including a pilot study, experimental designs, daily experience sampling, and longitudinal data collection.
- Participants recalled sexual and non-sexual shared experiences, rated desire, and reported on relationship-promoting activities.
- Partner mate value was manipulated and perceived, and relationship behaviors were assessed through self-report and independent judges.
Main Results:
- Experiencing sexual desire was found to enhance relationship-promoting tendencies.
- Manipulated and perceived partner mate value predicted sexual desire.
- Sexual desire, in turn, was significantly associated with increased engagement in relationship-promoting behaviors.
Conclusions:
- Sexual desire functions as a key mechanism that encourages individuals to invest in partners.
- This process is initiated by perceptions of partner mate value, highlighting its adaptive role in relationship retention.
- Findings support the theory that desire motivates behaviors aimed at pursuing and maintaining valued partners.
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