Adaptive Calibration of Dyadic Sexual Desire Is Sex Differentiated and Disrupted by Hormonal Contraceptives.

Adaptive calibration models suggest that features of people's childhood ecologies can shape their reproductive outcomes in adulthood. Given the importance of dyadic sexual desire (i.e.

An empirical investigation of the roles of biological, relational, cognitive, and emotional factors in explaining sex differences in dyadic sexual desire.

One challenge many marital couples face is that they experience discrepant levels of sexual desire for one another. Such discrepancies are particularly likely to arise in mixed-sex relationships because, at least in long-term relationships, men tend to have higher levels of sexual desire for their partner than do women. But what underlies this sex difference? We used a dyadic study of 100 mixed-sex community-based newlywed spouses to investigate the role of biological, relational, cognitive, and emotional factors in explaining sex differences in dyadic sexual desire for a long-term partner.

Perceptions of Infectability to Disease Moderate the Association between Daily Concerns about Contracting COVID-19 and Satisfaction with Sex.

The behavioral immune system is an evolved adaptation comprised of automatic behavioral, cognitive, and affective reactions that has allowed humans throughout evolutionary history to avoid situations that risk infection by pathogens (e.g., physical proximity to sick people).

The Implications of Sociosexuality for Marital Satisfaction and Dissolution.

Most people will get married, and maintaining a quality marriage is critical to well-being. Nevertheless, many intimates experience declines in marital satisfaction, and a substantial proportion of marriages dissolve. Drawing from functional perspectives of human mating, we argue that one source of marital discord and dissolution is that people vary in their motivations to pursue uncommitted sex-that is, sociosexuality.

Maximizing Tendencies in Marriage: Accentuating the Implications of Readily Observable Partner Characteristics for Intimates' Satisfaction.

People differ in their tendencies to labor over decisions and to make choices that maximize their outcomes-a difference known as maximization. Here, we used two independent, 3-year longitudinal studies of newlywed couples to demonstrate that this individual difference in decision making has important implications for romantic relationships. Consistent with the idea that maximizers are more likely to compare their current romantic partners to potential alternative partners' readily observable qualities, such as their physical attractiveness and status, results demonstrated that intimates' maximization moderated the implications of these sex-differentiated variables for marital satisfaction.

Quantifying the Sexual Afterglow: The Lingering Benefits of Sex and Their Implications for Pair-Bonded Relationships.

Sex presumably facilitates pair bonding, but how do partners remain pair-bonded between sexual acts? Evolutionary perspectives suggest that sexual afterglow serves this purpose. We explored how long sexual satisfaction would remain elevated following sex and predicted that stronger sexual afterglow would characterize more satisfying partnerships. We pooled the data from two independent, longitudinal studies of newlywed couples to examine these issues.