For Most Women, The Relationship Still Matters Most Print E-mail
Living - Relationships
Written by TS-Si News Service   
Thursday, 26 June 2008 17:00
No loose lips.
Durham, UK. Some ardent proponents of the sexual and feminist revolutions claimed women would be free to enjoy casual sex just as men always had. Yet, women report negative feelings after one-night stands, suggesting they are not well adapted to fleeting sexual encounters.  Findings from a new study appear in Human Nature.
 
Emotion has a mediating role, providing flexibility (mediation) when when people interact and guide future interactions. Given the known differences between the sexes when it comes to competition and aggression, what is the role of emotional mediation when managing those differences?
 
The morning after the night before: Affective reactions to one-night stands among mated and unmated women and men. Anne Campbell. Human Nature 19(2) 157-173. doi: 10.1007 / s12110-008-9036-2. DOI 10.1007/s12110-008-9036-2. ISSN 1045-6767 (Print); 1936-4776 (Online)
 
Researchers have made several general assumptions about casual sex. For instance, men are more likely to reproduce and therefore to benefit from numerous short-term partners. For women, however, quality seems to be more important than quantity. Also, finding partners of high genetic quality is a stronger motivator for women than sheer number. Is it true that women are inclined to casual sex if there is a chance of forming a long-term relationship?
 
Professor Anne Campbell from Durham University (UK).Professor Anne Campbell is a professor of psychology at Durham University (UK). Her research examines such questions from an evolutionary standpoint.
 
Campbell looked at whether women have adapted to casual sex by examining their feelings following a one-night stand. If women have adapted, then although they may take part in casual sex less often than men because of their stricter criteria when selecting partners, they should rate the experience in a more positive manner.
 
To test the theory, a total of 1743 men and women who had experienced a one-night stand were asked to rate both their positive and negative feelings the following morning, in an internet survey. 
 
Reports by males were generally positive.
  • Eighty per cent of men had overall positive feelings about the experience.
     
  • Twenty-three per cent of men indicated some regret the morning after a one-night stand. According to the survey, the greatest regret for men centered on having chosen ehat for them was an unattractive or undesirable partner.
     
  • Men were more likely than women to secretly want their friends to hear about it and to feel successful because the partner was desirable to others.
     
  • Men reported greater sexual satisfaction and contentment following the event, as well as a greater sense of well-being and confidence about themselves.  
Overall, women’s feelings about one-night stands were more negative than those of me, with almost half of the women reporting negative feelings .
  • Fifty-four per cent of women men had overall positive feelings about the experience.
     
  • The predominant negative feeling reported by women was regret at having been "used". One female respondent said: I generally felt dirty and unhappy.
     
  • Women were also more likely to feel that they had let themselves down and worried about the potential damage to their reputation if other people found out.
     
  • Most women found the experience less sexually satisfying than they had first thought. One female respondent said: The expectation was better than the reality, the sex was rubbish.
     
  • Fifty-eight per cent of women said they would not repeat the experience.
     
  • Some of the their reasons for the encounters in the first place included the possibility of a longer term relationship. But contrary to popular belief, they did not experience taking part in casual sex as a prelude to such a relationship.
Professor Campbell says this is evolution at work. "In evolutionary terms women bear the brunt of parental care and it has been generally thought that it was to their advantage to choose their mate carefully and remain faithful to make sure that their mate had no reason to believe he was raising another man's child.
 
"Recently, biologists have suggested that females could benefit from mating with many men - it would increase the genetic diversity of their children, and, if a high quality man would not stay with them forever, they might at least get his excellent genes for their child." However, she said that if women were designed by evolution for short-term relationships, they would enjoy them more, and the survey suggested this was not the case. "Basic emotions guide us down pathways that have been advantageous for our ancestors," she says.
 
"What the woman seemed to object to was not the briefness of the encounter but the fact that the man did not seem to appreciate her," said Campbell. "The woman thought this lack of gratitude implied that she did this with anybody."
 
Campbell says that although women do not rate casual sex positively, the reason they still take part in it may be due to the menstrual cycle changes influencing their sexual motivation. Indeed, during the ovulatory phase (between days 10 to 18 of their cycle), women report increased sexual desire and arousal, with a preference for short-term partners.
 


The morning after the night before: Affective reactions to one-night stands among mated and unmated women and men. Anne Campbell. Human Nature 19(2) 157-173. doi: 10.1007 / s12110-008-9036-2. DOI 10.1007/s12110-008-9036-2. ISSN 1045-6767 (Print); 1936-4776 (Online)

Abstract

Benefits to females of short-term mating have recently been identified, and it has been suggested that women have evolved adaptations for this strategy. One piece of evidence supporting such a female adaptation would be that women find the experience of a one-night stand as affectively positive as men. Individuals (N = 1,743) who had experienced a one-night stand were asked to rate aspects of their “morning after” feelings (six positive and six negative). Women were significantly more negative and less positive than men. Although women did not especially view these relationships as a prelude to long-term relationships, they felt greater regret than men about having been “used.” Extra-pair copulations were rated more negatively, but not less positively, than singles’ experiences. There was no interaction between gender and mated status on positivity or negativity. Although, in terms of subsequent affective response, women do not seem well adapted to casual sexual encounters, it may be important to distinguish impelling sexual motivation preceding intercourse from later evaluations of the event. Menstrual cycle changes may also be important in altering the strength and target of sexual motivation.

 
{sidebar id=39 align=left}
 
Comments (0)Add Comment
feedSubscribe to this comment's feed
min/maxShow/Hide comments

Write comment
feedShow/Hide comment form

security code
Write the displayed characters


busy
< Prev   Next >
Last Updated on Thursday, 26 June 2008 18:00