Abstract
Sexual desire tends to subside gradually over time, with many couples failing to maintain desire in their long-term relationships. Three studies employed complementary methodologies to examine whether partner responsiveness, an intimacy-building behavior, could instill desire for one's partner. In Study 1, participants were led to believe that they would interact online with their partner. In reality, they interacted with either a responsive or an unresponsive confederate. In Study 2, participants interacted face-to-face with their partner, and judges coded their displays of responsiveness and sexual desire. Study 3 used a daily experiences methodology to examine the mechanisms underlying the responsiveness- desire linkage. Overall, responsiveness was associated with increased desire, but more strongly in women. Feeling special and perceived partner mate value explained the responsiveness- desire link, suggesting that responsive partners were seen as making one feel valued as well as better potential mates for anyone and thus as more sexually desirable.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 530-546 |
Number of pages | 17 |
Journal | Journal of Personality and Social Psychology |
Volume | 111 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1 Oct 2016 |
Keywords
- Gender differences
- Mate value
- Responsiveness
- Romantic relationships
- Sexual desire
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Social Psychology
- Sociology and Political Science