Many scientists assume that people have sex for reasons as simple as the desire to experience pleasure or the need to reproduce. Recently, however, researchers have compiled a list of more than two hundred varied and complex motivations for this activity - from spiritual reasons to revenge.
The most comprehensive study of why people have sex was conducted by psychologists at the University of Texas at Austin. Ultimately, David Buss and Cindy Meston identified 237 such reasons. They discuss them in the August issue of "Archives of Sexual Behavior". It turned out that motivations can be mundane ("I was bored") and spiritual ("I wanted to be closer to God"), altruistic ("I wanted the other person to feel good about themselves"). feeling”) to manipulation (“I wanted to get promoted”).
Some explained that they had sex to feel empowered, others to humiliate themselves. Some wanted to impress friends, others wanted to hurt enemies ("I wanted to break up my rival's relationship").
Buss and Meston conducted two studies. In the first, they asked more than 400 men and women to identify the reasons why people have sex. In the next one, they asked more than 1,5 thousand. students about their experiences and approach to the topic.
Ultimately, psychologists identified four major and 13 minor factors that explain why people go to bed with others.
See also our text: How to pick up a boyfriend?
One group is physical reasons, such as the need to reduce stress ("I thought it was a good exercise"), to feel pleasure ("It turned on"), to enhance or develop my experience ("I felt curious about sex"), and physical desire partner (“this person was a good dancer”).
Other motives have to do with goals. These include utilitarian or practical reasons (“I wanted to have a child”), social status (“I wanted to be popular”) and revenge (“I wanted to infect someone with a sexual disease”).
The next group is emotional reasons, such as love and devotion ("I wanted to feel connected") and expressing feelings ("I wanted to show gratitude").
There were also reasons related to feelings of insecurity, including self-esteem ("I wanted attention"), a sense of obligation or pressure ("My partner insisted") and having a partner with me ("I wanted to stop my partner from sideways jump").
"The reasons why people have sex are extremely important but rarely studied," Buss points out. Surprisingly, many scientists assume the answer is obvious. And yet people have very different reasons for having sex. Some of them are quite complex and not obvious.” ZAN
source: PAP - Science in Poland
hood
