Rationality and Sex

Men are often accused of thinking with their winky, and behaving badly. Apparently women "think" with their.... well, other parts, also. The brain is overrated.

Reproduction expediting: Sexual motivations, fantasies, and the ticking biological clock

Judith Easton, Jaime Confer, Cari Goetz & David Buss
Personality and Individual Differences, forthcoming

Abstract: Beginning in their late twenties, women face the unique adaptive problem of declining fertility eventually terminating at menopause. We hypothesize women have evolved a reproduction expediting psychological adaptation designed to capitalize on their remaining fertility. The present study tested predictions based on this hypothesis—these women will experience increased sexual motivations and sexual behaviors compared to women not facing a similar fertility decline. Results from college and community samples (N = 827) indicated women with declining fertility think more about sex, have more frequent and intense sexual fantasies, are more willing to engage in sexual intercourse, and report actually engaging in sexual intercourse more frequently than women of other age groups. These findings suggest women’s “biological clock” may function to shift psychological motivations and actual behaviors to facilitate utilizing remaining fertility.

-----------------------

The effect of a woman's incidental tactile contact on men's later behavior

Nicolas Guéguen
Social Behavior and Personality, Winter 2010, Pages 257-266

Abstract: Previous research has indicated that a light tactile contact is associated with a positive response towards the person who is touching. The effect of touch on courtship was investigated in this experiment, which was conducted in a field setting. A female confederate either slightly touched or did not touch a man in a bar when asking him for some help. It was found that men who were touched showed more interest toward the female confederate than when no touch occurred. It was also found that touch was associated with stronger courtship intentions by men. The importance of women's nonverbal patterns in the courtship context and the trend of men to misinterpret women's intent are proposed to explain these results.

-----------------------

I only have eyes for you: Ovulation redirects attention (but not memory) to
attractive men

Uriah Anderson, Elaine Perea, Vaughn Becker, Joshua Ackerman, Jenessa
Shapiro, Steven Neuberg & Douglas Kenrick
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, forthcoming

Abstract: A number of studies have found a disjunction between women’s attention to, and memory for, handsome men. Although women pay initial attention to handsome men, they do not remember those men later. The present study examines how ovulation might differentially affect these attentional and memory processes. We found that women near ovulation increased their visual attention to attractive men. However, this increased visual attention did not translate into better memory. Discussion focuses on possible explanations, in the context of an emerging body of findings on disjunctions between attention to, and memory for, other people.

-----------------------

Timing of Sexual Maturation and Women's Evaluation of Men

Stefan Belles, Wilfried Kunde & Roland Neumann
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, May 2010, Pages 703-714

Abstract: Many antecedents and consequences of an accelerated sexual maturation are associated with negative experiences with the opposite sex. Here we show a connection between menarcheal age, a salient sign of female sexual maturation, and the implicit attitude toward men in later adulthood. In Study 1, earlier age at first menstruation was associated with automatic negative evaluations of male faces but not female ones. Study 2 revealed a relationship between early age of menarche and an implicit association between the concepts male and danger. In Study 3, the earlier the menarche, the larger was the estimated egocentric distance of virtual male voices and the shorter the estimated distance of female voices. These results, obtained about a decade after onset of menstruation, suggest that apparently subtle differences in the onset of sexual maturation may have long-lasting implications for intersexual relationships.


(Nod to Kevin L)