Wives with long and high-quality hair have more frequent sex

The image of an ideal woman often involves her having long, silky hair. However, the dearth of psychological research on hair limits the understanding of how women's hair functions in romantic relationships. While some scholars have found that the appearance of women's hair signals reproductive potential to men, whether women's hair may affect their sexual lives remains unknown. To investigate the function of hair in romantic relationships, we tested whether women's hair quality and length are associated with sexual frequency in marital dyads. We conducted a paid online survey involving 204 heterosexual marital dyads. The results indicated that women with long and high-quality hair experienced more frequent sexual intercourse with their spouse, as it heightened their husband's perception of their attractiveness and, consequently, intensified their husband's sexual desire toward them. Neither men's hair length nor quality was associated with sexual frequency. Implications of the study are further discussed.

The enticement of feeling understood, validated, and cared for: How does perceiving a partner as responsive affect the sexual arena?

Partners' behaviors outside the bedroom may spill over into the bedroom. One such behavior is responsiveness, as it creates a relationship ambiance conducive to the development of intimacy. In this article, I review research demonstrating how perceiving partners as responsive outside the bedroom affects the quality of sexual interactions, highlighting changes in the contextual meaning of partner responsiveness across individuals and relationship stages. I then provide an overview of the costs and benefits of responsiveness within the bedroom. I conclude by suggesting directions for future research on the potential of partner responsiveness for fostering a relationship environment that inoculates against alternative partners as well as for designing social robots and virtual mates for those in need of a surrogate partner.

Listening and responsiveness in getting-acquainted processes

Listening and being responsive to another's turns at disclosure are essential processes that occur at all stages of a relationship, including and perhaps particularly at the formation stage. This article discusses research on the role of responsiveness and listening in contributing to positive outcomes from getting-acquainted interactions. Integral to listening and responsiveness in the getting-acquainted process is asking questions, which is also discussed in this article. Because getting-acquainted interactions can occur in different communication modalities and also with artificial intelligence (AI), variation in the degree to which listening and responsiveness occur as a function of the context will be considered. Although listening skills and responsiveness are desired in a romantic partner, these skills are difficult to assess in online profiles and dating apps, which have become common ways for meeting partners.

Dyadic Sexual Desire in Romantic Relationships: The Dyadic Interactions Affecting Dyadic Sexual Desire Model

In most theoretical models, sexual desire for one's partner is predominantly conceptualized from an individual perspective. There is, however, a growing body of empirical evidence on the dyadic aspects of sexual desire. That evidence is as yet not well-integrated into theoretical conceptualizations of sexual desire. Aiming to fill this gap, we present the Dyadic Interactions Affecting DyadIC Sexual desire model (DIADICS), a new conceptual model inspired by systems theory that describes how dyadic interactions between partners influence dyadic sexual desire in romantic relationships. After defining dyadic sexual desire, we discuss (1) the structure of dyadic interactions, (2) their content, and (3) the process through which they affect dyadic sexual desire in a romantic relationship. Thereafter, we review theoretical, clinical, and empirical insights underscoring the relation between dyadic interactions and (dyadic) sexual desire, use DIADICS as a framework for understanding fluctuations in dyadic sexual desire in long-term relationships, and conclude by discussing implications of DIADICS for research and clinical practice.

Intervening Earlier: An Upstream Approach to Improving Relationship Quality

Relationship quality has far-reaching consequences for health and well-being. To date, large-scale efforts to improve relationship quality have targeted established relationships. However, a novel approach would be to target relationships much earlier. Investment-based programs would intervene (on a voluntary basis) before partners become strongly tied to one another (i.e., within the first few months of “official” dating) and help people to avoid investing in relationships that they might later decide are wrong for them. Selection-based programs would intervene before an official dating relationship has formed, perhaps by helping people to identify especially compatible partners from within their network of friends and acquaintances. To develop such interventions, researchers must (a) identify when important relationship experiences (e.g., perceived responsiveness, capitalization, and sexual satisfaction) become reliably predictive of long-term outcomes and (b) identify how this information could be better incorporated into early relationship decisions. Overall, efforts to facilitate the initial formation and development of high-quality relationships may hold promising, untested potential.

The Fragile Spell of Desire: A Functional Perspective on Changes in Sexual Desire Across Relationship Development

The sexual behavioral system evolved to motivate reproductive acts by arousing sexual desire. Building on the idea that this system has also been "exploited" by evolutionary processes to promote enduring bonds between romantic partners, the present article introduces an integrative model that delineates the functional significance of sexual desire in relationship formation and maintenance. This model explains why individuals' sexual reaction to their partner is context-dependent, clarifying how changes in the nature of interdependence over the course of relationships alter the ways in which specific predictors of sexual desire tend to promote (or inhibit) desire and thereby affect relationship depth and stability. The model postulates that although desire influences the development of attachment bonds, the contribution that it makes varies over the course of relationships. The model also provides new insight regarding fundamental but unresolved issues in human sexuality, such as the vulnerability of sexual desire and the desire-intimacy paradox.

Sex Unleashes Your Tongue: Sexual Priming Motivates Self-Disclosure to a New Acquaintance and Interest in Future Interactions

Research has demonstrated the contribution of sexual activity to the quality of ongoing relationships. Nevertheless, less attention has been given to how activation of the sexual system affects relationship-initiation processes. Three studies used complementary methodologies to examine the effect of sexual priming on self-disclosure, a relationship-promoting behavior. In Study 1, participants were subliminally exposed to sexual stimuli (vs. neutral stimuli), and then disclosed over Instant Messenger a personal event to an opposite-sex stranger. Results showed that merely thinking about sex, even without being aware of it, encouraged self-disclosure. Study 2 replicated these findings in relatively naturalistic conditions (live face-to-face interactions following supraliminal video priming). Study 3 extended these findings, indicating that sexual priming facilitated self-disclosure, which, in turn, increased interest in future interactions with the stranger. Together, these findings suggest that activation of the sexual system encourages the use of strategies that allow people to become closer to potential partners.

Women Tend to Defect in a Social Dilemma Game in Southwest China

Cooperation theories assume that interacting individuals can change their strategies under different expected payoffs, depending on their social status or social situations. When looking at sex differences in cooperation, the existing studies have found that the genders cooperate at similar frequencies. However, the majority of the data originate within Western human societies. In this paper, we explore whether there are gender differences in cooperation in China. An Iterated Prisoner’s Dilemma game with a punishment option was used to gather data about Southwest Chinese subjects in a culture in which men have a hierarchical advantage over women. Results indicate that men invested into partners significantly more than women did (34% ♂ vs. 24% ♀) while women, in turn, were more likely to defect (65% ♀ vs. 50% ♂). In this region, women have customarily held less economic power and they are used to obtain a payoff typically lower than men. We suggest that the women’s willingness to invest in cooperation has decreased throughout evolutionary time, providing us with an illustration of a culturally-driven shift towards a disparity in gender cooperation interests.

Male and Female Sexual Dysfunction in a Rapidly Changing Cultural Environment: Addressing Gender Equality versus Equivalence in the Bedroom

INTRODUCTION

The socio-sexual climate in Western cultures is changing at an astounding rate. Never before have societal expectations about gender roles shifted so radically, transforming our understanding of what it means to be a sexual man or woman today. We have observed that confusion regarding masculine and feminine roles within long-term committed relationships can represent challenges for the treatment of sexual dysfunction. Despite the relevance to sexual medicine, sexual medicine specialists have largely avoided this controversial topic.

AIM

To review the current literature relating to heterosexual gender roles and sexual intimacy, to offer perspective and context on this issue, and to propose an approach to the man, woman, or couple based in evolutionary theory that we have found useful in our extensive clinical experiences.

METHODS

We reviewed the English-language peer-reviewed literature, primarily from 2000 through 2015, that addressed the impact of heterosexual gender role expression on sexual intimacy in long-term committed relationships.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Main outcomes include a review of the applicable literature and an assessment of the literature's relevance for patients and practitioners of sexual medicine. An alternative context for understanding heterosexual gender expression grounded in evolutionary theory is provided, as is a new treatment perspective based on our work as a sex therapist and an urologist.

RESULTS

The impact of gender expression on sexual experience might be impossible to ascertain fully because it is difficult to quantify in research, independently and especially in combination. Furthermore, existing research is fraught with challenges and inadequacies.

CONCLUSION

Although we acknowledge and affirm the critical importance of gender equality, modern conceptualizations of gender in the literature ignore pertinent evolutionary adaptations and might be minimally applicable to sexual medicine patients. More research is needed. We propose that equality of genders does not necessarily mean similarity of genders, at least in sexual medicine.