A recent research study conducted at the University of Toronto has discovered that men tend to underestimate a woman’s sex drive regardless of the condition or length of the relationship. When a heterosexual couple first meets and begins to date, the chemicals are heightened for both and men tend to overestimate how interested the female might be with regard to having physical relations.
However, the researchers found, as the relationship shifts into a more intimate and long term mode, and both are more familiar with one another’s moods and signals, it is then that men seem to underestimate a woman’s interest in having sex. The results of the research were published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
Amy Muise, one of the lead researchers on the study, said that, “Our findings suggest that ‘under-perception’ might keep men motivated to entice their partner’s interest and it may also minimize sexual rejection. The findings are surprising in the sense that men tend to show in initial encounters but we did expect these biases would differ in established relationships. It makes sense since the goal in the initial encounters is to attract a partner so over-perceiving their interest can help men feel more comfortable initiating a conversation or a date. But the goal in relationships is to maintain the relationship.”
There were three studies done altogether with heterosexual couples. For three weeks, in one study of 44 couples, the couples were asked to record their feelings about the relationship as well as make note of their sex drive every day during the three weeks. In another study, 84 couples just came in and were interviewed about the same things and the third had to fill out a survey each day about the perceived strength of the relationship as well as if they felt inclined to have sex with their partner.
For the most part, the surveys found that stronger relationships were those in which both the male and the female had strong physical desire for the other. The women wanted to feel desired while the men sought to avoid rejection. It is reasonably well known that male sexual desire is stronger than women’s and the studies seemed to bear that out as well.
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