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The Evolution of Sexuality pp 69–79Cite as

Do Men and Women Perform Oral Sex as Mate Retention Behavior?

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Part of the book series: Evolutionary Psychology ((EVOLPSYCH))

Abstract

“Mate retention” behaviors are designed to reduce the likelihood of a partner’s infidelity. One mate retention strategy that individuals use is to increase a partner’s relationship satisfaction by provisioning that partner with benefits. Men who report performing more mate retention behaviors, in general, and more benefit-provisioning mate retention behaviors, in particular, also report greater interest in, and more time spent, performing oral sex on their female partner. Likewise, women who report performing more benefit-provisioning mate retention behaviors also report greater interest in, and more time spent, performing oral sex on their male partner—but this relationship is stronger for men. We highlight similarities and differences between men and women, discuss explanations for the results, address limitations of this research, and suggest several future research directions.

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Acknowledgments

This chapter is based on Pham and Shackelford (2013a), and on Sela, Y., Shackelford, T. K., Pham, M. N., & Euler, H. A. (2014).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, 130 Pryale Hall, 48309, Rochester, UK

    Yael Sela, Michael N. Pham & Todd K. Shackelford

Authors
  1. Yael Sela
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  2. Michael N. Pham
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  3. Todd K. Shackelford
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Correspondence to Yael Sela .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

  2. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Ranald D. Hansen

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Sela, Y., Pham, M., Shackelford, T. (2015). Do Men and Women Perform Oral Sex as Mate Retention Behavior?. In: Shackelford, T., Hansen, R. (eds) The Evolution of Sexuality. Evolutionary Psychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-09384-0_4

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