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Sexual Desire Mediates the Relationship-Promoting Effects of Perceived Partner Mate Value

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Abstract

Although sexual desire for one's partner is theorized to serve as a gut-level indicator of partner mate value that motivates investment in valued partners, there is scant empirical evidence to support this hypothesis. Five studies addressed this possibility, examining whether experiencing sexual desire encouraged the enactment of relationship-promoting behaviors and whether perceptions of partner mate value motivated this proposed process. In a pilot study and Study 1, participants relived an activity they experienced with their partner, which was either sexual or non-sexual. Then, participants rated their desire to engage in sex and other non-sexual relationship-promoting activities with their partner (pilot study) and their partner's responsiveness to personal disclosures. Participants’ enacted responsiveness was also evaluated by judges (Study 1). Results showed that experiences of desire enhanced relationship-promoting tendencies. Using experimental, daily experiences, and longitudinal methods, Studies 2–4 extended these findings, indicating that both manipulated and perceived partner mate value predicted desire, which, in turn, was associated with engagement in relationship-promoting behaviors. These findings demonstrate that sexual desire functions as a mechanism encouraging investment in partners who are perceived to be worth pursuing and retaining.

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Notes

  1. Participants were part of a larger project (see Birnbaum et al., 2016).

  2. Because the lagged effect of partner mate value on the following day’s desire for men was marginally different from the same effect for women (b = .02, SE = .01, p = .076), we did not combine these effects.

  3. Participants were part of a larger project (see DeWall et al., 2011; Richman et al., 2016; Righetti et al., 2015; Slotter et al., 2014; Slotter & Luchies, 2014).

  4. If the two subscales are ignored, all eight items exhibited acceptable reliability as a unitary construct (α = .75). If we create the composite sacrifice score using all items prior to standardizing them and then standardize the composite measure, our reported results are not meaningfully different.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Israel Science Foundation (Grants 86/10 and 1210/16 awarded to Gurit E. Birnbaum) and by the National Science Foundation (Grant BCS-719780 awarded to Eli J. Finkel).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, P.O. Box 167, 46150, Herzliya, Israel

    Gurit E. Birnbaum & Yaniv Kanat-Maymon

  2. Department of Psychology, Villanova University, Villanova, PA, USA

    Erica B. Slotter

  3. Center for Social Research, Calvin University, Grand Rapids, MI, USA

    Laura B. Luchies

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  1. Gurit E. Birnbaum
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Correspondence to Gurit E. Birnbaum.

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Birnbaum, G.E., Kanat-Maymon, Y., Slotter, E.B. et al. Sexual Desire Mediates the Relationship-Promoting Effects of Perceived Partner Mate Value. Arch Sex Behav 50, 3733–3755 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-021-02060-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-021-02060-2

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