A new study published in Human Nature found that sexual desire for an alternative sexual partner might heighten feelings of desire for one’s long-term romantic partner too. The research was authored by Sierra D Peters, Jon K Maner, and Andrea L Meltzer.

Sexual Desire is not Partner-Specific

The research, called ‘Sexual Desire is not Partner-Specific’, used two different groups of subjects to conduct the study. For the first group, they used a daily diary study, and for the second group, they performed an experimental study. Both were designed to explore the relationship between sexual desire for a romantic partner and interest in alternative partners.

The first group consisted of 196 individuals from 98 newlywed couples (predominantly heterosexual). Each participant had to complete daily surveys for 14 days, assessing their sexual desire for their partner and their interest in alternative partners. The process was repeated annually for two years, rating their daily desire on a 7-point scale using a single-item measure.

Meanwhile, the individuals' interest in alternative partners was measured using fantasies, conversations, and flirtations with other people of the opposite sex. The study also collected information on sociosexual orientation, relationship length, and biological sex to account for individual differences that could influence sexual desire.

For the second study, which was an experimental design, 405 participants in long-term relationships were assigned to one of three controlled conditions - they were either primed to experience sexual desire for their partner, primed to experience sexual desire for an alternative partner, or placed in a control condition in which they recalled non-sexual positive experiences.

In the first and second scenarios, participants had to write detailed descriptions of situations that made them feel strong sexual desire for their partner or another person they found attractive. In the controlled group, participants had to write instances that made them happy but were not sexually aroused.

Results

The study found that when participants in the first group reported heightened sexual desire for their partner, they also reported greater interest in alternative partners. Meanwhile, on days when participants experienced stronger interest in alternatives, they expressed higher levels of sexual desire for their partner.

In the experimental study, participants in the first and second groups reported significantly higher sexual desire for their romantic partner as compared to those in the control condition. Interestingly, those primed with sexual desire for their romantic partner did not report a statistically significant increase in desire for alternative partners.

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