Do women find other men more attractive if they are sexually active, either by themselves (e.g., via masturbation) or with a partner (e.g., via sexual intercourse)?

The answer appears to be no, according to new research.

Researchers were interested in discovering whether individual differences in sexual activity during the past 30 days, in particular penile-vaginal intercourse (a measure which in psychological research has typically been associated with measures of relationship quality), are related to the perception of the facial attractiveness of male strangers.

Forty-five women reported the frequency of a variety of sexual behaviors and rated the facial attractiveness and friendliness of 24 men. Women who reported more frequent orgasm from masturbation rated men as less friendly. The researchers suggested that this finding might be reflective of the more anti-social attitude associated with more frequent masturbation.

The results from the study also show that women who engaged more frequently in most kinds of sexual behavior considered unknown men to be less facially attractive. That is, individuals who engage more frequently in a variety of sexual behaviors with their partner perceived unknown men as less attractive and thereby may be less susceptible to the lure of other men. Women who engage in more frequent masturbation perceived all the male strangers’ faces as unattractive.

Take these findings with a grain of salt, however. The study has a small sample size that was taken from a small subset of the population. It is not known whether similar results would be discovered if the subjects were men.

It is intriguing, however, to wonder about whether there is some sort of evolutionary mechanism at work here. If one is already in a sexually satisfying relationship with a man (or oneself), there’d be less incentive to look elsewhere for sexual satisfaction.

The study will be published in the December 2007 issue of the journal Personality and Individual Differences.

Reference:

Hess, U., Brody, S., & van der Schalk, J. (2007). Sexual activity is inversely related to women’s perceptions of the facial attractiveness of unknown men. Personality and Individual Differences, Vol 43(8), 1991-1997.

Dr. John Grohol is the CEO and founder of Psych Central. He is an author, researcher and expert in mental health online, and has been writing about online behavior, mental health and psychology issues -- as well as the intersection of technology and human behavior -- since 1992. Dr. Grohol sits on the editorial board of the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking and is a founding board member and treasurer of the Society for Participatory Medicine.

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    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 27 Oct 2007
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