Eldritch
06-23-2010, 11:05 PM
Study: Selfish Lovers Are Better in Bed
A new study defies the common belief that those who focus on their partners’ needs in bed make the best lovers.
The findings were presented at the Association for Psychological Science convention in Boston and conducted by Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Hayley Leveque and Cory Pederson.
The researchers studied 60 couples, half of whom were between the ages of 18 and 25 and the other half over the age of 30. Participants were asked about their motivations for having sex and their levels of sexual satisfaction with their current partners.
Those in the younger age group were more self-focused and their reasons for having sex included being horny and seeking pleasure. Those over the age of 30 were more likely to list showing love and affection for their partner as a reason for engaging in sexual activity.
What was most surprising was the fact that a high level of sexual self-focus was positively correlated with a partner’s level of sexual satisfaction.
"We found that as a partner's sexual self-focus decreased, their partner's satisfaction decreased," says Leveque. "You would think it would be exactly the opposite, with a partner being more attentive to the other partner's needs, but that's not what we found. It was sort of counterintuitive."
"It seems that sexual self-focus serves a function, that a degree of it is required to keep your partner happy, which is really quite interesting," Leveque explains.
The researchers conclude that good lovers strike a balance between self-interest and a willingness to please.
"In hindsight, it makes sense that if a person is NOT sexually excited, but has sex anyway, that will become obvious to a partner and lead to greater sexual dissatisfaction and eventual relationship *********
Link. (http://carnalnation.com/content/57437/897/study-selfish-lovers-are-better-bed)
Hmmm. It would have been interesting to see some kind of gender breakdown on this thing.
A new study defies the common belief that those who focus on their partners’ needs in bed make the best lovers.
The findings were presented at the Association for Psychological Science convention in Boston and conducted by Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Hayley Leveque and Cory Pederson.
The researchers studied 60 couples, half of whom were between the ages of 18 and 25 and the other half over the age of 30. Participants were asked about their motivations for having sex and their levels of sexual satisfaction with their current partners.
Those in the younger age group were more self-focused and their reasons for having sex included being horny and seeking pleasure. Those over the age of 30 were more likely to list showing love and affection for their partner as a reason for engaging in sexual activity.
What was most surprising was the fact that a high level of sexual self-focus was positively correlated with a partner’s level of sexual satisfaction.
"We found that as a partner's sexual self-focus decreased, their partner's satisfaction decreased," says Leveque. "You would think it would be exactly the opposite, with a partner being more attentive to the other partner's needs, but that's not what we found. It was sort of counterintuitive."
"It seems that sexual self-focus serves a function, that a degree of it is required to keep your partner happy, which is really quite interesting," Leveque explains.
The researchers conclude that good lovers strike a balance between self-interest and a willingness to please.
"In hindsight, it makes sense that if a person is NOT sexually excited, but has sex anyway, that will become obvious to a partner and lead to greater sexual dissatisfaction and eventual relationship *********
Link. (http://carnalnation.com/content/57437/897/study-selfish-lovers-are-better-bed)
Hmmm. It would have been interesting to see some kind of gender breakdown on this thing.