Lillian Barber
Pronouns: she/her
Research Mentor(s): Terri Conley
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Psychology / LSA
Program: UROPF
Session: Session 4 (1:40pm – 2:30pm)
Authors: Lillian Barber, Elena Fernandez, Lauren Jensen, Yi-Ting Kao, Ariel Yang, Jennifer Piemonte, Terri Conley
Abstract
In an age of one-night stands and spontaneous hook ups, the decision making behind the acceptance or refusal of potential sexual partners is more significant than ever. A common misconception both socially and academically is that women desire sex less than men, however this so-called biological assumption misconstrues female desire by misunderstanding the typical reasons for sexual refusal, perpetuating a patriarchal viewpoint. This lab surveyed 75 heterosexual men and 75 heterosexual women recruiting them through the Sona System targeted at Introductory Psychology students, seeking to minimize the difference in the acceptance of casual sex offers between genders by considering the anticipation of orgasm. Participants used their first potential match on a dating app of their choice to act as a potential casual sexual partner. Data collection is still on-going, and we anticipate to conclude it soon. Males are statistically more likely to experience pleasure during sex more frequently but by investigating the anticipation of orgasm, the gap in acceptance of casual sex disappears between genders, challenging the notion that women desire sex less than their male counterparts and expanding on the idea that the acceptance of a sexual offer is primarily decided by the amount of pleasure expected.
