Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dk4vv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T18:23:55.379Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

12 - Copulatory Urgency: An Evolutionary Perspective of Women’s Sexual Desire

from Part II - Copulatory Adaptations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 June 2022

By
Courtney L. Crosby
Edited by
Todd K. Shackelford
Todd K. Shackelford
Affiliation:
Oakland University, Michigan
Get access

Summary

Despite the extensive empirical exploration of sexual desire, only one field explains the proper biological function of this phenomenon—evolutionary psychology. This chapter reviews women’s copulatory urgency—individual differences in the experience or intensity of sexual desire—from an evolutionary psychological perspective. An evolutionary psychological perspective of the function of sexual desire can shed light on how deficits in this motivational force may emerge, which may be useful for clinicians when helping patients understand the etiology of sexual desire concerns. An evolutionary psychological perspective of sexual desire further reveals: (1) why men and women differ in their experiences of sexual desire, (2) how natural selection produces individual differences in sexual desire, and (3) how extremes in sexual desire may be associated with hypersexuality, paraphilias, or an evolutionary mismatch between the adaptive problems faced during our species’ past and the challenges we face today. I begin the chapter by presenting a brief history of research on sexual desire and highlighting the limitations of early models of sexual responding. Next, I discuss the difficulties of measuring sexual desire, and explain how evolutionary meta-theory can be fruitful when examining context-dependent individual differences in sexual desire. I then describe the impact of several important contextual factors (e.g., age, relationship length, parental effort, partner habituation) on variation in women’s sexual desire responses and highlight avenues for future research. The chapter ends by discussing the qualities of compulsive sexual behavior and proposing that extreme variations in sexual desire as we currently understand them may be the result of an evolutionary mismatch. In sum, I suggest that scientists distinguish between sexual desire and sexual arousal, consider evolutionary meta-theory when thinking about context-dependent variation in sexual desire, and be cognizant of potential confounds when examining women’s sexual desire responses.

Keywords

sexual interestsexual desiresexual motivationsexual urgeslibidosexual behaviorwomen’s hypersexualitywomen’s sexuality
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Evolutionary Perspectives on Sexual Psychology , pp. 319 - 340
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Al-Shawaf, L., Lewis, D. M., & Buss, D. M. (2018). Sex differences in disgust: Why are women more easily disgusted than men? Emotion Review, 10(2), 149–160.Google Scholar
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 5th ed., Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.Google Scholar
American Sexual Health Association. (2016). Prevention tips. Retrieved from http://www.ashasexualhealth.org/stdsstis/prevention-tips/Google Scholar
Baggaley, R. F., White, R. G., & Boily, M. (2010). HIV transmission risk through anal intercourse: Systematic review, meta-analysis and implications for HIV prevention. International Journal of Epidemiology, 39(4), 1048–1063. doi:10.1093/ije/dyq057CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Banmen, J., & Vogel, N. A. (1985). The relationship between marital quality and interpersonal sexual self-disclosure. Family Therapy, 12, 45–58.Google Scholar
Barlow, D. H. (1986). Causes of sexual dysfunction: The role of anxiety and cognitive interference. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 54(2), 140.Google Scholar
Basson, R. (2000). The female sexual response revisited. Journal SOGC, 22(5), 378–382.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Basson, R. (2002). Rethinking low sexual desire in women. BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, 109(4), 357–363.Google Scholar
Bendixen, M. (2014). Evidence of systematic bias in sexual over- and underperception of naturally occurring events: A direct replication of in a more gender-equal culture. Evolutionary Psychology, 12(5), 147470491401200510.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bersamin, M. M., Zamboanga, B. L., Schwartz, S. J., Donnellan, M. B., Hudson, M., Weisskirch, R. S., … & Caraway, S. J. (2014). Risky business: Is there an association between casual sex and mental health among emerging adults? Journal of Sex Research, 51(1), 43–51.Google Scholar
Beutel, M. E., Stöbel-Richter, Y., & Brähler, E. (2008). Sexual desire and sexual activity of men and women across their lifespans: Results from a representative German community survey. BJU International, 101(1), 76–82.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Boily, M., Baggaley, R. F., Wang, L., Masse, B., White, R. G., Hayes, R. J., & Alary, M. (2009). Heterosexual risk of HIV-1 infection per sexual act: Systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 9(2), 118–129. doi:10.1016/s1473-3099(09)70021-0Google Scholar
Both, S., Laan, E., & Everaerd, W. (2011). Focusing “hot” or focusing “cool”: Attentional mechanisms in sexual arousal in men and women. Journal of Sexual Medicine, 8(1), 167–179.Google Scholar
Brotto, L. A. (2010). The DSM diagnostic criteria for hypoactive sexual desire disorder in women. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 39(2), 221–239.Google Scholar
Buss, D. M. (2003). The evolution of desire: Strategies of human mating, rev. ed. New York, NY: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Buss, D. M., Haselton, M. G., Shackelford, T. K., Bleske, A. L., & Wakefield, J. C. (1998). Adaptations, exaptations, and spandrels. American Psychologist, 53(5), 533.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Buss, D. M., & Schmitt, D. P. (1993). Sexual strategies theory: An evolutionary perspective on human mating. Psychological Review, 100(2), 204.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Buss, D. M., & Schmitt, D. P. (2019). Mate preferences and their behavioral manifestations. Annual Review of Psychology, 70, 77–110.Google Scholar
Buss, D. M., Shackelford, T. K., & McKibbin, W. F. (2008). The mate retention inventory-short form (MRI-SF). Personality and Individual Differences, 44(1), 322–334.Google Scholar
Byers, E. S., & Demmons, S. (1999). Sexual satisfaction and sexual self-disclosure within dating relationships. Journal of Sex Research, 36, 180–189. doi:10.1080/00224499909551983Google Scholar
Call, V., Sprecher, S., & Schwartz, P. (1995). The incidence and frequency of marital sex in a national sample. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 57, 639–652.Google Scholar
Carroll, J. L., Volk, K. D., & Hyde, J. S. (1985). Differences between males and females in motives for engaging in sexual intercourse. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 14(2), 131–139.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2008). Incidence, prevalence, and cost of sexually transmitted infections in the United States. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/std/stats/sti-estimates-fact-sheetfeb-2013.pdfGoogle Scholar
Crosby, C. L., Buss, D. M., Cormack, L. K., & Meston, C. M. (2021). Sex, sexual arousal, and sexual decision-making: An evolutionary perspective. Personality and Individual Differences, 177, 1–5.Google Scholar
Crosby, C. L., Buss, D. M., & Meston, C. M. (2019). Sexual disgust: Evolutionary perspectives and relationship to female sexual function. Current Sexual Health Reports, 11(4), 300–306.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crosby, C. L., Durkee, P. K., Meston, C. M., & Buss, D. M. (2020). Six dimensions of sexual disgust. Personality and Individual Differences, 156, 109714.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crosby, C. L., Durkee, P. K., Sedlacek, A. B. G., & Buss, D. M. (Stage 2 Registered Report: under review). Mate availability and sexual disgust. Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology. https://osf.io/g9us7/Google Scholar
Daly, M. (2001). Risk-taking, intrasexual competition, and homicide. In French, J. A., Kamil, A. C., & Leger, D. W. (Eds.), Evolutionary psychology and motivation (pp. 1–36). Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press.Google Scholar
Darwin, C. (1958). On the origin of species by means of natural selection. (Original work published 1859.) New York, NY: New American Library.Google Scholar
DeLamater, J. D., & Sill, M. (2005). Sexual desire in later life. Journal of Sex Research, 42(2), 138–149.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Derbyshire, K. L., & Grant, J. E. (2015). Compulsive sexual behavior: A review of the literature. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 4(2), 37–43.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dewitte, M., & Mayer, A. (2018). Exploring the link between daily relationship quality, sexual desire, and sexual activity in couples. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 47(6), 1675–1686.Google Scholar
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III-R), 3rd rev. (1987). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.Google Scholar
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III), 3rd ed. (1980). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.Google Scholar
Domenighetti, G., Tomada, A., Marazzi, A., Abazi, O., & Quaglia, J. (2009). Impact of job insecurity on sexual desire: An exploratory analysis. Swiss Medical Weekly, 139(3334), 486–492.Google Scholar
Durr, E. (2009a). Women’s experience of lack of sexual desire in relationships and implications for interventions. Social Work, 45(3), 256–274.Google Scholar
Durr, E. (2009b). Lack of “responsive” sexual desire in women: Implications for clinical practice. Sexual and Relationship Therapy, 24(3–4), 292–306. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681990903271228Google Scholar
Ellis, B. J., & Symons, D. (1990). Sex differences in sexual fantasy: An evolutionary psychological approach. Journal of Sex Research, 27(4), 527–555.Google Scholar
Eshbaugh, E. M., & Gute, G. (2008). Hookups and sexual regret among college women. The Journal of Social Psychology, 148(1), 77–90.Google Scholar
Everaerd, W., Laan, A. N. D., Both, S., & Van der Velde, J. (2000). Female sexuality. In Szuchman, L. & Muscarella, F. (Eds.), Psychological perspectives on human sexuality (pp. 101–146). New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Ferreira, L. C., Narciso, I., Ferreira Novo, R., & Pereira, C. R. (2016). Partners’ similarity in differentiation of self is associated with higher sexual desire: A quantitative dyadic study. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 42(7), 635–647. https://doi.org/10.1080/0092623X.2015.1113584Google Scholar
Fisher, H. (2004) Why we love: The nature and chemistry of romantic love. New York, NY: Henry Holt.Google Scholar
Fisher, T. D., Moore, Z. T., & Pittenger, M. J. (2012). Sex on the brain?: An examination of frequency of sexual cognitions as a function of gender, erotophilia, and social desirability. Journal of Sex Research, 49(1), 69–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fisher, W. A., Boroditsky, R., & Bridges, M. L. (1999). The 1998 Canadian Contraception Study. Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 8(3), 161–216.Google Scholar
Freud, S. (2017). Three essays on the theory of sexuality: The 1905 edition. New York, NY: Verso Books.Google Scholar
Gallup, A. C., O’Brien, D. T., White, D. D., & Wilson, D. S. (2009). Peer victimization in adolescence has different effects on the sexual behavior of male and female college students. Personality and Individual Differences, 46(5–6), 611–615.Google Scholar
Goldstein, I., Kim, N. N., Clayton, A. H., DeRogatis, L. R., Giraldi, A., Parish, S. J., … & Worsley, R. (2016). Hypoactive sexual desire disorder: International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health (ISSWSH) expert consensus panel review. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 92(1), 14–128.Google Scholar
Hällström, T., & Samuelsson, S. (1990). Changes in women’s sexual desire in middle life: The longitudinal study of women in Gothenburg. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 19(3), 259–268.Google Scholar
Handy, A. B., & Meston, C. M. (2020). An objective measure of vaginal lubrication in women with and without sexual arousal concerns. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 47(1), 32–42.Google Scholar
Haselton, M. G., & Buss, D. M. (2000). Error management theory: A new perspective on biases in cross-sex mind reading. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78(1), 81.Google Scholar
Hayes, R. D., Bennett, C. M., Fairley, C. K., & Dennerstein, L. (2006). Epidemiology: What can prevalence studies tell us about female sexual difficulty and dysfunction?. Journal of Sexual Medicine, 3(4), 589–595.Google Scholar
Heiman, J. R., Long, J. S., Smith, S. N., Fisher, W., Sand, M. S., & Rosen, R. C. (2011). Sexual satisfaction and relationship happiness in midlife and older couples in five countries. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 40, 741–753. doi:10.1007/s10508-010-9703-3Google Scholar
Howard, J. R., O’Neill, S., & Travers, C. (2006). Factors affecting sexuality in older Australian women: Sexual interest, sexual arousal, relationships and sexual distress in older Australian women. Climacteric, 9(5), 355–367.Google Scholar
Kaplan, H. S. (1977). Hypoactive sexual desire. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 3(1), 3–9.Google Scholar
Kennair, L. E. O., Bendixen, M., & Buss, D. M. (2016). Sexual regret: Tests of competing explanations of sex differences. Evolutionary Psychology, 14(4), 1474704916682903.Google Scholar
Kingsberg, S. A. (2014). Attitudinal survey of women living with low sexual desire. Journal of Women’s Health, 23(10), 817–823.Google Scholar
Klusmann, D. (2002). Sexual motivation and duration of partnership. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 31(3), 257–287. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015205020769Google Scholar
Kontula, O., & Haavio-Mannila, E. (2009). The impact of aging on human sexual activity and sexual desire. Journal of Sex Research, 46(1), 46–56. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224490802624414Google Scholar
Kowalewska, E., Gola, M., Kraus, S. W., & Lew-Starowicz, M. (2020). Spotlight on compulsive sexual behavior disorder: A systematic review of research on women. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 16, 2025.Google Scholar
Krapf, J. M., Buster, J. E., & Goldstein, A. T. (2016). Management of hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD). In Management of sexual dysfunction in men and women (pp. 233–249). New York, NY: Springer.Google Scholar
Krueger, R. B. (2016). Diagnosis of hypersexual or compulsive sexual behavior can be made using ICD-10 and DSM-5 despite rejection of this diagnosis by the American Psychiatric Association. Addiction, 111(12), 2110–2111.Google Scholar
Kuzawa, C. W., Chugani, H. T., Grossman, L. I., Lipovich, L., Muzik, O., Hof, P. R., … & Lange, N. (2014). Metabolic costs and evolutionary implications of human brain development. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(36), 13010–13015.Google Scholar
Laan, E., & Both, S. (2008). What makes women experience desire? Feminism & Psychology, 18(4), 505–514. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959353508095533Google Scholar
Laumann, E. O., Paik, A., & Rosen, R. C. (1999). Sexual dysfunction in the United States: Prevalence and predictors. JAMA, 281(6), 537–544.Google Scholar
Lehmiller, J. J. (2018). Tell me what you want: The science of sexual desire and how it can help you improve your sex life. Boston, MA: Da Capo Press.Google Scholar
Leiblum, S. R. (2000). Redefining female sexual response. Contemporary Ob/Gyn, 45(11), 120–126.Google Scholar
Levin, R. (1992). The mechanisms of human female sexual arousal. Annual Review of Sex Research, 3(1), 1–48.Google Scholar
Levine, S. B. (2002). Reexploring the concept of sexual desire. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 28(1), 39–51. https://doi.org/10.1080/009262302317251007Google Scholar
Levine, S. B. (2003). The nature of sexual desire: A clinician’s perspective. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 32(3), 279–285.Google Scholar
Lieberman, D., & Patrick, C. (2018). Objection: Disgust, morality, and the law. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Ling, J., & Kasket, E. (2016). Let’s talk about sex: A critical narrative analysis of heterosexual couples’ accounts of low sexual desire. Sexual and Relationship Therapy, 31(3), 325–342.Google Scholar
Low, B. S. (2015). Why sex matters: A Darwinian look at human behavior, rev. ed. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Masters, W. H., & Johnson, V. E. (1966). Human sexual response. New York, NY: Little, Brown.Google Scholar
Mayr, E. (1961). Cause and effect in biology. Science, 134(3489), 1501–1506.Google Scholar
McCall, K., & Meston, C. (2006). Cues resulting in desire for sexual activity in women. Journal of Sexual Medicine, 3(5), 838.Google Scholar
McCall, K. M., & Meston, C. M. (2007). The effects of false positive and false negative physiological feedback on sexual arousal: A comparison of women with or without sexual arousal disorder. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 36(4), 518–530.Google Scholar
Meston, C. M., & Buss, D. M. (2007). Why humans have sex. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 36(4), 477–507.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Meston, C. M., Heiman, J. R., Trapnell, P. D., & Paulhus, D. L. (1998). Socially desirable responding and sexuality self-reports. Journal of Sex Research, 35(2), 148–157.Google Scholar
Meston, C. M., & Stanton, A. M. (2017). Recent findings on women’s motives for engaging in sexual activity. Current Sexual Health Reports, 9(3), 128–135.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meuwissen, I., & Over, R. (1990). Habituation and dishabituation of female sexual arousal. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 28(3), 217–226.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Montesi, J. L., Conner, B. T., Gordon, E. A., Fauber, R. L., Kim, K. H., & Heimberg, R. G. (2013). On the relationship among social anxiety, intimacy, sexual communication, and sexual satisfaction in young couples. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 42(1), 81–91.Google Scholar
Moor, A., Haimov, Y., & Shreiber, S. (2021). When desire fades: Women talk about their subjective experience of declining sexual desire in loving long-term relationships. Journal of Sex Research, 58(2), 160–169.Google Scholar
Morton, H., & Gorzalka, B. B. (2015). Role of partner novelty in sexual functioning: A review. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 41(6), 593–609.Google Scholar
Mulligan, T., & Moss, C. R. (1991). Sexuality and aging in male veterans: A cross-sectional study of interest, ability, and activity. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 20(1), 17–25.Google Scholar
Murray, S. H., & Milhausen, R. R. (2012). Sexual desire and relationship duration in young men and women. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 38(1), 28–40.Google Scholar
National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention. (2011). 10 ways STDs impact women differently from men. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Google Scholar
Nettle, D. (2009). Evolution and genetics for psychology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Nicolosi, A., Laumann, E. O., Glasser, D. B., Moreira, E. D. Jr., Paik, A., & Gingell, C. (2004). Sexual behavior and sexual dysfunctions after age 40: The global study of sexual attitudes and behaviors. Urology, 64(5), 991–997.Google Scholar
Owen, J. J., Rhoades, G. K., Stanley, S. M., & Fincham, F. D. (2010). “Hooking up” among college students: Demographic and psychosocial correlates. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 39(3), 653–663.Google Scholar
Qato, D. M., Alexander, G. C., Conti, R. M., Johnson, M., Schumm, P., & Lindau, S. T. (2008). Use of prescription and over-the-counter medications and dietary supplements among older adults in the United States. JAMA, 300(24), 2867–2878.Google Scholar
Roller, C. G. (2007). Sexually compulsive/addictive behaviors in women: A women’s healthcare issue. Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health, 52(5), 486–491.Google Scholar
Rowland, D. L., & Gutierrez, B. R. (2017). Phases of the sexual response cycle. In Wenzel, A. (Ed.), The SAGE encyclopedia of abnormal and clinical psychology (pp. 1705–1706). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.Google Scholar
Schröder, J., & Schmiedeberg, C. (2015). Effects of relationship duration, cohabitation, and marriage on the frequency of intercourse in couples: Findings from German panel data. Social Science Research, 52, 72–82.Google Scholar
Scott-Phillips, T. C., Dickins, T. E., & West, S. A. (2011). Evolutionary theory and the ultimate–proximate distinction in the human behavioral sciences. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 6(1), 38–47.Google Scholar
Seth, P., Lang, D. L., DiClemente, R. J., Braxton, N. D., Crosby, R. A., Brown, L. K., … & Donenberg, G. R. (2012). Gender differences in sexual risk behaviours and sexually transmissible infections among adolescents in mental health treatment. Sexual Health, 9(3), 240–246. doi:10.1071/sh10098Google Scholar
Shackelford, T. K., Schmitt, D. P., & Buss, D. M. (2005). Universal dimensions of human mate preferences. Personality and Individual Differences, 39(2), 447–458.Google Scholar
Shostak, M. (1981). Nisa: The life and words of a !Kung woman. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Sims, K. E., & Meana, M. (2010). Why did passion wane? A qualitative study of married women’s attributions for declines in sexual desire. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 36(4), 360–380.Google Scholar
Sintchak, G., & Geer, J. H. (1975). A vaginal plethysmograph system. Psychophysiology, 12(1), 113–115.Google Scholar
Sonnenberg, P., Clifton, S., Beddows, S., Field, N., Soldan, K., Tanton, C., … & Phelps, A. (2013). Prevalence, risk factors, and uptake of interventions for sexually transmitted infections in Britain: Findings from the National Surveys of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal). The Lancet, 382(9907), 1795–1806.Google Scholar
Sprecher, S. (2002). Sexual satisfaction in premarital relationships: Associations with satisfaction, love, commitment, and stability. Journal of Sex Research, 39, 190–196. doi:10.1080/00224490209552141Google Scholar
Sprecher, S. (2006). Sexuality in close relationships. In Noller, P. & Feeney, J. A. (Eds.), Closer relationships: Functions, forms, and processes (pp. 267–284). Hove: Psychology Press/Taylor & Francis.Google Scholar
Stordal, E., Mykletun, A., & Dahl, A. A. (2003). The association between age and depression in the general population: A multivariate examination. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 107(2), 132–141.Google Scholar
Thomas, L. E. (1991). Correlates of sexual interest among elderly men. Psychological Reports, 68(2), 620–622.Google Scholar
Thrall, P. H., Antonovics, J., & Dobson, A. P. (2000). Sexually transmitted diseases in polygynous mating systems: Prevalence and impact on reproductive success. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences, 267(1452), 1555–1563. doi:10.1098/rspb.2000.1178Google Scholar
Tinbergen, N. (1963). On aims and methods of ethology. Zeitschrift für tierpsychologie, 20(4), 410–433.Google Scholar
Toates, F. (2009). An integrative theoretical framework for understanding sexual motivation, arousal, and behavior. Journal of Sex Research, 46(2–3), 168–193.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Toates, F. (2014). How sexual desire works. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Townsend, J. (1998). What women want – what men want: Why the sexes still see love and commitment so differently. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Træen, B., Martinussen, M., Öberg, K., & Kavli, H. (2007). Reduced sexual desire in a random sample of Norwegian couples. Sexual and Relationship Therapy, 22(3), 303–322.Google Scholar
Trivers, R. (1972). Parental investment and sexual selection (Vol. 136, p. 179). Cambridge, MA: Biological Laboratories, Harvard University.Google Scholar
Trivers, R. L. (1974). Parent-offspring conflict. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 14(1), 249–264.Google Scholar
Tunariu, A. D., & Reavey, P. (2007). Common patterns of sense making: A discursive reading of quantitative and interpretative data on sexual boredom. British Journal of Social Psychology, 46(4), 815–837.Google Scholar
Tybur, J. M., Lieberman, D., & Griskevicius, V. (2009). Microbes, mating, and morality: Individual differences in three functional domains of disgust. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 97(1), 103.Google Scholar
Vance, G., Shackelford, T. K., Weekes-Shackelford, V. A., & Abed, M. G. (2020). Later life sex differences in sexual psychology and behavior. Personality and Individual Differences, 157, 109730.Google Scholar
Varghese, B., Maher, J. E., Peterman, T. A., Branson, B. M., & Steketee, R. W. (2002). Reducing the risk of sexual HIV transmission: Quantifying the per-act risk for HIV on the basis of choice of partner, sex act, and condom use. Sexually Transmitted Diseases, 29, 38–43.Google Scholar
Wakefield, J. C. (2007). The concept of mental disorder: Diagnostic implications of the harmful dysfunction analysis. World Psychiatry, 6(3), 149.Google Scholar
Zeifman, D. M. (2001). An ethological analysis of human infant crying: Answering Tinbergen’s four questions. Developmental Psychobiology: The Journal of the International Society for Developmental Psychobiology, 39(4), 265–285.Google Scholar
Zietsch, B. P., Miller, G. F., Bailey, J. M., & Martin, N. G. (2011). Female orgasm rates are largely independent of other traits: Implications for “female orgasmic disorder” and evolutionary theories of orgasm. Journal of Sexual Medicine, 8(8), 2305–2316.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×