Citation

Kaighobadi F, Shackelford TK, Weekes-Shackelford VA. Arch. Sex. Behav. 2012; 41(5): 1121-1125.

Affiliation

HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies, New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University, 1051 Riverside Dr., Unit 15, New York, NY 10032, USA. fk2281@columbia.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s10508-011-9874-6

PMID

22089325

PMCID

PMC3563256

Abstract

The current study tested the hypothesis that women pretend orgasm as part of a broader strategy of mate retention. We obtained self-report data from 453 heterosexual women (M age, 21.8 years) in a long-term relationship (M length, 32.8 months) drawn from universities and surrounding communities in the southeastern United States. The results indicated that (1) women who perceived higher risk of partner infidelity were more likely to report pretending orgasm, (2) women who reported greater likelihood of pretending orgasm also reported performing more mate retention behaviors, and (3) women's perceptions of partner infidelity risk mediated the relationship between pretending orgasm and the performance of cost-inflicting mate retention behaviors, such as Intersexual Negative Inducements ("Flirted with someone in front of my partner") and Intrasexual Negative Inducements ("Yelled at a woman who looked at my partner"). Thus, pretending orgasm may be part of a broader strategy of mate retention performed by women who perceive higher risk of partner infidelity.

Language: en