Suchergebnisse

Most researchers interested in mate preference have focused on the desires of adult men and women. Few empirical investigations have been conducted on the preferences of adolescent boys and girls, despite the fact that this developmental period represents a time of awakening romantic
and sexual interest. The authors asked 46 teenage boys and girls (average age = 15.09 years) to indicate their preferences for various characteristics in an ideal long-term romantic or short-term sexual partner (randomly assigned). Both sexes emphasized attributes related to physical appeal
(e.g., attractive physical appearance, sexy appearance) and sexual drive (e.g., sexual passion, high sex drive, sexual responsiveness) when evaluating a casual sexual partner. Conversely, participants focused more upon intellect and other mentally appealing attributes (e.g., intelligence,
humor) when considering a romantic partner. No sex differences were found, suggesting that teenage boys and girls share a similar conception of the "perfect" partner.

With a focus on conflict as an interpersonal event rather than a social outcome, the present study investigated children's causal attributions regarding conflicts with friends during middle childhood. Thirty-nine girls and 34 boys responded to an open-ended question about causes
of conflicts with friends. Children attributed conflicts between friends to human or relationship characteristics, interactional conditions, or person characteristics. As expected children were more likely to consider conflicts as results of mutual factors than of individual influence (p<
.0001). Also, more children considered causes of conflicts to be of an impermanent rather than of a stable nature (p< .01). Children's responses to the open-ended format revealed their very complex understanding of conflict in friendship.

The present study examined the degree to which various partner characteristics are preferred by homosexual men and women in a short-term sexual relationship versus a long-term romantic relationship. A non-college sample of adults (N = 80) individually rated the desirability of
various attributes in a "short-term sexual" or a "long-term romantic" partner (randomly assigned). The results indicated that participants clearly distinguished between these two types of relational partner. Specifically, and consistent with hypotheses, both men and
women emphasized internal mental attributes (e.g., intellect), prosocial personality characteristics (e.g., interpersonal sensitivity, responsiveness) and characteristics reflective of family orientation (e.g., desire for children) more in a long-term romantic, than in a short-term sexual,
partner. Conversely, and consistent with earlier work using heterosexual samples, men and women desired higher levels of physical appeal (e.g., physical attractiveness, sexy appearance) from a potential sex partner than from a potential romantic partner. Sex differences also were found. Men
desired honesty and trustworthiness from a short-term sex partner more than did women, and women valued a long-term romantic partner's family orientation more than did men.

The recognition that sexual desire is associated with relationship quality and other important interpersonal experiences has led to a corresponding interest in identifying the correlates and causes of this aspect of human sexual response. Most researchers have focused on intraindividual
factors, including hormonal processes. The present review explores the relationship between one hormonally mediated female life event – pregnancy – and sexual desire. Sexual desire is defined and distinguished from other sexual experiences (e.g., arousal, activity), and its common
operationalizations are discussed. Next, the hormonal changes that characterize each trimester of pregnancy are considered. Empirical research conducted to determine whether these hormonal changes correspond to alterations in the experience of desire is then reviewed. It is concluded that
the hormonal fluctuations that occur during pregnancy are reliably associated with progressive decreases in feelings of sexual desire in the majority of women.