8/04/2007

Why humans have sex - top 10 reasons

After asking nearly 2,000 people why they’d had sex, two psychologists Cindy M. Meston and David M. Buss (at University of Texas at Austin) have recently assembled and categorized a total of 237 reasons. Their list is a very thorough, interesting taxonomy of sexual motivations.
Below are the Top 10 :
1. I was “in the heat of the moment.”
2. It just happened.
3. I was bored.
4. It just seemed like “the thing to do.”
5. Someone dared me.
6. I desired emotional closeness (i.e., intimacy).
7. I wanted to feel closer to God.
8. I wanted to gain acceptance from friends.
9. It’s exciting, adventurous.
10. I wanted to make up after a fight.

I am glad to point out that "I wanted to have a child" is the reason No. 27.

5 comments:

Robert M Knight said...

If anything the 10 listed here how how dysfunctional and self centered people can be with regards to their sexual activity.

khengsiong said...

I wanted to feel closer to God.

I thought the churches are advocating abstinence!??

Bilbo said...

I was amazed at some of the motivations in the complete list. It's sad that so many of the reasons have nothing to do with love and intimacy...I think recreational sex, with proper protection, is okay, but we sometimes forget that the ultimate purpose of the act - regardless of how enjoyable it may be - is to propagate life.

Anonymous said...

I clicked on the link "list" to see the actual study text, and happily the list of reasons are very, very different from the top ten shown here.

The actual reasons for sex are the ones that would perhaps first come to mind: sexual desire for the other person, finding the other person attractive, seeking sexual pleasure, wish for emotional attachment.

And, happily, the LEAST common reason for initiating sexual relations is: intention to transmit aids or other STDs.

This is a case where the summary of the study is not consistant with the study itself.

I love this site. Please keep it up!

Anonymous said...

I am surprised ... no one said: "I love to have sex"