Experimental evidence for sex differences in sexual novelty preferences

Experimental evidence for sex differences in sexual novelty preferences. Susan M. Hughes, Marissa A. Harrison, Toe Aung, Gordon G. Gallup, Jr. Human Behavior and Evolution Society 31st annual meeting. Boston 2019. http://tiny.cc/aa1w6y

Abstract: We examined sex differences in preferences for sexual novelty to explore whether the Coolidge Effect plays a role in human sexuality. In an experimental task, participants were asked to play a hypothetical dating game and select between novel and familiar faces as short-term dating partners. Participants were presented with two facial images on a screen and were asked to select the person they would prefer to date short term. The presentation software was response-adaptive, and depending upon participant choice, the next pairing included a presentation of their previously selected photo with a novel photo. We found that men were more likely than women to select a novel person to date. Further, when participants selected a repeated picture over a novel picture, men took longer to make this decision than women. It seems women exhibited greater cognitive ease than men when selecting a familiar individual to date, whereas men needed more time to deliberate between selecting a familiar mate over a novel mate. These findings lend support to the idea that sex differences in preferences for sexual novelty are a salient sex-specific evolved component of the repertoire of human mating strategies.