Female orgasm evolved as a mate-selection tool for females and promotes long-term, pair bonding but does not provide support for the hypothesis that it evolved as an indicator of male value

The Effect of Female Orgasm Frequency on Female Mate Selection: A Test of Two Hypotheses. Patrick J. Nebl, Anne K. Gordon. Evolutionary Psychology, March 9, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1177/14747049221083536

Abstract: Female orgasm has been a mystery that psychologists have been attempting to understand for decades. Many have contended that female orgasm is a functionless by-product of male orgasm, while others have argued that female orgasm may be an adaptation in its own right, offering several adaptationist accounts of female orgasm. In the current research, we tested predictions derived from two hypotheses regarding adaptive functions of female orgasm: female orgasm indicates partner mate value or female orgasm promotes long-term, pair bonding. 199 female undergraduates participated in an experiment where they imagined themselves as a member of a romantic relationship provided in a scenario. Within these scenarios, the relationships varied between either short- or long-term and the frequency that the female experienced orgasm during intercourse varied between never, occasionally, and almost always. Participants answered questions regarding relationship satisfaction and perceptions of the fictional relationship. A series of analysis of variance (ANOVAs) indicated that females assigned to conditions of experiencing more frequent orgasms reported greater relationship satisfaction, across both short- and long-term relationships. The relationship between female orgasm frequency and relationship satisfaction was fully mediated by the female's perceived love for her hypothetical partner but not by perceptions of her hypothetical partner's commitment. Taken together, this study provides preliminary support for the hypothesis that female orgasm evolved as a mate-selection tool for females and promotes long-term, pair bonding but does not provide support for the hypothesis that female orgasm evolved as an indicator of male value.

Keywords: orgasm, female orgasm, human sexuality, human mating, mate selection

A Proposed Test of Two Hypotheses

According to the “Mr. Right” hypothesis of mate choice the frequency of female orgasm acts as an indicator that helps females evaluate males during short-term mating contexts as potential long-term mates. If this hypothesis is valid then when evaluating a male's care and commitment toward her, females should be sensitive to information about a man's ability to bring her to orgasm.

According to the long-term pair bonding hypothesis of mate choice, female orgasm promotes female attachment to a male with whom she experiences orgasm, promoting long-term relationships. If this hypothesis is valid then a female's feelings of attachment and closeness to a mate should be affected by experiencing orgasm with the mate in long-term contexts.

In this study, female participants read a scenario about a relationship between a male and a female and imagined themselves as the female in the relationship. Within these scenarios two independent variables were manipulated—female orgasm frequency and relationship context. The female's frequency of orgasm varied among three levels--never, occasionally, and almost always. The relationship context varied between two levels--short-term or long-term. The main dependent measures included female's perceptions of the relationship's quality, including her degree of relationship satisfaction and commitment.

• Prediction 1: Based on the mate-choice hypothesis, we expected that females, regardless of context, who role-played experiencing higher frequencies of orgasm would report greater relationship satisfaction.

• Prediction 2: If the Mr. Right hypothesis of mate choice is correct, we expected this relationship between female orgasm frequency and relationship satisfaction to be at least partially mediated by females’ perceptions of their partner's commitment.

• Prediction 3: If the long-term pair bonding hypothesis of mate choice is correct, we expected this relationship between female orgasm frequency and relationship satisfaction to be at least partially mediated by love for her partner.