Some Thoughts For The Day

Sex occurs within a broader social and cultural context, with implications for prestige, status, and reputation. Having sex with a high status individual, for example, might raise a person’s status within the group. Within some groups, having sex with numerous partners might enhance a person’s reputation, providing the motivational impetus for initiating sex. Sex, of course, can sometimes damage a person’s status and reputation, providing reasons for avoiding it or concealing it from others in the group. In sum, because sex has consequences for status and reputation that can act as incentives (or deterrents), a person might be motivated to have sex for social reasons that have nothing to do with the personal relationship within which it occurs. All of these diverse theoretical perspectives, when taken together, point to a singular conclusion: The reasons people have sex are likely to be far more numerous and psychologically complex than previous taxonomists have envisioned.men are more motivated by purely physical reasons, such as physical release or simply because they are ‘‘horny,’’ whereas women are more motivated by emotional reasons, such as to become psychologically closer to a partner.Others have found that men, more than women, have sex in order to provide relief from stress and to enhance their feelings of personal power.men will be more motivated by the desire for sexual variety , the chance for an opportunistic copulation , the physical appearance of a potential partner , and that emotional factors, such as expressing love or intensifying psychological commitment, would figure more prominently in women’s reasons for having sex.Some have sex to feel powerful; others have sex to debase themselves. Some have sex to impress their friends; others have sex to inflict costs on their enemies.People are attracted to physically beautiful people. What is perceived as attractive differs among cultures. Characteristics of the person being observed, as well as the observer, also play a role in attractiveness. For instance, when a person is liked more, this person is seen as more physically attractive. We like to be around attractive people because of the esthetic pleasure we obtain, and because interactions with attractive people are generally positive and pleasant. The common stereotype of attractive people is that they are warm, friendly, and social. This stereotype becomes self-fulfilling when people act differently around attractive people because of their expectations, which as a result brings out the best in attractive people.In long-term relationships, men attach more importance to physical attractiveness than women do. From an evolutionary perspective this is explained by differences in parental investments for men and women. The investment for men is small, thus men can maximize their reproduction. They look for beautiful women because this is an indicator of women being young (so more fertile) and healthy. For women the investment is bigger, so they search for a supporting male, and thus seek for indicators of men’s resources, such as dominance, status, etc.Similarity signals familiarity: When others seem similar to us, this makes them seem familiar, which increases our liking for them.
Similarity contributes to mastery: Similarity between people leads to attraction because we tend to interact with similar others. The interaction also tends to be positive when people are similar.
Similarity validates connectedness: Similarity breeds attraction because we assume that similar others like us. Being liked by someone is a strong reason to like this person back.
Self-disclosure leads to more liking and deeper relationships because it signals trust, and because knowing each other’s abilities, preferences, and needs leads to easier coordination of mutual activities and more understanding.
Self-disclosures are often exchanged in relationships; the norm of reciprocity is at work. However, when people disclose more than is appropriate, it makes others feel uncomfortable.
There is a strong gender difference in self-disclosure; women disclose more than men, especially in a same-sex relationship. In addition, men’s disclosures often reflect an effort to deepen the relationship, while women’s disclosures reflect their feelings about the relationship.