Western Love Lab

Click below for an article covering a recent preprint authored by Love Lab's Kiersten Dobson Jenney Zhu Rhonda Nicole Balzarini and Lorne Campbell:

"Perhaps unsurprisingly, the researchers found that accepting a s*xual advance, or having an advance accepted by the partner, resulted in an increase in both s*xual and relationship satisfaction that day compared to other days. On the other hand, being rejected decreased s*xual satisfaction. But intriguingly, if the participant themselves was the rejecter – that is, if they shunned an advance from their partner – their s*xual satisfaction still increased. (Neither being rejected nor being the rejecter had any effect on general relationship satisfaction.) Changes in s*xual satisfaction could still be detected days after advances were made. The team found that the boost in satisfaction from having an advance accepted persisted for 24 hours, with the slump of being rejected lasting twice as long. And the gratification that came from being either an acceptor or a rejecter lasted a remarkable 72 hours. It might seem especially surprising that rejecting a partner’s advances gives a boost in s*xual satisfaction, particularly one that appears to last for three days. But rather than reflecting some pleasure derived from rejecting someone, the researchers suggest that being approached for s*x leaves a person feeling desired, so enhances s*xual satisfaction even when no actual s*x ends up happening"

The Dissatisfaction of Being Sexually Rejected By A Partner Lasts Longer Than The Pleasure Of Having An Advance Accepted By Matthew Warren. If the participants themselves were a rejector, their s*xual satisfaction increased – perhaps due to feeling desired.

Check out a press release covering recent research from Rhonda Nicole Balzarini and Taylor Kohut assessing why people may choose to have multiple relationships at the same time:

“We know from previous research that over time, eroticism tends to wane while nurturance increases. We also know that eroticism and nurturance serve fundamental roles in relationships,” says Balzarini. “The findings suggest that although multiple relationships may help individuals meet eroticism and nurturance needs, experiences with one partner do not always enhance a concurrent relationship.”

New study could explain why people choose to have multiple relationships at the same time | York Media Relations Findings suggest there may be unique benefits to diversifying needs across partners when in a polyamorous relationship.