Sex Science Skeptic

[JeffBooth]

It is called the first study of mood, sex, and commitment. It does the typical focus only on college age 20 years olds because they are here type of research done at colleges. To me personally, doing a study on commitment and 20 year olds is your first problem. Commitment typically comes a little later. Supposedly, the study demonstrates the extreme differences in the way men and women view potential mates. College attending 20 year olds are usually looking for sex partners, not mates, so I have a problem with the fundamental premise here. And why are we even talking about a survey with a sample size of just 60?

The methodology was to have participants watch uplifting and depressing film clips to see how changes in mood affected their attitude towards sex and commitment. The head of the Australian study, psychologist Professor Mark Stokes, stated that there were no surprises in the results (reinforcing traditional sexual stereotypes), "It's just that this is the first time this has been scientifically verified anywhere in the world." Really?

The amazing conclusion, apparently published in the journal Evolutionary Psychology, was that watching a dramatic film with a happy ending is a successful tactic for "increasing romantic interest." Somehow out of this they also got that women underestimated a man's interest in a long-term relationship, while men in the study repeatedly assumed women were more interested in sex than they actually were. I admit that I am only an enthusiastic layman and not a trained scientist, but this gets my bullshit sensors all a tingle. Anyone know more or can explain how this even remotely makes sense?