Why make-up sex is not so good for you
A study from Bucknell University, Pennsylvania, revealed that straight men believe the best form of apology from their partner is a kind gesture or a sexual favour. Meanwhile, women find resolution in male tears or quality time spent together.
For the study, 74 straight men and women were asked to name five actions that couples will engage in when they want to make up after a fight, as the Independent reports. The techniques they named were then put into 21 categories and given to a second group of men and women who judged each technique for their efficiency.
“Women may find the act of their male partner apologising to be an effective reconciliation tactic because it is viewed as an altruistic act,” Joel Wade, lead author of the study said. “A man’s apology may redirect the cost of romantic conflict to himself rather than to his partner and thereby demonstrate his ability to provide emotional support and incur personal costs for his partner.”
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Crying ang apologising were also actions highly rated by women when it came to making up. Men’s instincts for sexual activity appeared to be based on ego and insecurity more than anything else. “Women may thereby use sexual favours as a way to reconcile with their male partner, doing so may communicate to their male partner that they are still sexually accessible and as such do not want to end the relationship,” Wade said.
The study ‘Sex differences in Reconciliation Behaviour after Romantic Conflict’ appeared in Evolutionary Psychological Science.
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