It’s shocking, but a recent study shows that men will lie or bend the truth to get laid. What, you’re not surprised?
The study was reported in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology and was conducted by researchers at the University of Rochester in New York in partnership with the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya in Israel. What the researchers uncovered—or realized—is that people are more likely to lie about themselves when trying to impress a sexual partner. The study is actually four different studies all on heterosexual participants. The researchers noted that the participants who were already “sexually primed,” meaning they already had sex on the brain, were more likely to either lie or bend the truth than were those who were not primed.
The first study revolved around arguing with a stranger of a different sex about what the solution to a fictional dilemma should be. Sexually primed participants were more likely to agree with their partner’s point of view.
The second study took a look at what relationship preferences subjects had. When sexually primed, the participants were more likely to change their answers to align more fully with a profile they had viewed when not primed. The final two studies reported on participant’s willingness to divulge the number of sexual partners they’ve had in either conversation or in an anonymous questionnaire. The studies found that sexually primed individuals lowballed the count. The results of the studies show a predilection to manage impressions from those you would like to engage sexually.
“In everyday life, the attractiveness of a potential partner or the sexy ambience of a first date may lead people to disclose personal information about themselves in order to initiate a potential relationship with a desired mate,” reads the report. “Our research suggests that the content of this disclosure is less likely to reflect the true self following sexual activation, as sexual arousal may make people more focused on saying what needs to be said to create a positive impression while being less cognizant of the potential long-term costs of this tendency.” In other words, when the engine is revving, guys are going to say whatever it takes to get laid—consequences be damned. Yep, no surprise here.
