The affective shift hypothesis: The functions of emotional changes following sexual intercourse

This article develops the Affective Shift Hypothesis. which suggests that women experience positive affective shifts following first-time intercourse as a means to facilitate a longer-term, more committed relationship. The hypothesis predicts a negative affective shift in men who pursue a short-term mating strategy. this shift is hypothesized to function to curtail commitment by motivating the man to terminate the relationship. Study 1 (N = 177) documented sex differences predicted by the affective shift hypothesis. Study 2 (N = 203), using a somewhat different methodology involving reports of presex and postsex feelings, found that men with high numbers of sex partners, but not men with low numbers of partners, experienced a decrease in their partner's physical and sexual attractiveness following first-time sexual intercourse. In contrast, women, more than men, experienced increases in feelings of love and commitment following first-time sex.