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Sexual partner number and distribution over time affect long-term partner evaluation: evidence from 11 countries across 5 continents
,
William Costello,
Mons Bendixen,
Leif Edward Ottesen Kennair,
Menelaos Apostolou,
Klára Bártová,
Ondrej Burysek,
Rob Lowe ,
Peter Jonason,
Marta Kowal,
Yago Luksevicius de Moraes,
Jiaqing O,
Piotr Sorokowski,
Danielle Sulikowski,
Zuzana Štěrbová,
Jaroslava Varella Valentova,
Marco Antonio Correa Varella,
Yan Wang,
Arnaud Wisman,
Paula Wright,
Steve Stewart-Williams
Scientific Reports, Volume: 15, Start page: 27947
Swansea University Authors:
Andrew G. Thomas , William Costello, Ondrej Burysek, Rob Lowe
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© The Author(s) 2025. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
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DOI (Published version): 10.1038/s41598-025-12607-1
Abstract
A prospective partner’s sexual history provides important information that can be used to minimise mating-related risks. Such information includes the number of past sexual partners, which has an inverse relationship with positive suitor evaluation. However, sexual encounters with new partners vary...
| Published in: | Scientific Reports |
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| ISSN: | 2045-2322 |
| Published: |
Springer Nature
2025
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| Online Access: |
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| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa70091 |
| Abstract: |
A prospective partner’s sexual history provides important information that can be used to minimise mating-related risks. Such information includes the number of past sexual partners, which has an inverse relationship with positive suitor evaluation. However, sexual encounters with new partners vary in frequency over time, providing an additional dimension of context not previously considered. Across three studies (N = 5,331) with 15 samples, we demonstrate that the impact of past partner number on a suitor’s desirability as a long-term partner varies as a function of distribution over time. Using graphical representations of a suitor’s sexual history, we found that past partner number effects were smaller when the frequency of new sexual encounters decreased over time. This moderation effect was stronger, and often curvilinear, when past partner numbers were higher. We replicated these findings in 11 countries from five world regions. Sex differences were minimal and inconsistent pointing to a lack of a sexual double standards. Sociosexuality (openness to casual sex) was a consistent moderator and tended to mute the sexual history effects. These findings suggest that people not only attend to a potential long-term mate’s quantity of sexual partners, but also the context surrounding these encounters such as pattern and timing. Together, the findings raise the possibility of an evolved mechanism for managing mating risks present in both sexes and across populations and adds nuance to a contentious topic of public interest. |
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| Keywords: |
Evolutionary psychology; Cross-cultural psychology; Sex; Mate preferences; Sociosexuality |
| College: |
Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences |
| Funders: |
Data collection in Poland was made possible by funding from the IDN Being Human Lab, University of Wrocław, Poland. Marta Kowal was supported by the Foundation for Polish Science (FNP) START scholarship. Marco Antonio Correa Varella and Yago Luksevicius de Moraes were funded by the Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education at the time of data collection and Jaroslava Varella Valentova was funded by The Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (315952/2021-0). Andrew G. Thomas and Yan Wang were supported through internal departmental research funds from their institutions. Jiaqing O was supported by internal department funding from both Aberystwyth University and University of Macau at time of data collection. Danielle Sulikowski self-funded data collection for the Australian sample. William Costello was funded by the Student Research Development Award (SRDA) and the Best Student Manuscript Award from the International Academy of Sex Research. |
| Start Page: |
27947 |