COLUMBUS, Ohio – When it comes to talking about sexual liaisons, a typical man will shamelessly admit significant experience while a typical woman often claims very little. A new study by researchers at Ohio State University suggests women, in fact, may be lying.
OSU professor Terri Fisher and her team placed subjects in several environments and then asked women and men about their sexual histories. The study surveyed 201 unmarried, heterosexual college students (96 men and 105 women) between the ages of 18 and 25. All participants completed questionnaires about their sexual attitudes, sexual experience and behavior, and the age at which they lost their virginity.
In one scenario, subjects of both genders were connected to polygraph machines. The lie detectors weren’t working, but the subjects thought they were.
Male subjects’ answers were fairly consistent across scenarios. However, when the female subjects thought their answers were being assessed by a lie detector, their questionnaire responses were surprisingly similar to male subjects’ answers. In contrast, female subjects not connected to polygraph machines reported fewer partners and liaisons and increased the age at which they lost their virginity. According to the researchers, the results indicate women “under-report” their sexual exploits.
“In general, the researchers found that women who thought their answers might be seen by others tended to give answers that were more socially acceptable than did women who thought they were connected to a lie detector,” study documentation notes. “For example, women who thought their answers might be read reported an average of 2.6 sexual partners. But those who thought they were monitored by a lie detector reported an average of 4.4 sexual partners. Women who were not attached to the lie detector, but who had privacy during testing, gave answers in the middle — an average of 3.4 sexual partners.
“Men’s answers didn’t vary as widely,” the report continues. “Men who thought they were attached to a polygraph reported an average of 4.0 sexual partners, compared to 3.7 partners for those who thought their answers might be seen.”
Why would women lie about their sexual histories and habits?
“Women are sensitive to social expectations for their sexual behavior and may be less than totally honest when asked about their behavior in some survey conditions,” Fisher said. “Women appear to feel pressure to adhere to sex role expectations that indicate women should be more relationship-oriented and should avoid being seen as promiscuous.
“We live in a culture that really does expect a different pattern of sexual behavior from women than it does from men,” she concluded.
