Safe sex or risky romance? Young adults make the rational choice

Date:
October 16, 2020
Source:
Association for Psychological Science
Summary:
Eros, the fabled Greek god of love, was said to bring confusion and
weaken the mind. New research, however, suggests that young adults
are instead quite rational when it comes to selecting potential
sexual partners.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A study published in the journal Psychological Science found that young
adults -- contrary to how they are sometimes portrayed in the media
-- tend to make highly rational decisions when it comes to selecting
potential romantic partners.


==========================================================================
This is not to say that young adults make risk-free choices, but they
appear to consider both the risks and benefits of their sexual behavior
in a highly consistent and thoughtful manner.

"There is a tendency to view sexual decision making in young adults as a
highly variable and somewhat random process, more influenced by hormones
or impulsivity than rational processes," said Laura Hatz, a doctoral
candidate at the University of Missouri and lead author of the study. "Our study suggests, however, that young adults are highly consistent in their choices, balancing potential partners' level of attractiveness against the potential risk for sexually transmitted infection." The research involved presenting 257 participants with hypothetical "sexual gambles" in which
a photo of a potential partner's face was shown alongside an associated,
though purely hypothetical, risk of contracting a sexually transmitted infection. Nearly all participants in the study made consistently rational choices, as defined by established models of psychological behavior.

Prior research has shown that, in general, individuals tend to use what
are known as heuristic decision strategies -- cognitive shortcuts that
may ignore some information -- to make choices in life.

Hatz and her colleagues found that even individuals who could be
identified as classic heuristic decision makers for monetary-based
choices became rational decision makers when similar choices were framed
as sexual choices.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
Association_for_Psychological_Science. Note: Content may be edited for
style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Laura E. Hatz, Sanghyuk Park, Kayleigh N. McCarty, Denis
M. McCarthy,
Clintin P. Davis-Stober. Young Adults Make Rational Sexual
Decisions.

Psychological Science, 2020; 31 (8): 944 DOI:
10.1177/0956797620925036 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201016132012.htm

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