Scientists have discovered exactly 237 reasons people have sex
Psychologists Cindy Messon and David Buss didn't think that was very realistic.
So they gathered 444 people between 17 and 52 years old and asked them to list as many reasons they could think of why they or people they knew had chosen to have sex.
Then Messon and Buss went through the 715 responses, eliminating duplicates and condensing similar answers. The result was a 237-item list (technically, 238 counting space to write in other responses), which they named the YSEX survey and published in 2007.
Messon and Buss tested the YSEX survey first on college students. Some of the most common reasons they gave for having sex included:
- I was attracted to the person
- It feels good
- I wanted to experience the physical pleasure
- I wanted to show my affection the person
- I was sexually aroused and wanted the release
Among the rarest reasons for why these college students were having sex?
- I wanted to give someone else a sexually transmitted disease
- The person offered to give me drugs for doing it
- I wanted a raise
- I wanted to breakup my relationship
- It was an initiation rite to a club or organization
But it's still being used today to help researchers understand sexual dynamics based on factors like sexual orientation, age, and level of commitment.
And since we know you're wondering, here's the full list, good, bad, and ugly.