How often do allosexuals think about sex?
This question is challenging to study since most research on it relies on methods that are known to be unreliable – e.g. self-reporting. The most reliable methodology is generally considered to be where participants are asked to count each time they thought about sex (as soon as they realise they are doing so). A 2012 study [1] using this approach found that the typically people tend to think about sex no more or less frequently than they do about food or sleep [2]. The median number of times recorded (in one day) was 18 for men and 10 for women. However, the authors are keen to emphasise that people are extremely variable with how often they think about sex during a day – in this study, the range was from once to almost 400 times. Also, in contrast to most research using less reliable methods, men and women reported thinking about sex with roughly equal frequency.
References
- [1]: Fisher, Terri D.; Moore, Zachary T.; Pittenger, Mary-Jo (January 2012). Sex on the Brain?: An Examination of Frequency of Sexual Cognitions as a Function of Gender, Erotophilia, and Social Desirability. Journal of Sex Research. 49 (1): 69–77. doi:10.1080/00224499.2011.565429.
- [2]: Fisher, Terri D. (2011). How often do men and women think about sex? (discussion of [1] intended for a more general audience). Psychology Today.