Relationships and Sexual Health

People with stronger olfactory abilities reported slightly higher emotional and intellectual intimacy in their relationships, while higher pathogen and sexual disgust were unexpectedly associated with more physical closeness, according to a new study exploring sensory-emotional factors in romantic bonding.

Facial symmetry and good looks are only part of the picture. A new study suggests that scent, voice, and body motion also contribute to attractiveness—and people often disagree on who’s appealing.

A new study finds that while moderate eyelash length is seen as most attractive and healthiest, longer lashes are linked to greater perceived sexual receptivity—suggesting that long eyelashes may signal openness to casual relationships, despite lower attractiveness ratings.

Pornography may influence how some men view their romantic partners, according to a new experimental study. Heterosexual men exposed to sexually explicit media rated their partners less favorably than men who viewed action or animated films.

New research suggests that women are more likely than men to view everyday gestures—like doing laundry or running errands—as meaningful signs of affection. These acts carried more weight than verbal expressions when it came to choosing a partner.

Researchers have found that insecure attachment is linked to higher levels of social anxiety. The study, drawing on data from over 21,000 participants across 42 studies, provides evidence that attachment patterns are related to mental health in significant ways.

Researchers have uncovered evidence that links disease-avoidance motives to religiosity. Rather than tradition or ethnocentrism, the findings point to sexual conservatism—specifically, a preference for monogamy—as the psychological bridge between disgust and religious devotion.

A new meta-analysis suggests that male circumcision may be linked to slightly improved sexual satisfaction, erectile function, and reduced pain during intercourse. However, the clinical significance remains uncertain, and findings across studies were inconsistent.

Some people prefer AI over real relationships, according to a new national study. One in five users of romantic chatbot apps said they’d rather talk to AI than a human partner, suggesting a shift in how intimacy is experienced.

Psychologists find that not everyone responds to partner phone use the same way. A daily diary study shows attachment-anxious individuals report stronger feelings of rejection and are more likely to retaliate when phubbed, underscoring how early relational patterns shape digital...

A new study published in Sexual and Relationship Therapy suggests that insecure attachment styles shape how couples handle conflict. College students with insecure attachment were less likely to compromise and more prone to aggression, control, submission, or ending relationships.

Sexual dreams often mirror waking psychological patterns. University students who scored higher in sensation seeking, extraversion, and neuroticism tended to report more vivid, joyful, or unusual sexual dreams, while anxiety and depression fueled more aversive and unsettling experiences.

New research suggests that minimally invasive facial aesthetic treatments, such as fillers and neurotoxin injections, offer only a modest boost in perceived attractiveness. The treatments had little effect on how trustworthy, competent, or romantically desirable people were judged to be.

New research finds that men high in psychopathy and sexual desire, and women who are less picky with matches, report more sexual encounters via Tinder. The findings suggest dating apps favor fast, opportunistic mating strategies shaped by personality.

Twelve weeks of Pilates was associated with improvements in sexual desire, arousal, orgasm, and mood among women with sexual dysfunction, according to new findings.