Does sex equal happiness? According to a new study from Tracking Happiness, men associated sex with happiness a staggering 250 per cent more than women. The study was based on answers from 1,155 men and women (665 male; 482 female) who were asked “Of the following words, which 5 words do you associate most with ‘happiness’?”
The words were pulled from a list of 16 pre-selected words:
- Laughter/Cheer
- Joy
- Pleasure
- Satisfaction
- Contentment
- Safety/Security
- Purpose in life
- Love
- Relationships
- Family
- Wealth
- Freedom/Independence
- Health/Well-being
- Sex
- Enlightenment
- Other
The study revealed that of all male respondents, 20 per cent selected the word “Sex” when associating it with “Happiness”. On the other hand, only 8 per cent of female respondents selected the word. So, can factors like sex drive have an effect on these types of studies?
Some previous research from Psychology Today certainly suggests this. For example, studies have shown that women are less likely to orgasm during sex. Also, there’s a double standard when it comes to casual sex — with a stigma that is attached with women more than men.
The purpose of Tracking Happiness’ study was to discover how folx around the world describe “happiness” without directly using that word. Through this study, it revealed this extra layer that the correlation between sex and happiness is more prevalent with men than it is with women.
So, which five words would you have chosen for this study? Did “sex” make the list?
