Research delves into desire

Ever wondered why you sometimes ‘get that lovin’ feeling’ out of the blue, but at other times you feel you’ve lost your mojo?

You can participate in an anonymous study by University of Queensland School of Psychology researcher Emily Harris to receive personalised feedback on your patterns of sexual desire.

“Using a free smartphone app, participants can track when, with whom, and why their sexual desire changes over time,” Ms Harris said.

“You receive four quick notifications each day asking about your mood and immediate environment, such as how tired/stressed/lonely you feel, who you’re with, and what you’re doing.

The worldwide study is open to everyone aged 18 and above.

Ms Harris hopes to extend past research by focusing on how we experience desire moment-to-moment.

“I think sexual desire is so interesting because it can hit at any time of day, not only in a bedroom context.

“This study will provide important insights for the field of sex research, and will give participants a bird’s-eye view of their  experience of sexual desire.”

Ms Harris has published research on submission and dominance roles in Fifty Shades of Grey-style erotica, and her most recent publication focuses on women’s attitudes towards gender and orgasm frequency.

To find out more about this study and how you can be involved, visit this page.

All participants will get a personalised summary of results within 48 hours of completing the study.

Results will allow you to track changes in sexual desire over a week (eg. what days are you the most and least aroused?) and the factors that impact on when and why you feel sexually alive.

Participants will be assigned a unique code so that responses remain anonymous.

Media: Emily Harris, emily.harris@uqconnect.edu.au; Robert Burgin, UQ Communications, r.burgin@uq.edu.au, +61 7 3346 3035, +61 448 410 364.