Evolutionarily speaking, there's a reason people are more likely to spill their guts after sex. Also, before sex, and even while just thinking about sex. According to a new study out of Israel published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, sexual excitement alone is enough to make a person more interested in self-disclosure. That's based off three different trails, each presenting participants with sexually pleasing stimuli—a sexy photograph, a sexy (but not pornographic) video of a couple, or a movie clip of Angelina Jolie and Antonia Banderas' characters having sex in Original Sin—and then judging how eager they were to divulge personal information to a stranger of the opposite sex. The sexual imagery alone made them more eager, even if the likelihood of them having sex with that stranger was near-nonexistent.
When human beings were developing as a species, the study authors pointed out, the instinct to share kept couples together. It was a necessary biological advancement if their children were going to survive—two parents were better than one, or none. "Selection pressures have produced mechanisms that keep sexual partners bonded to each other so that they can work together to increase their offspring's chances of survival during the vulnerable period of infancy," the study said.
The fallout is generally positive in the modern era, too. Disclosing personal information is an act of trust. That disclosure, the study notes, allows people to become closer and increases their desire for each other, making whatever relationship they share that much stronger. So, pillow-talk and personal secret-sharing can be a positive thing—excessive over-sharing aside.
From: Esquire US
