People might not be able or willing to accurately report how much they sexually desire their romantic partners due to concerns over the well-being of one’s relationship or impression management. This research assessed the predictive validity of a sexual desire implicit association task. First, a pilot study determined the psychometrically optimal length for the task. Study 1, using a dyadic weekly diary method, found that people with higher implicit desire experienced more intimacy during sex, were more responsive to their partner during sex, and perceived that their partners felt more desire, arousal, and intimacy during sex. In Study 2, higher implicit desire predicted quicker attentional disengagement from attractive alternatives for women; however, among men, higher implicit desire predicted slower attentional disengagement from attractive alternatives. Implications for understanding sexual desire in romantic relationships are discussed.

Introduction

In contemporary Western society, most people want romantic relationships that are infused with mutual sexual desire. This is not surprising, considering that sexual desire is a central component of romantic passion and that sexual activity is an opportunity for intimacy and intense pleasure (Birnbaum, 2017). However, sexual desire can be elusive in long-term romantic relationships—the intense desire typical of early-stage relationships tends to fade over time (e.g., Carvalheira, Brotto, & Leal, 2010; Carvalheira, Traeen, & Štulhofer, 2014; Klusmann, 2002). Even though this decline is common, people may be reluctant to acknowledge that their desire for their partner has dissipated because doing so may raise uncomfortable doubts about the future of their sex life or the relationship itself. To quell those doubts, responses on selfreport measures of sexual desire for romantic partners may be influenced by the need to believe or leave the impression that one’s relationship is lusty, sexy, and in turn, valuable and secure (Birnbaum, 2017; de Jong & Reis, 2014, 2015). To the best of our knowledge, previous research into sexual desire in romantic relationships has relied solely on self-report measures of sexual desire. However, the possibility that self-reported sexual desire may be biased by relationship concerns, impression management, or lack of interoceptive awareness of sexual responses raises questions regarding the ability of these measures to adequately uncover the causes and consequences of sexual desire in romantic relationships. The Implicit Association Test (IAT; Greenwald, Nosek, & Banaji, 2003) offers an alternative approach to measuring socially sensitive thoughts and feelings by assessing automatic and spontaneous appraisals in a way that reduces the ability to control responses (De Houwer & Moors, 2010).