Do Women Pretend Orgasm to Retain a Mate?

The current study tested the hypothesis that women pretend orgasm as part of a broader strategy of mate retention. We obtained
self-report data from 453 heterosexual women (M age, 21.8 years) in a long-term relationship (M length, 32.8 months) drawn
from universities and surrounding communities in the southeastern United States. The results indicated that (1) women who
perceived higher risk of partner infidelity were more likely to report pretending orgasm, (2) women who reported greater likelihood
of pretending orgasm also reported performing more mate retention behaviors, and (3) women’s perceptions of partner infidelity
risk mediated the relationship between pretending orgasm and the performance of cost-inflicting mate retention behaviors,
such as Intersexual Negative Inducements (“Flirted with someone in front of my partner”) and Intrasexual Negative Inducements
(“Yelled at a woman who looked at my partner”). Thus, pretending orgasm may be part of a broader strategy of mate retention
performed by women who perceive higher risk of partner infidelity.