Systematic Distortion in Spouses' Reports of Preferred and Actual Sexual Behavior

This paper corroborates findings in Wallin and Clark's earlier studies of sexual behavior in marriage, and suggests that the results accord with a theory of cognitive consistency. As in the earlier studies, reports of preferred frequencies of coitus were distorted to correspond with presumed cultural norms and with the respondent's own marital and sexual satisfaction. Reports of actual frequencies also were displaced-upward for satiated respondents and downward for unsatisfied respondents. Some implications are discussed.