In many surveys, men typically report engaging in sex at earlier age, more often, and with more sexual partners than do women. However, women don't always answer surveys honestly, but give answers they believe are expected of them.

"Women are sensitive to social expectations for their sexual behavior and may be less than totally honest when asked about their behavior in some survey conditions," said Terri Fisher, co-author of the study and associate professor of psychology at Ohio State University's Mansfield campus.

According to the research, women tend to speak about their sexual life in a way that is more socially acceptable.

For example, women who thought their answers might be read reported an average of 2.6 sexual partners. But those who thought they were monitored by a lie detector reported an average of 4.4 sexual partners. Women who were not attached to the lie detector, but who had privacy during testing, gave answers in the middle - an average of 3.4 sexual partners.

Men's answers didn't vary as widely. Men who thought they were attached to a polygraph reported an average of 4.0 sexual partners, compared to 3.7 partners for those who thought their answers might be seen.

"Women appear to feel pressure to adhere to sex role expectations that indicate women should be more relationship-oriented and should avoid being seen as promiscuous," Fisher said.

"We live in a culture that really does expect a different pattern of sexual behavior from women than it does from men.” 

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