Faking the orgasm is a common fixture of pop culture, and based on the statistics, you’ve likely either witnessed or committed the behavior yourself. Rather than count how many people fake an orgasm, a recent study from the University of Kansas delved into the reasons why people would do such a thing.

The study found there were six main reasons why both men and women fake satisfaction. These include:

  • Feels good
  • For partner
  • Not into sex
  • Manipulation/power
  • Insecurity
  • Emotional communication

In addition, the study also investigated the true popularity of pretending to orgasm, and found that among college students surveyed, 76 percent of women and 41 percent of men reported having faked an orgasm at least once, New York Magazine, The Science of Us, reported.

For their study, the team developed a measurement chart called the Pretending Orgasms Reasons Measure, (PORM) in order to gauge a person’s reason for pulling the wool over their lover's eyes. They then conducted three surveys of more than 1,400 college students, asking whether or not they had ever faked an orgasm, and if so, why.

Read: Faking Orgasms: Women May Exaggerate Sexual Pleasure To End Unwanted, Forced Encounters

This is not the first study to look into why people may fake an orgasm, and some researchers have suggested that women may fake an orgasm as a way to keep their partner happy, similar to how they will dress up nice to please someone. It may also be a way to boost a man’s ego, as a study published in March found that many men view the ability to help a woman reach an orgasm as a sign of their own masculinity.

“For these men, [who see female orgasms as a sign of masculinity] women’s orgasm is actually about the men feeling good about their masculinity,” study authors Sara B. Chadwick and Sari van Anders told PsyPost. “This could explain why some men feel pressured to 'give' women orgasms. And, it could explain why some women fake orgasms, i.e., to protect men’s feelings.”

It may be that the female partners of these men sense their vulnerable masculinity, and fake as a way to boost their self-esteem. But a woman may not be able to orgasm for many reasons, which means it isn't all her partner's fault.

In addition, a 2016 study found that women may fake an orgasm in order to speed up their partner’s orgasm and end a sex session that is unpleasurable or unwanted. In their research, the team found that many of the women interviewed used words such as “bad” to describe sexual experiences in which they may have faked an orgasm in order to help end it more quickly.

Source: Goodman DL, Gillath O, Haj-Mohamandi P. Development and Validation of the Pretending Orgasm Reasons Measure .Archives of Sexual Behavio r. 2017

See Also:

The Female Orgasm: Why Women Fake 'The Big O' In The Bedroom

Is The Female Orgasm Self-Fulling? Women Fake It Until They Convince Themselves The Sex Is Good