Exploring love, sex and conflict: Jessica Maxwell’s research on relationships

McMaster researcher reflects on her journey as a scholar and the evolving science of love and intimacy

Jessica Maxwell, an assistant professor in the department of health, aging and society and acting director of the department of social psychology at McMaster University, has dedicated her career to studying the complexities of love, sex, and relationships.

Maxwell’s fascination with relationships and sexuality started early. “I always had an inherent curiosity,” she told The Silhouette.

Growing up, she read Cosmopolitan and watched romantic comedies. But it wasn’t until university that she realized she could study these topics academically.

She recalled that, as an undergraduate, she took courses on human sexuality and close relationships, which set her on a path toward a career in relationship science. After completing her Ph.D. at the University of Toronto, she became a postdoctoral fellow at Florida State University before coming to McMaster.

Her research delves into topics such as how attachment styles influence experiences with casual sex, how political beliefs intersect with sexual satisfaction, and how anxieties about being single shape dating behaviours.

One of her most recent studies, “Kiss and Makeup? Examining the Co-occurrence of Conflict and Sex”, investigates the widely held belief that make-up sex strengthens relationships. Her team conducted a six-month study of 107 newlywed couples to examine how conflict and intimacy interact.

“Culturally, we hear that make-up sex is supposed to be passionate and satisfying. But that really wasn’t the case,” said Maxwell.

Although post-conflict sex was less enjoyable than sex that occurred independent of conflict, it helped soften the emotional toll of conflict in the moment. However, in the long run, it had no significant impact on changes in marital satisfaction.

At the 2024 Society for Personality and Social Psychology Conference in San Diego, Maxwell presented another study, “Who is Having Better Sex... Liberals or Conservatives?”, based on data from New Zealand. She noted that conservatives reported higher levels of sexual satisfaction despite many liberal beliefs being associated with sexual well-being.

Her research also found that political differences between partners didn’t impact relationship happiness, suggesting that couples who stay together despite ideological divides may develop ways to navigate those differences successfully.

Maxwell’s research also explores how people form connections in real time. Her work with speed-dating studies has shown that people are surprisingly accurate at gauging romantic interest, even after just a few minutes of interaction.

“You can literally watch people connect,” said Maxwell. “I’m a big advocate for bringing back speed-dating ... In an hour, you can meet 15 people instead of spending hours on dating apps messaging people you may never meet.”

Alongside her research, Maxwell teaches courses such as SOCPSY 2F03: Psychology of Close Relationships, HLTHAGE 2P03: Sex and Wellbeing, and SOCPSY 4H03: Advanced Topics in Close Relationships. She advises students interested in relationship science to gain as much research experience as possible, even if it’s not directly in the field.

“Any sort of research with participants can be useful,” said Maxwell, emphasizing that diverse perspectives bring valuable insights to the field.

Looking ahead, Maxwell sees relationship science evolving to reflect the complexities of modern dating. While much of the existing research is built around monogamous couples in the Western world, she believes the field needs to expand to include topics like consensual non-monogamy, singlehood, and newer relationship structures like “situationships” and throuples.

Maxwell’s next projects aim to do just that — she recently received a grant to explore the sexual relationships of older adults, an area often overlooked in research. She reflected on some of the questions guiding her current research:

“Do older adults realize that sexual relationships take effort and work? Can that [knowledge] help to buffer their relationships during times of sexual challenges or the changes that come along with aging?” said Maxwell.

As she continues to challenge long-held assumptions about love, sex and connection, Maxwell’s work is shaping the future of relationship science, ensuring that the field evolves alongside the people it seeks to understand.