- D M Purnine: Department of Psychology, Syracuse University, New York 13244-2340, USA.
The coorientation method is used rarely to study communication in sexual dyads or other relationships due to uncertainty regarding the optimal way to calculate key variables (i.e., understanding, agreement, and perceived agreement). We examined this matter empirically, assessing sexual coorientation among 76 cohabiting couples; 152 adults completed measures of their own and their partners' sexual preferences as well as sexual satisfaction. Three sets of sexual preference coorientation variables were calculated using correlational, difference score, and combined approaches. These variables were then correlated with the sexual adjustment measures to determine which coorientation approach had greater explanatory power across several hypothesized relationships. Results clearly favored the correlational method. We identify several potential applications of the coorientation method and provide guidelines for its application to research on dyadic relationships.