Sociosexual orientation in social psychology refers to individual differences in the tendency to prefer either unrestricted sex (without the necessity of love) or restricted sex (only in the context of a long term loving relationship).
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Note that an 'unrestricted' sexual strategy is not equated to promiscuity: "unrestricted people, although more willing to engage in sex without love and commitment, still prefer being involved in stable, serially monogamous relationships (unlike promiscuous people)" (Simpson, Wilson & Winterheld, 2004). Also, in it is possible one could have a high score on the Sociosexuality Orientation Inventory (indicating an unrestricted strategy), without having had a large number of partners or any short-term relationships, which are key aspects of "promiscuity".
While generally, males show a more unrestricted strategy relative to females, substantial overlap exists between the sexes. For example, approximately 30% of men are less willing to engage in casual sex than the median score of female populations .
That the difference within sexes is greater than that between the sexes has led to substantial debate, and extensive theorising regarding the causes of such differences.
Sociosexuality is measured by the Sociosexual Orientation Inventory
The revised Sociosexual Orientation Inventory (SOI-R)