Posits that the degree of novelty of both mating partner and mating situation can be of great importance to the sexual behavior of animals under some circumstances. The" Coolidge effect"(JR Wilson et al, see record 1963-07859-001) can be defined as the restoration of mating behavior in males that have reached sexual satiation with 1 female and show a restoration of mating behavior when the original female is replaced with a novel female. Information on the Coolidge effect has recently been used in extrapolations to human behavior to predict monogamy in different species and in a sociobiological context. The literature on the Coolidge effect is reviewed critically, and various complexities and inconsistencies are discussed. Studies utilizing different paradigms, including the Coolidge effect, changes of female prior to satiety, multi-female tests, between-test changes of female, changes of environment, and choice situations, should be consistently differentiated. Results differ as a function of species, paradigm, and testing conditions.(100 ref)(PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)