The DOI matches its Crossref record; 230 of the 230 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Agreement of self-reported and genital measures of sexual arousal in men and women: a meta-analysis.
Open accessAbstract
The assessment of sexual arousal in men and women informs theoretical studies of human sexuality and provides a method to assess and evaluate the treatment of sexual dysfunctions and paraphilias. Understanding measures of arousal is, therefore, paramount to further theoretical and practical advances in the study of human sexuality. In this meta-analysis, we review research to quantify the extent of agreement between self-reported and genital measures of sexual arousal, to determine if there is a gender difference in this agreement, and to identify theoretical and methodological moderators of subjective-genital agreement. We identified 132 peer- or academically-reviewed laboratory studies published between 1969 and 2007 reporting a correlation between self-reported and genital measures of sexual arousal, with total sample sizes of 2,505 women and 1,918 men. There was a statistically significant gender difference in the agreement between self-reported and genital measures, with men (r = .66) showing a greater degree of agreement than women (r = .26). Two methodological moderators of the gender difference in subjective-genital agreement were identified: stimulus variability and timing of the assessment of self-reported sexual arousal. The results have implications for assessment of sexual arousal, the nature of gender differences in sexual arousal, and models of sexual response.
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Figures
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“Compared with men, women experience a higher level of discordance between their physiological arousal and their subjective experience of arousal when presented with sexual stimuli (6).”
From Effects of Mindfulness Training on Body Awareness to Sexual Stimuli: Implications for Female Sexual Dysfunction (2011) · cites this paper as [6]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cites
(2001) · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511546396 · Cited by 4,482
Neural systems supporting interoceptive awareness
Critchley, H. D., Wiens, S., Rotshtein, P., Öhman, A., & Dolan, R. J. (2004) · Nature Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nn1176 · Cited by 3,406
(1971) · The Medical Journal of Australia · doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.1971.tb87410.x · Cited by 3,030
(1979) · Cited by 2,524
The evolution of human sexuality
Wilson, G. (1980) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/0191-8869(80)90074-4 · Cited by 2,505
The characteristics of persistent sexual offenders: a meta-analysis of recidivism studies
Hanson, R. K., & Morton-Bourgon, K. E. (2005) · Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-006x.73.6.1154 · Cited by 1,795 · cited 1×
“Regarding predictive validity, phallometrically-assessed sexual arousal to stimuli depicting children or sexual violence is an important predictor of sexual reoffending among sex offenders (Hanson & Morton-Bourgon, 2005).”
Gender differences in sexuality: A meta-analysis.
Oliver, M. B., & Hyde, J. S. (1993) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.114.1.29 · Cited by 1,134 · cited 2×
“Formen,genitalmeasures of sexual arousal included circumferential assessments using mercury-in-rubber, indium-gallium, or mechanical (Barlow) strain gauges, volumetric devices, or thermography.”
Calculating correlation coefficients with repeated observations: Part 2—correlation between subjects
Bland, J. M., & Altman, D. G. (1995) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.310.6980.633 · Cited by 1,083 · cited 2×
“Each participant produces a set of data points that is used to calculate a within-subjects correlation for that participant, which can then be averaged across the participants in a group (Bland & Altman, 1995a).”
Bland, J. M., & Altman, D. G. (1995) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.310.6977.446 · Cited by 1,036 · cited 2×
“Each participant produces a set of data points that is used to calculate a within-subjects correlation for that participant, which can then be averaged across the participants in a group (Bland & Altman, 1995a).”
Causes of sexual dysfunction: The role of anxiety and cognitive interference.
Barlow, D. H. (1986) · Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-006x.54.2.140 · Cited by 896 · cited 3×
“Cognitive models of sexual response and dysfunction propose that positive affect directs attention to erotic stimuli, thereby increasing sexual response, whereas negative affect interferes in the processing of sexual cues, resulting in lower sexual response (see Barlow, 1986).”
Research works printed but not linked: 4
- *Chivers, M. L. (2003). A sex difference in the specificity of sexual arousal. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL.
- *Gaither, G. K. (2001). The reliability and validity of three new measures of male sexual preferences. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences & Engineering, 61(9-B), 4981.
- Jones, G. E. (1995). Constitutional and physiological factors in heartbeat perception. In D. Vaitl & R. Schandry (Eds.), From the heart to the brain: The psychophysiology of circulation-brain interaction (pp. 173–192). Frankfurt/Main: Peter Lang.
- *Stock, W. E. (1983). The effects of violent pornography on the sexual responsiveness and attitudes of women. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 501–582 of 582
Fleshly Lusts That War Against the Soul
Perry, S. L. (2019) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190844219.003.0004
From Obscenity Outside to Addiction Within
Perry, S. L. (2019) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190844219.003.0002
L’utilisation de la pleine conscience dans le traitement du trouble de l’orgasme féminin
Adam, F., Day, J. M., Sutter, P. D., & Brasseur, C. E. (2019) · Sexologies · doi:10.1016/j.sexol.2019.06.013 · Cited by 1
Roy, C. (2019) · The Atrium (University of Guelph)
Luterman, A., Farisello, L., & Kilimnik, C. D. (2020) · Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy · doi:10.1080/0092623x.2020.1716906
Who or What Should I Be Like? The Self-Assessment of Sexual Desire
Maykut, C. A. (2020) · Digital Scholarship - UNLV (University of Nevada Reno) · doi:10.34917/7048600
Edard, A. (2020) · Journal of Gynecology and Womens Health · doi:10.19080/jgwh.2020.19.556034
Seeking help for female sexual dysfunction in Alberta: a manual
LaRocque, K. M. (2021)
Pharmaceutical and Energy-Based Management of Sexual Problems in Women
Siegal, A. R., & Chubak, B. M. (2021) · Urologic Clinics of North America · doi:10.1016/j.ucl.2021.06.006
Osatinsky, R., Chavez, V. P., & Aguet, M. N. (2008) · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals)
Tremblay, R., Brunot, N., Fernandez, S., Saus, A.-S., & Xavier, F. (2020) · Érès eBooks · doi:10.3917/eres.tremb.2020.01.0297
Psychologische benaderingen van seksualiteit
Gijs, L. A. C. L., Laan, E. T. M., & Both, S. (2018) · Bohn Stafleu van Loghum eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-90-368-1111-8_4
Johnson, M. D. (2016) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781118817469.refs
Rokach, A., & Patel, K. (2021) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-819174-3.00013-9
Rokach, A., & Patel, K. (2021) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-819174-3.00012-7
Holub, A. M. (2017) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_795-1
Suschinsky, K. D., & Chivers, M. L. (2016) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_3362-1
Holub, A. M. (2020) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-24612-3_795
Perry, S. L. (2019) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190844219.003.0008
Plaud, J. J. (2020) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-805469-7.00017-6
Marhenke, T. (2020) · Essentials · doi:10.1007/978-3-658-32169-7_2
Vermindertes sexuelles Verlangen der Frau
Hoy, M., Strauss, B. M., & Brenk-Franz, K. (2022) · DNP - Der Neurologe und Psychiater · doi:10.1007/s15202-022-4868-x
Validation of holding time, a novel tool to assess control over ejaculation in males: A pilot study
Bhat, G. S., & Shastry, A. (2022) · Andrologia · doi:10.1111/and.14509
Marhenke, T. (2022) · Essentials · doi:10.1007/978-3-658-35721-4_2
Sexual Literacy in Relation to Sexual Satisfaction and Relationship SatisfactionPreprint
Newland, A., Meng, A., Willis, J., & Nelson, A. L. (2022) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/3cjpv
Developing a Causally Valid Picture-Story Measure of Sexual Motivation: II. Effects of film clipsPreprint
Schultheiss, O. C., & Hinzmann, J. (2022) · doi:10.31219/osf.io/r5x9g
Arbeit am Hintergrund: Persönlichkeit – Entstehungsbedingungen
Zarbock, G., Wilckens, P.-S., & Semmler, N. (2022) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-662-62068-7_7
Leusink, P. (2021) · Bohn Stafleu van Loghum eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-90-368-2707-2_25
A History of Sexual Orientation Research
Radtke, S. R. (2023) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-08956-5_315-1
Fontanesi, L. (2013) · Padua@research (University of Padova)
Wolfs et al. - Review Alcohol sexual arousal and condom use intentions 4-4-2023Preprint
Wolfs, K., Bos, A. E. R., Mevissen, F. E. F., & van Lankveld, J. J. D. M. (2023) · PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/5927j
De seksuele-interesse-/opwindingsstoornis bij de vrouw
Both, S., & Dieben, S. W. M. (2023) · Bohn Stafleu van Loghum eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-90-368-2894-9_3
Handvatten voor een proactieve en niet-oordelende benadering van seksuele zorgvragen
van Lunsen, R. H. W., & van Moorst, B. R. (2023) · Bohn Stafleu van Loghum eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-90-368-2894-9_2
Self-reported sexual response in transgender women to audiovisual stimulation protocol
Lara, M. S., & Pascual, R. J. S. (2023) · Acta de Investigación Psicológica · doi:10.22201/fpsi.20074719e.2023.1.473
Marečková, A., Hůla, M., Klapilová, K., & Vaníček, O. (2023) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-2753197/v1
Sexual Arousal and Female Sexual Orientation
Kawano, A., McCoy, R. T., & Bongar, B. M. (2023) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-08956-5_2146-1
Cognitive inflexibility and heightened error monitoring are related to lower sexual functioning
Letkiewicz, A. M., Li, L. Y., Hoffman, L. M. K., Lieberman, L., Hsu, K. J., & Shankman, S. A. (2023) · International Journal of Psychophysiology · doi:10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2023.112281
Sexual Dysfunctions and Paraphilic Disorders
Rosen, N. O., Brotto, L. A., & Zucker, K. J. (2018) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781394258970.ch16
Quicke, D. L. J. (2023) · BENTHAM SCIENCE PUBLISHERS eBooks · doi:10.2174/9789815124637123010024
Pfaus, J. G., & Zakreski, E. (2024) · Archives of Sexual Behavior · doi:10.1007/s10508-023-02802-4
Unwanted Sexual Events and Female Sexuality
Maseroli, E., Tarantino, C., & Vignozzi, L. (2023) · Trends in andrology and sexual medicine · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-47892-5_8
Nwachukwu, C. F. (2024) · Journal of Pharmacy and Allied Medicine · doi:10.58985/jpam.2024.v02i01.17
How does sexual deviance develop?
Schippers, E. E. (2024) · Research Publications (Maastricht University) · doi:10.26481/dis.20240422es · Cited by 1
The Nonverbal Communication of Sexual Interest
Horgan, T. G. (2024) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-54361-6_4
Perry, S. L. (2019) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190844219.005.0002
Perry, S. L. (2019) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190844219.005.0001
Perry, S. L. (2019) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190844219.002.0008
Perry, S. L. (2019) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190844219.005.0003
Perry, S. L. (2019) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190844219.002.0004
Perry, S. L. (2019) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190844219.002.0003
Perry, S. L. (2019) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190844219.002.0006
Poston, A. M., Oliver, T. L., Lanti, A., & Benning, S. D. (2024) · The Journal of Sex Research · doi:10.1080/00224499.2024.2368695
“Unlike the other two components of the sexual response (arousal and orgasm), desire has no reliable referent – especially in women, in whom genital arousal often occurs in the absence of desire (Chivers & Brotto, 2017; Chivers et al., 2010).”
Mengesha, A. K., Limenh, L. W., Ayenew, W. A., Chanie, G. S., Seid, A. M., Mitku, M. L., Melese, M., Gela, Y. Y., Esubalew, D., & Beyna, A. T. (2024) · Heliyon · doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e36317
Giladi, P. (2024) · Journal of Social Philosophy · doi:10.1111/josp.12599
Unrein, eklig, erregend, unbenannt – kulturpsychologische Aspekte des Scheidensekrets
Gärtner, K. (2025) · cultura & psyché · doi:10.1007/s43638-025-00095-z
Does heightened subjective sexual arousal lower pain in women if disgust is minimized?
Lakhsassi, L., Borg, C., Briken, P., & de Jong, P. J. (2025) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0323095
Female Sexual Dysfunction (FSD)
Joseph, K. M., McCoy, R. T., & Bongar, B. M. (2024) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-08956-5_957-1
Lakhsassi, L., Borg, C., Freytag, P. L., Walk, K., & de Jong, P. J. (2025) · The Journal of Sex Research · doi:10.1080/00224499.2025.2542456
Illy, P. (2025) · Archives of Sexual Behavior · doi:10.1007/s10508-025-03193-4
Epstein, R., Newland, A., Palmer, J., Rajgarhia, A., & Wang, N. (2025) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.5526418
Timmins, L., Barnes‐Holmes, D., & Rahman, Q. (2025) · Archives of Sexual Behavior · doi:10.1007/s10508-025-03241-z
Vásquez-Amézquita, M., Martínez–González, M. B., Chivers, M. L., & Leongómez, J. D. (2025) · Archives of Sexual Behavior · doi:10.1007/s10508-025-03298-w
Bottorff, E. C., Grotting, A. G., & Satish, S. (2025) · Obstetrics and gynecology. · doi:10.5772/intechopen.1013125
Mohamed, H. S., Abdelshafi, A., Ahmed, A., Deameh, M. G., Mohamed, T., Ramez, M., & Raheem, O. A. (2026) · The Journal of Sexual Medicine · doi:10.1093/jsxmed/qdag006
Álvarez-Muelas, A., Sierra, J. C., & Cervilla, Ó. (2026) · Psychological Reports · doi:10.1177/00332941261437997
Cervigón-Carrasco, V., Desmedt, O., Ballester‐Arnal, R., Billieux, J., Gil‐Juliá, B., Giménez‐García, C., & Castro‐Calvo, J. (2026) · Sexual Health & Compulsivity · doi:10.1080/26929953.2026.2654394
“The assessment of objective sexual arousal implies the examination of changes in the physiological and/or genital responses induced by sexual stimuli (Chivers et al., 2010).”
Sierra, J. C., Mercedes-Jiménez, F., Pérez‐Amorós, C., & Muñoz-García, L. E. (2026) · Healthcare · doi:10.3390/healthcare14121611
“The fact that the negative association is observed in sexual arousal but not in erection suggests that the concordance between subjective sexual arousal and erection is low, coinciding with previous works [50].”
Sánchez-Pérez, G. M., & Sierra, J. C. (2026) · Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.3390/bs16071176
“In this regard, men tend to evaluate their sexual arousal based on clearly identifiable physiological cues, such as erection, whereas women’s sexual responses may rely more on subjective and contextual factors (Baumeister, 2000; Chivers et al., 2010).”
Does the Evidence Refute the Male Choice Hypothesis? A Response to Wilczkowski (2026)
Apostolou, M. (2026) · Archives of Sexual Behavior · doi:10.1007/s10508-026-03635-7
Whitten, T., Cale, J., Salter, M., & Woodlock, D. (2026) · Sexual Abuse · doi:10.1177/10790632261491365
Sexual Interest and Arousal in Males Who Are Civilly Committed: Exploring Overlap and Distinctions
Ward, M. R., Thompson, A. E., & Thornton, T. G. (2026) · Archives of Sexual Behavior · doi:10.1007/s10508-026-03547-6
The Many Faces of Alcohol Intoxication: Effects on Sexual Behavior, Cognition, and Memory
Davis, D., & Fromme, K. (2026) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-032-15938-0_32
The role of sexual mindfulness in enhancing sexual well-being among breast cancer survivors
Kerdabadi, A. S., Tavakol, Z., Borujeni, F. R., Shahraki, H. R., & Davoodi, Z. (2026) · Medicine · doi:10.1097/md.0000000000051237
“[28] This issue is significant for women because, on the 1 hand, they often place more emphasis on their partner’s arousal, and on the other hand, women who are more aware tend to be less anxious during sexual relations and are more likely to experience orgasm.”
Vorsselman, J. V. (2010) · Utrecht University Repository (Utrecht University)
Metadata
- Authors
- Chivers, M. L., Seto, M. C., Lalumière, M. L., Laan, E., & Grimbos, T.
- Affiliations
- Queen's University (CA)
- Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre (CA)
- University of Lethbridge (CA)
- Amsterdam UMC Location University of Amsterdam (NL)
- University of Toronto (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Chivers, Meredith L.
- Venue
- Archives of Sexual Behavior
- Published
- 2010-01-05
- Volume
- 39
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 5-56
- ISSN
- 0004-0002 (ISSN-L)
- 1573-2800
- PMC
- PMC2811244
- OpenAlex
- W2054026797
- Cited by
- 584
- References
- 225
- Citations by year
- 2026: 12 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 29 · 2023: 26 · 2022: 40 · 2021: 40 · 2020: 42 · 2019: 46 · 2018: 29 · 2017: 45 · 2016: 42 · 2015: 41 · 2014: 38 · 2013: 52 · 2012: 34
- FWCI
- 5.76
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by-nc
- Locations
- Archives of Sexual Behavior (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UvA-DARE (University of Amsterdam) (publishedVersion)
- Pure Amsterdam UMC (publishedVersion)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research
- Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Sexual function and dysfunction studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
- Keywords
- sexual arousal, gender differences, stimulus variability, sexual dysfunction assessment, paraphilias
- MeSH terms
- Female, Humans, Male, Self-Assessment, Sexual Behavior, Sex Characteristics
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
