A sex difference in features that elicit genital response
Abstract
Previous research suggests that women's genital arousal is an automatic response to sexual stimuli, whereas men's genital arousal is dependent upon stimulus features specific to their sexual interests. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that a nonhuman sexual stimulus would elicit a genital response in women but not in men. Eighteen heterosexual women and 18 heterosexual men viewed seven sexual film stimuli, six human films and one nonhuman primate film, while measurements of genital and subjective sexual arousal were recorded. Women showed small increases in genital arousal to the nonhuman stimulus and large increases in genital arousal to both human male and female stimuli. Men did not show any genital arousal to the nonhuman stimulus and demonstrated a category-specific pattern of arousal to the human stimuli that corresponded to their stated sexual orientation. These results suggest that stimulus features necessary to evoke genital arousal are much less specific in women than in men.
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Previous research has not shown female sexual orientation to predictably alter an individual's physiological response to sexual stimuli.
“Although previous research has not shown female sexual orientation to predictably alter an individual’s physiological response to sexual stimuli (73-75)”
From Effects of Mindfulness Training on Body Awareness to Sexual Stimuli: Implications for Female Sexual Dysfunction (2011) · cites this paper as [74]
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Chivers, M. L., Seto, M. C., Lalumière, M. L., Laan, E., & Grimbos, T. (2010) · Archives of Sexual Behavior · doi:10.1007/s10508-009-9556-9 · Cited by 584 · see citing works
“Similarly, some women show genital responses without reporting any experience of sexual arousal (Chivers & Bailey, 2005) and self-reported sexual arousal is subject to impression management, as in the greater reluctance among women high in sex guilt to report feeling sexually aroused (Morokoff,…”
Chivers, M. L., Seto, M. C., & Blanchard, R. (2007) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.93.6.1108 · Cited by 284 · see citing works
Self-citationA socio-relational framework of sex differences in the expression of emotion
Vigil, J. M. (2009) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x09991075 · Cited by 173 · see citing works
Silverstein, R. G., Brown, A.-C. H., Roth, H. D., & Britton, W. B. (2011) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/psy.0b013e318234e628 · Cited by 168 · see citing works
Physiology of women's sexual function: basic knowledge and new findings.
Salonia, A., Giraldi, A., Chivers, M. L., Georgiadis, J. R., Levin, R., Maravilla, K. R., & McCarthy, M. M. (2010) · The Journal of Sexual Medicine · doi:10.1111/j.1743-6109.2010.01810.x · Cited by 132 · see citing works
Self-citationPhosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors and female sexual response: faulty protocols or paradigms?
Chivers, M. L., & Rosen, R. C. (2010) · The Journal of Sexual Medicine · doi:10.1111/j.1743-6109.2009.01599.x · Cited by 100 · see citing works
Self-citationKowalewska, E., Gola, M., Kraus, S. W., & Lew-Starowicz, M. (2020) · Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment · doi:10.2147/ndt.s221540 · Cited by 85 · see citing works
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- Authors
- Chivers, M. L., & Bailey, J. M.
- Affiliations
- Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CA)
- Northwestern University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Chivers, Meredith L.
- Venue
- Biological Psychology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2005-10
- Volume
- 70
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 115-120
- ISSN
- 0301-0511 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2164914776
- Cited by
- 253
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2025: 3 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 16 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 26 · 2015: 16 · 2014: 14 · 2013: 18 · 2012: 9
- FWCI
- 11.13
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Biological Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- American Psychological Foundation
- National Institutes of Health (1r03hd041770-01)
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R03-HD41770-01)
- Solar Energy Technologies Office
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Sexual function and dysfunction studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
- Keywords
- genital arousal, sexual arousal, sex differences, sexual orientation, stimulus specificity, heterosexual men, heterosexual women
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Animals, Arousal, Evoked Potentials, Female, Humans, Male, Penis, Sex Characteristics, Sex Factors, Vagina, Vasoconstriction, Visual Perception, Photoplethysmography, Sexuality, Pan paniscus
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