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A sex difference in features that elicit genital response
Meredith L Chivers1, J Michael Bailey
1Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 250 College St., Toronto, Ont., Canada M5T 1R8. meredith_chivers@camh.net
Biological Psychology
|September 20, 2005
Summary
Women exhibit genital arousal to a wider range of sexual stimuli compared to men. This study found women responded to nonhuman stimuli, while men
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Human Sexuality
- Physiology
Background:
- Previous research indicates women's genital arousal is automatic to sexual stimuli.
- Men's genital arousal is typically dependent on stimulus features aligning with sexual interests.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test if nonhuman sexual stimuli elicit genital arousal in women but not in men.
- To compare the specificity of sexual stimulus features required to evoke genital arousal in women versus men.
Main Methods:
- Eighteen heterosexual women and 18 heterosexual men participated.
- Participants viewed seven sexual film stimuli, including six human films and one nonhuman primate film.
- Genital and subjective sexual arousal were measured during stimulus exposure.
Main Results:
- Women showed increased genital arousal to the nonhuman stimulus and significant arousal to human stimuli.
- Men exhibited no genital arousal to the nonhuman stimulus.
- Men displayed category-specific genital arousal patterns to human stimuli, consistent with their sexual orientation.
Conclusions:
- Stimulus features required to evoke genital arousal are less specific in women than in men.
- Findings suggest differences in the automaticity and specificity of genital arousal responses between sexes.