The relationship between erotophobia-erotophilia and decision-making in response to sexual stimuli

Decision-making (DM) is influenced by the characteristics of the stimuli involved; sexual content is particularly relevant because it can induce sexual arousal associated with emotional responses that may affect DM. Evidence shows that sexual arousal produces functional decoupling between prefrontal and parietal cortices, which is linked to reduced performance in executive functions. Thus, sexual stimuli could influence DM through both their emotional value and the cortical changes they trigger. Emotional responses to sexual stimuli vary across individuals along the erotophobia-erotophilia continuum. Erotophobic individuals experience negative emotions when exposed to sexual stimuli, whereas erotophilic individuals report positive reactions. This position on the continuum may determine how sexual stimulation influences DM.

Aim: This study examined the effect of sexual stimuli on the relationship between the erotophobia-erotophilia continuum and DM.

Seventy healthy heterosexual men aged 18-30 were recruited for this study. All participants completed the Sexual Opinion Survey, which assesses attitudes toward various sexual behaviors, and performed a DM task under two counterbalanced conditions: one containing sexual stimuli and the other containing non-sexual stimuli.

Decision-making performance during sexual and non-sexual conditions and Sexual Opinion Survey scores. Results: Erotophobia-erotophilia was not associated with DM performance. Mean DM scores were significantly higher in the condition without sexual stimuli than in the condition with sexual stimuli.

Attitudes toward sexuality, as measured by the Sexual Opinion Survey, may have limited clinical utility for predicting DM performance in healthy heterosexual men.

This study experimentally examined the effects of sexually explicit stimuli on DM under controlled conditions. However, the relatively small sample of young heterosexual men limits statistical power and the generalizability of the findings.

Overall, sexual stimuli appear to affect DM independently of whether they generate pleasant or unpleasant experiences.