Abstract
The habituation of genital and subjective sexual arousal in women was assessed. In a first experiment 32 women were randomly assigned to either a constant stimulus condition in which subjects were exposed to the same erotic slide on repeated trials within one session, or to a varied stimuli condition in which subjects were exposed to various erotic slides. A second experiment assessed habituation of sexual responses of 42 women to erotic film excerpts. In both experiments repeated erotic stimulation was followed by a novel erotic stimulus to study the effect of novel simulation to a sequence of uniform stimulation. In the first experiment a floor effect was found in response to the first three trials that prevented a valid interpretation of responding on subsequent trials. We conclude that slides yield too little sexual arousal in female subjects. In the second experiment only a slight decline in genital responding was observed. Women sustained considerable levels of genital arousal even after 21 trials of uniform stimulation. Facial EMG was used as a physiological marker of emotional experience. Zygomatic activity decreased over trials, suggesting decreasing positive affect as a result of uniform stimulation. Results are discussed in the context of selective attention, characteristics of the habituation stimulus, and novelty.
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This research was supported in part by Grant R 56-385 and SIR 12-1133 from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO).
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Laan, E., Everaerd, W. Habituation of female sexual arousal to slides and film. Arch Sex Behav 24, 517–541 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01541832
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01541832