Abstract
A number of devices have been developed to assess physiological sexual response. Some come into direct contact with the genitals (e.g., vaginal/clitoral/penile plethysmography [VPP/CPP/PPG], labial thermistors [LT]), whereas others capture images of the genitals remotely (e.g., thermal imaging [TI], laser Doppler imaging [LDI]). Researchers have speculated about the relative invasiveness of these measurement tools, with limited empirical work examining participants’ perceptions of different devices and how these may impact volunteer bias. We investigated individuals’ levels of comfort with participating in hypothetical sexual psychophysiology studies and their reasons for discomfort. We also examined the relationship between comfort level and compensation for participation. Men (n = 291) and women (n = 716) completed an online survey where they were presented with vignettes describing studies using VPP, CPP, PPG, LT, TI, and LDI. Participants reported their comfort level with the idea of participating in each study, the amount of compensation that would be reasonable, and factors influencing their decision not to participate if they were unwilling. Participants were similarly comfortable with some studies involving genital contact (VPP) or remote imaging (TI), and somewhat less comfortable with others (LDI, LT, PPG; small or small-medium effect sizes). Along with our qualitative analysis, these findings reveal that direct genital contact is one aspect of study intrusiveness, but that it is not necessarily the most important study feature influencing comfort with participation. Our results suggest that providing additional information regarding protocols at screening and offering $50 compensation might attract wider samples of participants.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arnett, J. J. (2008). The neglected 95%: Why American psychology needs to become less American. American Psychologist,63, 602–614. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.63.7.602.
Bouchard, K. N., Chivers, M. L., & Pukall, C. F. (2017). Effects of genital response measurement device and stimulus characteristics on sexual concordance in women. Journal of Sex Research,54, 1197–1208. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2016.1265641.
Brotto, L. A., Heiman, J. R., & Tolman, D. L. (2009). Narratives of desire in mid-age women with and without arousal difficulties. Journal of Sex Research,46, 387–398. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224490902792624.
Chivers, M. L., Seto, M. C., & Blanchard, R. (2007). Gender and sexual orientation differences in sexual response to sexual activities versus gender of actors in sexual films. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,93, 1108–1121. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.93.6.1108.
Chivers, M. L., Suschinsky, K. D., Timmers, A. D., & Bossio, J. A. (2013). Experimental, neuroimaging, and psychophysiological methods in sexuality research. In L. A. Diamond & D. Tolman (Eds.), APA handbook of sexuality and psychology (Vol. 1, pp. 99–109). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Cowart, D. A., & Pollack, R. H. (1979). A Guttman scale of sexual experience. Journal of Sex Education and Therapy,5, 3–6. https://doi.org/10.1080/01614576.1979.11074629.
Dawson, S. J., Huberman, J. S., Bouchard, K. N., McInnis, M. K., Pukall, C. F., & Chivers, M. L. (2019). Effects of individual difference variables, gender, and exclusivity of sexual attraction on volunteer bias in sexuality research. Archives of Sexual Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-019-1451-4.
Fisher, W. A., White, L. A., Byrne, D., & Kelley, K. (1988). Erotophobia-erotophilia as a dimension of personality. Journal of Sex Research,25, 123–151. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224498809551448.
Henrich, J., Heine, S. J., & Norenzayan, A. (2010). The weirdest people in the world? Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 33, 61–135. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X0999152X.
Huberman, J. S., & Chivers, M. L. (2015). Examining gender specificity of sexual response with concurrent thermography and plethysmography. Psychophysiology,52, 1382–1395. https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.12466.
Kinsey, A. C., Pomeroy, W. B., & Martin, C. E. (1948). Sexual behavior in the human male. Philadelphia, PA: W. B. Saunders Company.
Kinsey, A. C., Pomeroy, W. B., Martin, C. E., & Gebhard, P. H. (1953). Sexual behavior in the human female. Philadelphia, PA: W. B. Saunders Company.
Kukkonen, T. M. (2014). What is the best method of measuring the physiology of female sexual arousal? Current Sexual Health Reports,6, 30–37. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11930-013-0010-6.
Kukkonen, T. M., Binik, Y. M., Amsel, R., & Carrier, S. (2007). Thermography as a physiological measure of sexual arousal in both men and women. Journal of Sexual Medicine,4, 93–105. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1743-6109.2006.00399.x.
Marshall, C., & Rossman, G. B. (1999). Designing qualitative research (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Morokoff, P. J. (1986). Volunteer bias in the psychophysiological study of female sexuality. Journal of Sex Research,22, 35–51. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224498609551288.
Plaud, J. J., Gaither, G. A., Hegstad, H. J., Rowan, L., & Devitt, M. K. (1999). Volunteer bias in human psychophysiological sexual arousal research: To whom do our research results apply? Journal of Sex Research,36, 171–179.
Prause, N., Cerny, J., & Janssen, E. (2005). The labial photoplethysmograph: A new instrument for assessing genital hemodynamic changes in women. Journal of Sexual Medicine,2, 58–65. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1743-6109.2005.20106.x.
Prause, N., & Heiman, J. R. (2009). Assessing female sexual arousal with the labial thermistor: Response specificity and construct validity. International Journal of Psychophysiology,72, 115–122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2008.11.002.
Rosen, R., Brown, C., Heiman, J., Leiblum, S., Meston, C., Shabsigh, R., … D’Agostino, R. (2000). The Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI): A multidimensional self-report instrument for the assessment of female sexual function. Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, 26, 191–208. https://doi.org/10.1080/009262300278597.
Rosen, R. C., Riley, A., Wagner, G., Osterloh, I. H., Kirkpatrick, J., & Mishra, A. (1997). The International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF): A multidimensional scale for assessment of erectile dysfunction. Urology, 49, 822–830. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0090-4295(97)00238-0.
Saunders, D. M., Fisher, W. A., Hewitt, E. C., & Clayton, J. P. (1985). A method for empirically assessing volunteer selection effects: Recruitment procedures and responses to erotica. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,49, 1703–1712. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.49.6.1703.
Strassberg, D. S., & Lowe, K. (1995). Volunteer bias in sexuality research. Archives of Sexual Behavior,24, 369–382. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01541853.
Toothaker, L. E. (1991). Multiple comparisons for researchers. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
Waxman, S. E., & Pukall, C. F. (2009). Laser Doppler imaging of genital blood flow: A direct measure of female sexual arousal. Journal of Sexual Medicine,6, 2278–2285. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1743-6109.2009.01326.x.
Wolchik, S. A., Braver, S. L., & Jensen, K. (1985). Volunteer bias in erotica research: Effects of intrusiveness of measure and sexual background. Archives of Sexual Behavior,14, 93–107. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01541656.
Wolchik, S. A., Spencer, S. L., & Lisi, I. S. (1983). Volunteer bias in research employing vaginal measures of sexual arousal. Archives of Sexual Behavior,12, 399–408.
Acknowledgements
This research was supported in part by grants from the Canadian Institute for Health Research New Investigator Awards awarded to MLC and to CFP and by scholarships awarded to JSH from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship and Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarships Master’s Scholarship) and the Ontario Graduate Scholarship. This paper was presented at the annual meetings of the Canadian Sex Research Forum in Kelowna, BC, Canada, 2015 and the Society for Sex Therapy and Research in Montreal, QC, Canada, 2017.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Huberman, J.S., McInnis, M.K., Bouchard, K.N. et al. Exploring Comfort Levels and the Role of Compensation in Sexual Psychophysiology Study Participation. Arch Sex Behav 48, 2389–2402 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-019-1458-x
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-019-1458-x