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Gender Differences in Sexual Arousal and Affective Responses to Erotica: The Effects of Type of Film and Fantasy Instructions

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Abstract

The present study examined men and women’s sexual and affective responses to erotic film clips that were combined with different fantasy instructions. Men (n = 29) and women (n = 28) were presented with two types of erotic films (explicit vs. romantic) and two fantasy instructions (fantasizing about one’s real-life partner vs. fantasizing about someone else). Genital response, subjective sexual arousal, and affective responses were assessed. Sexually explicit stimuli resulted in larger genital responses; women reported higher subjective sexual arousal than men; and fantasizing about one’s partner resulted, overall, in higher subjective sexual arousal and higher levels of positive affect. Moreover, in women, the instruction to fantasize about one’s partner resulted in stronger subjective sexual arousal to the explicit film than the instruction to fantasize about someone else. Results suggested that physiological, subjective, and affective responses to erotic film stimuli are impacted not only by stimulus characteristics but also by the viewer’s interpretation of the depicted relationship.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia in Portugal.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Educação, Universidade de Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal

    Joana Carvalho, Ana Quinta Gomes, Pedro Laja, Cátia Oliveira & Sandra Vilarinho

  2. Rua Sérgio Vieira de Melo, Bloco A, 2º R, Azurva, Eixo, 3800-809, Aveiro, Portugal

    Joana Carvalho

  3. The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA

    Erick Janssen

  4. Faculdade de Psicologia e Ciências da Educação, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Pedro Nobre

Authors
  1. Joana Carvalho
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  2. Ana Quinta Gomes
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  3. Pedro Laja
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  4. Cátia Oliveira
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  5. Sandra Vilarinho
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  6. Erick Janssen
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  7. Pedro Nobre
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Correspondence to Joana Carvalho.

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Carvalho, J., Gomes, A.Q., Laja, P. et al. Gender Differences in Sexual Arousal and Affective Responses to Erotica: The Effects of Type of Film and Fantasy Instructions. Arch Sex Behav 42, 1011–1019 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-013-0076-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-013-0076-2

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