Differential gaze behavior towards sexually preferred and non-preferred human figures

The gaze pattern associated with image exploration is a sensitive index of our attention, motivation and preference. To examine whether an individual’s gaze behavior can reflect his/her sexual interest, we compared gaze patterns of young heterosexual men and women (M = 19.94 years, SD = 1.05) while viewing photos of plain-clothed male and female figures aged from birth to sixty years old. Our analysis revealed a clear gender difference in viewing sexually preferred figure images. Men displayed a distinctive gaze pattern only when viewing twenty-year-old female images, with more fixations and longer viewing time dedicated to the upper body and waist-hip region. Women also directed more attention at the upper body on female images in comparison to male images, but this difference was not age-specific. Analysis of local image salience revealed that observers’ eye-scanning strategies could not be accounted for by low-level processes, such as analyzing local image contrast and structure, but were associated with attractiveness judgments. The results suggest that the difference in cognitive processing of sexually preferred and non-preferred figures can be manifested in gaze patterns associated with figure viewing. Thus, eye-tracking holds promise as a potential sensitive measure for sexual preference, particularly in men

An exploration of genital arousal category-specificity and sexual concordance in men and women

xvi, 212 leaves ; 29 cmThere are substantial differences between the sexual arousal patterns of men and women. Men’s genital and subjective sexual arousal are category-specific; different sexual stimuli elicit different degrees of arousal. Women’s subjective sexual arousal is also categoryspecific, but their genital arousal is category-nonspecific; different sexual stimuli produce similar arousal. Men also exhibit a high concordance or correlation between their genital and subjective arousal, whereas women exhibit much lower sexual concordance. I conducted five studies with 219 participants to further explore these sex differences and test different explanations for their occurrence. The results confirm the existence and stability of sex differences in arousal patterns, provide support for a functional explanation of the sex difference in genital category-specificity, provide mixed support for an informationprocessing model of sexual arousal in relation to sexual concordance, and provide no support for the notion that sexual concordance is another manifestation of sex differences in interoception

Sexual arousal: the correspondence of eyes and genitals.

Men's, more than women's, sexual responses may include a coordination of several physiological indices in order to build their sexual arousal to relevant targets. Here, for the first time, genital arousal and pupil dilation to sexual stimuli were simultaneously assessed. These measures corresponded more strongly with each other, subjective sexual arousal, and self-reported sexual orientation in men than women. Bisexual arousal is more prevalent in women than men. We therefore predicted that if bisexual-identified men show bisexual arousal, the correspondence of their arousal indices would be more female-typical, thus weaker, than for other men. Homosexual women show more male-typical arousal than other women; hence, their correspondence of arousal indices should be stronger than for other women. Findings, albeit weak in effect, supported these predictions. Thus, if sex-specific patterns are reversed within one sex, they might affect more than one aspect of sexual arousal. Because pupillary responses reflected sexual orientation similar to genital responses, they offer a less invasive alternative for the measurement of sexual arousal

The view from the cuckold: A review of S. M. Platek and T. K. Shackelford (Eds.), Female infidelity and paternal uncertainty: Evolutionary perspectives on male anti-cuckoldry tactics

Evolutionary Psychology is an open-access peer-reviewed journal. It is permissible to archive articles from this journal.A Review of Steven M. Platek and Todd K. Shackelford (Eds.), Female Infidelity and Paternal Uncertainty: Evolutionary Perspectives on Male Anti-Cuckoldry Tactics. Cambridge University Press: New York, 2006. 248 pp. US$ 55.00 ISBN 0-521-60734-5 (paperback)Ye

An examination of psychophysiological measures of sexual arousal

x, 176 leaves ; 29 cm.The scientific study of sex has developed significantly since the inception of psychophysiological methods to assess sexual arousal. Sexual psychophysiology involves assessing the physiological activation of the sexual response system, in addition to mental, behavioral, and emotional processes or experiences (Rosen & Beck, 1988). Measures of sexual arousal are reviewed in Chapter One. Chapter Two describes a study testing the validity of the most commonly used measure of genital arousal in women, vaginal photoplethysmography. Results indicate that vaginal photoplethysmography is sensitive to sexual arousal only, and that there are important sex differences in patterns of physiological arousal to sexual stimuli. Directions for future research are discussed

Sexual functioning in young adult survivors of childhood cancer

Background : Studies of sexuality or sexual behavior in childhood cancer survivors tend to examine relationships or achievement of developmental milestones but not physiological response to cancer or treatment. The purpose of this study is to (1) identify prevalence and risk factors for sexual dysfunction in childhood cancer survivors, and (2) examine the extent to which sexual dysfunction may be associated with health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and psychosocial outcomes. Methods : Five hundred ninety-nine survivors age 18–39 years completed standardized measures of sexual functioning, HRQOL, psychological distress and life satisfaction. Descriptive statistics assessed prevalence of sexual symptoms. Bivariate analyses identified correlates of sexual symptoms and examined associations between symptoms and HRQOL/psychosocial outcomes. Results : Most survivors appear to be doing well, although 52% of female survivors and 32% of male survivors reported at least ‘a little of a problem' in one or more areas of sexual functioning. Mean symptom score for females was more than twice that of males. Sexual symptoms were associated with reporting health problems. Significant associations between sexual functioning and HRQOL outcomes were observed, with gender differences in strengths of association suggesting that males find sexual symptoms more distressing than do females. Conclusions : While most survivors appear to be doing well in this important life domain, some young adult survivors report sexual concerns. While female survivors may report more sexual symptoms than male survivors, males may experience more distress associated with sexual difficulties. Better-specified measures of sexual function, behavior and outcomes are needed for this young adult population. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/77522/1/1641_ftp.pd

Gaze patterns to child figures reflect deviant sexual preference in child sex offenders: a first glance

Research on non-offending heterosexual participants has indicated that men’s gaze allocation reflects their sexual preference. In this exploratory pilot study we investigated whether naturalistic gaze behaviour is sensitive to deviant sexual preferences. We compared gaze patterns of convicted heterosexual child sex offenders (CSOs; n = 13) with female victims to heterosexual non-offending men (n = 13) in a task of free-viewing images of clothed male and female figures aged 10, 20 and 40 years. CSOs dedicated more fixations to the upper body of the female child than male child figures. The pattern was different for the control sample, whose gaze pattern to male and female figures could only be differentiated when viewing adult figures. CSOs showed significantly greater difference in their gaze towards the upper body of male and female children than non-offenders. Our findings provide preliminary evidence for eye-tracking as a potential method of assessing deviant sexual interest

Sexual Arousal Patterns of Identical Twins with Discordant Sexual Orientations

Genetically identical twins can differ in their self-reported sexual orientations. However, whether the twins’ subjective reports reflect valid differences in their sexual orientations is unknown. Measures of sexual orientation, which are free of the limitations of self-report, include genital arousal and pupil dilation while viewing sexual stimuli depicting men or women. We examined these responses in 6 male twin pairs and 9 female twin pairs who reported discordant sexual orientations. Across measures, heterosexual male twins responded more strongly to women than to men. Their homosexual co-twins showed an opposite pattern. Heterosexual female twins responded equally to both sexes, whereas their homosexual co-twins responded somewhat more to women than men. These differences within pairs were similar to differences between unrelated heterosexual and homosexual males and females. Our study provides physiological evidence confirming twins’ discordant sexual orientations, thereby supporting the importance of the non-shared environment for the development of sexual orientation and sexual arousal