Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1980 Aug;89(4):595-8.
doi: 10.1037//0021-843x.89.4.595.

The effect of emotional arousal on subsequent sexual arousal in men

S A Wolchik, V E Beggs, J P Wincze, D K Sakheim, D H Barlow, M Mavissakalian

The effect of emotional arousal on subsequent sexual arousal in men

S A Wolchik et al. J Abnorm Psychol. 1980 Aug.

Abstract

The effect of emotional arousal on subsequent sexual arousal was assessed in 14 men 18 to 34 years of age. Subjects initially viewed either one of two emotionally arousing videotapes (depression-and-anger- or anxiety-and-anger-producing) or a neutral videotape (a neutral travelogue), each of which was followed by an erotic videotape. Sexual arousal was measured physiologically with a penile strain gauge. Although there were no differences in the level of sexual arousal during the antecedent emotionally arousing or neutral video-tapes, sexual arousal during the subsequent erotic videotapes was differentially affected by them. Sexual arousal following the anxiety-and-anger videotape was greater than that following either the depression-and-anger videotape or the neutral travelogue. Also, prior exposure to the neutral travelogue resulted in greater sexual arousal than did the videotape producing depression and anger.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Mean millimeters of deviation from basal penile circumference across 4-sec time blocks.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

Reference Note

    1. Beggs V, et al. Emotional responses to video-taped stimuli. Unpublished manuscript, Brown University, 1978.

References

    1. Bancroft J Disorders of sexual potency. In Hill O (Ed.), Modern trends in psychosomatic medicine. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1970.
    1. Barlow DH, Becker R, Leitenberg H, & Agras WS A mechanical strain gauge for recording penile circumference change. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1970, 3, 73–76. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Dutton DG, & Aron AP Some evidence for heightened sexual attraction under conditions of high anxiety. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1974, 30, 510–517. - PubMed
    1. Hoon PW, Wincze JP, & Hoon EF A test of reciprocal inhibition: Are anxiety and sexual arousal in women mutually inhibitory? Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 1977, 86, 65–74. - PubMed
    1. Kaplan HS The new sex therapy. New York: Brunner/Mazel, 1974.