The influence of olfactory disgust on (Genital) sexual arousal in men

PloS One
Charmaine BorgPeter J de Jong

Abstract

The generation or persistence of sexual arousal may be compromised when inhibitory processes such as negative emotions, outweigh sexual excitation. Disgust particularly, has been proposed as one of the emotions that may counteract sexual arousal. In support of this view, previous research has shown that disgust priming can reduce subsequent sexual arousal. As a crucial next step, this experimental study tested whether disgust (by means of odor) can also diminish sexual arousal in individuals who are already in a state of heightened sexual excitation. In this study, participants were all men (N = 78). To elicit sexual arousal, participants watched a pornographic video. Following 4.30 minutes from the start of the video clip, they were exposed to either a highly aversive/disgusting odor (n = 42), or an odorless diluent/solvent (n = 36), that was delivered via an olfactometer, while the pornographic video continued. In both conditions the presentation of the odor lasted 1 second and was repeated 11 times with intervals of 26 seconds. Sexual arousal was indexed by both self-reports and penile circumference. The disgusting odor (released when the participants were already sexually aroused) resulted in a significant decrease of both ...Continue Reading

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Citations

Feb 16, 2021·Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology·Peter Kramer, Paola Bressan

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Methods Mentioned

BETA
PCR

Software Mentioned

Gpower
Aphys

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