An Exploration of Genital Arousal Category-Specificity and Sexual Concordance in Men and Women
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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by OPUS: Open Uleth Scholarship - University of Lethbridge Research Repository University of Lethbridge Research Repository OPUS http://opus.uleth.ca Theses Arts and Science, Faculty of 2012 An exploration of genital arousal category-specificity and sexual concordance in men and women Suschinsky, Kelly D. Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Dept. of Psychology, 2012 http://hdl.handle.net/10133/3229 Downloaded from University of Lethbridge Research Repository, OPUS AN EXPLORATION OF GENITAL AROUSAL CATEGORY-SPECIFICITY AND SEXUAL CONCORDANCE IN MEN AND WOMEN KELLY D. SUSCHINSKY B.A. (Hon.) (Psychology), University of Saskatchewan (2004) M.Sc. (Psychology), University of Lethbridge (2007) A Dissertation Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies of the University of Lethbridge in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Psychology University of Lethbridge LETHBRIDGE, ALBERTA, CANADA Kelly Suschinsky, 2012 DEDICATION To my family, for all of their contributions that have allowed me to reach this goal. iii ABSTRACT There 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 category- specific, 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 information- processing 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. iv PREFACE This dissertation comprises five empirical studies that are presented as scientific reports in separate chapters, along with introductory and concluding chapters. Versions of these reports are either published elsewhere or currently under review for publication. Chapter Two has been published in Psychological Science and Chapter Five is currently in press in Archives of Sexual Behavior . The remaining empirical manuscripts are currently under review. The references below provide the relevant publication information. The format of scientific reports in psychology, with references, tables, and figures provided at the end of the reports, has been maintained. All of the scientific reports in this dissertation have co-authors. Martin Lalumière provided conceptual and editorial assistance for all reports. Meredith Chivers provided one of the datasets, as well as conceptual, statistical, and editorial assistance for Chapter Three. Chapter Two: Suschinsky, K. D., & Lalumière, M. L. (2011). Prepared for anything? An investigation of female genital arousal in response to rape cues. Psychological Science, 22, 159-165. Chapter Three: Suschinsky, K. D., Chivers, M. L., & Lalumière, M. L. (2011). A test of an information-processing model of sexual arousal and sexual concordance. Manuscript submitted for publication. v Chapter Four: Suschinsky, K. D., & Lalumière, M. L. (2011). Sexual arousal category-specificity and sexual concordance: The stability of sex differences in sexual arousal patterns . Manuscript submitted for publication. Chapter Five: Suschinsky, K. D., & Lalumière, M. L. (in press). Is sexual concordance related to awareness of non-sexual physiological states? Archives of Sexual Behavior. Chapter Six: Suschinsky, K. D., & Lalumière, M. L. (2011). Sexual concordance and interoception: The relationship between perception of genital arousal and non-sexual physiological states in women. Manuscript submitted for publication. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The research presented in this dissertation is the result of support from many people, to whom I will always be thankful. To my supervisor, Martin Lalumière – words cannot begin to express my sincere gratitude for all that you have taught me. I am extremely grateful to have worked with you and learned from you, because you have not only guided my academic growth but also my personal growth. Your unwavering enthusiasm for research, unconditional support of your students, and general positive attitude have provided me with an exceptional standard to emulate. I cannot thank you enough for everything that you have done for me. To my committee members, Dr. Paul Vasey and Dr. Rob Williams – your helpful feedback and insightful suggestions have significantly contributed to my research experience. I will always appreciate your interest in my work and your contributions to my success. To Dr. Meredith Chivers – your research inspired me to pursue the study of sexual arousal. Thank you for pioneering the study of sex differences in sexual arousal patterns and igniting my passion for this research. To my participants – I am still sometimes pleasantly surprised by the overwhelming support that I received. This research would have been impossible to complete without your assistance, and I thank you for taking the time to contribute to science. To the many agencies that have financially supported me or my research – the Government of Alberta, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada, the Sexual Medicine Society of North America, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and the University of Lethbridge have generously provided support through vii research grants, fellowships, and teaching assistantships. Thank you for providing me the means with which to follow my research interests. To my Lalumière “Labolite” Labmates – we had the good fortune to work in an environment that fostered strong working relationships and friendships with other students and research assistants. In one way or another, everyone who has worked in the lab has contributed to my experience, but I would like to thank Mackenzie Becker, Samantha Dawson, Aria Johnston, Meredith McKendry, and Lindsay Sewall for your assistance with data entry, and Brittany Bannerman, Samantha Dawson, Meg Ebsworth, Annabree Fairweather, Gillian Kennedy, Danny Krupp, Sandeep Mishra, and Megan Sawatsky for your insightful questions and suggestions that have guided my research. I would especially like to thank Samantha Dawson, for being one of my biggest supporters. Your encouragement was so important to me. I am so proud of all of your accomplishments – I know that you will achieve all of your goals, and I am so excited for your future. To my friends – Jacqueline Abrahamson, Duane Barroby, Andy Davies, Annabree Fairweather, Natasha Fairweather, Ashley Ferraro, Jeremy Gabel, John Hindley, Danny Krupp, Chelsea Matisz, Christine Michell, Jeff Milner, Sandeep Mishra, Julie-Vanessa Muñoz, Shannon Phillips, Alix Robinson-Shriner, Chris Sargent, and Cindy “Cinnamon” Sawchuk. You have all played an integral part of my life, and your friendship means the world to me. Lastly, I need to thank my family. To my parents, grandparents, and brother – you have always provided me with whatever support I needed, and I will always be thankful for that. To Chris Sargent – my success is largely attributable to your willingness to put my interests first. Thank you for your love, support, and selflessness. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Dedication .......................................................................................................................... iii Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iv Preface..................................................................................................................................v Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... vii Table of Contents ............................................................................................................... ix List of Tables ................................................................................................................... xiv List of Figures ....................................................................................................................xv CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................................1 Men’s Sexual Arousal Patterns .......................................................................................1 Women’s Sexual Arousal Patterns ..................................................................................3 The Current State of Sexual Arousal Research ...............................................................6 References .....................................................................................................................10 CHAPTER TWO TESTING A FUNCTIONAL EXPLANATION FOR THE SEX DIFFERENCE IN GENITAL AROUSAL CATEGORY-SPECIFICITY .................................................17 Abstract .........................................................................................................................17