TY - JOUR
T1 - Evidence for Persistence of Sexual Evaluative Learning Effects
AU - Both, Stephanie
AU - Brom, Mirte
AU - Laan, Ellen
AU - Everaerd, Walter
AU - Spinhoven, Philip
N1 - Funding Information: Funding: This research was supported by a grant from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) awarded to Dr. Both. Publisher Copyright: © 2019 International Society for Sexual Medicine Copyright: Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2020/3
Y1 - 2020/3
N2 - Introduction: Several studies demonstrated that genital arousal and enhanced positive affect toward neutral stimuli due to sexual conditioning did not extinguish during a brief extinction phase, but other studies showed contrasting results. Possible resistance to extinction of conditioned human sexual response has, however, not been studied using extensive extinction trials. Aim: To study resistance to extinction of conditioned sexual response in men and women. Methods: Healthy sexually functional men (N = 34) and women (N = 32) participated in a differential conditioning experiment, with neutral pictures as conditioned stimuli (CSs) and genital vibrostimulation as unconditioned stimulus. Only one CS (the CS+) was followed by the unconditioned stimulus during the acquisition phase. Main Outcome Measure: Penile circumference and vaginal pulse amplitude were assessed, and ratings of affective value and subjective sexual arousal were obtained. In addition, a stimulus response compatibility task was included to assess automatic approach and avoidance tendencies. Results: Men and women rated the CS+ as more positive than the CS− during all 24 extinction trials and demonstrated a slight tendency to approach the CS+ directly after the extinction procedure. Participants rated the CS+ as more sexually arousing than the CS− during 20 extinction trials. No evidence was found for conditioned genital sexual response. Clinical Implications: Learned sexual evaluations may be difficult to modify through an extinction procedure; therefore, unwanted but persistent subjective sexual evaluations may be better targeted by interventions such as the deployment of emotion regulation strategies. Strength & Limitations: Extensive extinction trials were used; however, only relatively short-term effects within one experimental session were studied and there was no (unpaired) control condition. Conclusion: The results provide evidence that conditioned sexual likes are relatively persistent, also at the behavioral level. Both S, Brom M, Laan E, et al. Evidence for Persistence of Sexual Evaluative Learning Effects. J Sex Med 2020;17:505–517.
AB - Introduction: Several studies demonstrated that genital arousal and enhanced positive affect toward neutral stimuli due to sexual conditioning did not extinguish during a brief extinction phase, but other studies showed contrasting results. Possible resistance to extinction of conditioned human sexual response has, however, not been studied using extensive extinction trials. Aim: To study resistance to extinction of conditioned sexual response in men and women. Methods: Healthy sexually functional men (N = 34) and women (N = 32) participated in a differential conditioning experiment, with neutral pictures as conditioned stimuli (CSs) and genital vibrostimulation as unconditioned stimulus. Only one CS (the CS+) was followed by the unconditioned stimulus during the acquisition phase. Main Outcome Measure: Penile circumference and vaginal pulse amplitude were assessed, and ratings of affective value and subjective sexual arousal were obtained. In addition, a stimulus response compatibility task was included to assess automatic approach and avoidance tendencies. Results: Men and women rated the CS+ as more positive than the CS− during all 24 extinction trials and demonstrated a slight tendency to approach the CS+ directly after the extinction procedure. Participants rated the CS+ as more sexually arousing than the CS− during 20 extinction trials. No evidence was found for conditioned genital sexual response. Clinical Implications: Learned sexual evaluations may be difficult to modify through an extinction procedure; therefore, unwanted but persistent subjective sexual evaluations may be better targeted by interventions such as the deployment of emotion regulation strategies. Strength & Limitations: Extensive extinction trials were used; however, only relatively short-term effects within one experimental session were studied and there was no (unpaired) control condition. Conclusion: The results provide evidence that conditioned sexual likes are relatively persistent, also at the behavioral level. Both S, Brom M, Laan E, et al. Evidence for Persistence of Sexual Evaluative Learning Effects. J Sex Med 2020;17:505–517.
KW - Classical Conditioning
KW - Evaluative Learning
KW - Extinction
KW - Genital Arousal
KW - Sexual Response
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85077679628&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsxm.2019.12.005
DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsxm.2019.12.005
M3 - Article
C2 - 31937516
SN - 1743-6095
VL - 17
SP - 505
EP - 517
JO - Journal of Sexual Medicine
JF - Journal of Sexual Medicine
IS - 3
ER -