Date of Award

1997

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Cerny,Jerome

Abstract

Voluntary control of erectile responses represents a serious threat to the validity of phallometry( or penile plethysmography).Cognitive methods,such as not attending to the sexual stimuli or distraction through the use of fantasy,may be used effectively to distort phallometric measures.The primary purpose of this study was to explore the degree of control men have over their sexual arousal while receiving both cognitive and vibrotactile stimulation.More specifically,this study examined the ability of males to suppress penile tumescence to preferred sexual stimuli as well as their ability to enhance tumuscence to nonpreferred and neutral stimuli.Participants were randomly assigned to view one of three 4-minute video clips(heterosexual scene,homosexual scene,or neutral scene) while also receiving low-level penile vibrotactile stimulation. A 3 X 2 X 2 mixed model MANOVA was used to analyse the data.The results indicated that while receiving low-level vibrotactile stimulation,participants were able to "enhance" sexual arousal when instructed to do so regardless of video type but had much greater difficulty "suppressing" sexual arousal to the preferred video.Furthermore, under "enhance" instructions,mean and peak tumescence measures were not significantly difficult when comparing men who viewed a heterosexual VS homosexual video.The findings of this study are somewhat inconsistent with those of previous research and raise important issues clinically,theoretically and legally regarding the use of penile plethysmography.

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