Female Subjective and Pupillary Reaction to Nude Male and Female Figures

Summary

Pupillary responses were recorded for 22 females viewing slides of two male and two female models in sequential degrees of dress and nudity. Subjective reports of sexual arousal were correlated with pupillary reactions to the male models. Dilation was found to be generally in accord with the direction and intensity of subjectively perceived sexual arousal. Dilation to the male models was found to increase in direct relation to the increasing level of exposure. Pupillary response to female models demonstrated no such linear trend. Dilation to the male models was significantly greater than dilation to the female models. The results of the study suggest that pupillary dilation may be a sensitive index of arousal.