Up-regulating Sexual Arousal and Down-regulating Disgust while Watching Pornography: Effects on Sexual Arousal and Disgust

Figures & data

Table 1. Sample characteristics

Variable	M (SD)	range	N
Age (in years)	20.55 (2.23)	18.00 – 30.00	255
SES/SIS-SF
SES	14.06 (2.80)	6.00 – 24.00	255
SIS1	10.89 (1.87)	5.00 – 15.00	255
SIS2	8.80 (2.06)	4.00 – 14.00	255
DPSS-R
Propensity	16.04 (3.73)	6.00 – 29.00	255
Sensitivity	12.40 (3.81)	6.00 – 24.00	255
Relationship status	N (%)		n
Stable relationship with intimate sexual contact	46.27		118
Stable relationship without intimate sexual contact	1.96		5
Single without intimate sexual contact	29.03		74
Single with intimate sexual contact (stable partner)	11.37		29
Single with intimate sexual contact (changing partners)	11.37		29
Contraceptive use
Hormonal	50.98		130
Non-hormonal	19.61		50
Combination of hormonal and non-hormonal	11.37		29
None	18.04		46
BSSC
Satisfied with own sexual function	72.55		185

SES/SIS-SF = The Sexual Excitation/Sexual Inhibition Scales – Short Form; SES = Sexual Excitation Scale; SIS1 = Sexual Inhibition Scale 1; SIS2 = Sexual Inhibition Scale 2; DPSS-R = Disgust Propensity and Sensitivity Scale Revised; BSSC = The Brief Sexual Symptom Checklist.

Figure 1. Randomization procedure

Table 2. Means and standard deviations of sexual arousal and disgust at pretest, and the pre- to posttest change scores for the sexual arousal up-regulation and control groups as a function of the presence/absence of a contamination prime

	Prime
	Contamination prime Instruction			No prime Instruction
	Arousal up-regulation	Control		Arousal up-regulation	Control
	M (SD)	M (SD)		M (SD)	M (SD)
Pretest sexual arousal	14.15 (18.50)	15.12 (13.13)		12.90 (15.63)	17.40 (16.82)
Pretest disgust	3.89 (8.54)	5.13 (9.55)		4.20 (5.50)	3.77 (5.36)
Δ Sexual arousal	25.28 (25.78)	26.38 (29.39)		39.27 (23.71)	23.83 (27.80)
Δ Disgust	28.68 (28.53)	26.60 (29.85)		29.46 (28.46)	37.53 (30.58)

Δ denotes change score from pre- to posttest.

Table 3. Means and standard deviations of sexual arousal and disgust at pretest, and the pre- to posttest change for the disgust down-regulation and control groups as a function of the presence/absence of a contamination prime

	Prime
	Contamination prime Instruction			No prime Instruction
	Disgust down-regulation	Control		Disgust down-regulation	Control
	M (SD)	M (SD)		M (SD)	M (SD)
Pretest sexual arousal	18.90 (17.96)	15.12 (13.13)		15.15 (15.09)	17.40 (16.82)
Pretest disgust	2.77 (3.98)	5.13 (9.55)		3.22 (5.32)	3.77 (5.36)
Δ Sexual arousal	34.56 (28.34)	26.38 (29.39)		30.27 (25.30)	23.83 (27.80)
Δ Disgust	18.36 (27.78)	26.60 (29.85)		27.78 (31.12)	37.53 (30.58)

Δ denotes change score from pre- to posttest.

Data Availability Statement

Research data and material for this project were made available on DataVerseNL platform under the following hyperlink: https://doi.org/10.34894/BR1XL2.