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Abstract
Observational stance refers to the perspective a person takes while viewing a sexual stimulus, either as a passive observer (observer stance) or an active participant (participant stance). The objective of the current study was to examine the relationship between observational stance and sexual arousal (subjective and genital) across a range of sexual stimuli that do or do not correspond with a participant's sexual attraction (preferred or nonpreferred stimuli, respectively). Regression analyses revealed that, for men (n = 44), participant stance significantly predicted subjective and genital arousal. Women's (n = 47) observer and participant stance predicted subjective arousal but not genital arousal. Analysis of variance showed that participant stance was greatest under preferred sexual stimuli conditions for all groups of participants, while observer stance scores revealed a less consistent pattern of response. This was particularly true for opposite-sex-attracted women, whose ratings of observer stance were lowest for preferred stimuli. Observational stance does not appear to account for gender differences in specificity of sexual arousal; for men, however, participant stance uniquely predicted genital response after controlling for sexual attractions. Similarities in the relationships between men's and women's observational stance and sexual responses challenge previous claims of gender differences in how men and women view erotica.
Acknowledgments
Many thanks to the study participants, to Michael Seto for his comments on an earlier version of this manuscript, and to Ray Blanchard for his guidance. This research was supported by a postdoctoral fellowship grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, awarded to the last author.
Notes
Note. Subjective arousal and observational stance (observer and participant) were rated on a 9-point scale.
a Change in variance accounted for with addition of observational stance variables.
*p < .05. **p < .01.
a Change in variance accounted for with addition of observational stance variables.
*p < .05. **p < .01.