Attentional Mechanisms Underlying Gendered Sexual Response

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Sexuality is a fundamental aspect of human nature. Contemporary theories of sexuality assume that men and women are similar in their sexual response; however, a wealth of empirical evidence suggests that this assumption is incorrect. There are two well-replicated, but perplexing, differences in men's and women's sexual response patterns. The first is that compared to men, women's sexual response is activated by a much broader array of sexual stimuli. The second being that the strength of coherence between physiological and psychological arousal is much weaker among women than men, with women exhibiting almost a mind-body disconnect. Although these gender differences in sexual outcomes are well-established, we lack understanding of the mechanisms underlying how these different patterns arise. Theoretical models situate attention as a key mechanism for sexual response, yet direct links between attentional processes and sexual response have never been examined empirically. The aim of the proposed research program is to fill this critical gap by examining for the first time how attention exerts its effects on sexual response using a gender/sex lens. The overarching hypothesis is that men and women differ in their attention to sexual stimuli contributing to different patterns of sexual response. To test this, we will bring men and women into the lab and objectively measure their attention, as well as examine the effect of attention on physiological and psychological sexual arousal. We will also investigate whether or not automatic attentional biases elicited by sexual cues can be modified, and how this then impacts sexual response. An additional objective is to refine existing theoretical models by examining a new mechanism-inattention-and its link with sexual response. Together the knowledge created will contribute to the development of an empirically-based model of sexual response that accounts for gender/sex, that ultimately better reflects men's and women's experiences of their sexuality. This research continues a tradition of excellence in sexual science in Canada, providing unique opportunities for HQP to be trained in psychophysiology and sex- and gender-based data analysis (SGBA+). These skills have broad applications in multiple areas of science including psychology, neuroscience, physiology, and medicine. Understanding the mechanisms underlying sexual response will be used to generate empirically-supported models of sexual response that will have direct implications for researchers in sexuality, including those examining other sexually-related phenomena, such as sexual orientation and the assessment and treatment of sexual function problems. Given the centrality of sexuality to people's lives, the impact of this work will extend to all Canadian men and women. Accurate empirical knowledge about gendered sexuality will also help address myriad societal misconceptions about men's and women's sexualities.