Examining Sexual Arousal - Research Paper Example

Sexual Response and Arousal al Affiliation Sexual Response and Arousal Summary of the Scholarly Article The article written by Scottand Cortez (2011) entitled “No Longer His and Hers, But Ours: Examining Sexual Arousal in Response to Erotic Stories Designed for Both Sexes” published in the Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy proffered pertinent issues relative to exploring erotic stories that were deemed to appeal to both male and female. The authors hypothesized that “it is possible to design explicit materials that are equally appealing and sexually arousing to men and women” (Scott & Cortez, 2011, p. 173). The participants were reportedly composed of 212 psychology students from a liberal college located in the West Coast. As disclosed, the breakdown of the gender of these participants was 101 male students and 111 female students and should be at least 18 years old to qualify as valid participants due to the explicit sexual content of the research. The methodology required a specifically designed erotic story composed of 1,600 words that allegedly started from precoital to postcoital detailed narrative scenes. A questionnaire was designed to measure pre-test levels of “sexual self-esteem, sexual desire, and pre- and posttest measures of arousal” (Scott & Cortez, 2011, p. 165). The results of the study revealed that there were no apparent significant levels of disparities between both genders in evaluating the appeal of erotic stories (using both explicit and suggestive narrative discourses) (Scott & Cortez, 2011). The authors, however, found that there were some disparities in terms of manifesting arousal levels between male and female under suggestive conditions. As disclosed, males who read suggestive narrative discourse exhibited limited increases in arousal levels as compared to males who read explicit narrative discourse, especially describing the coital scenario. As such, the authors concluded that “although women have reported physiological arousal in response to male-dominant explicit materials, women were more psychologically aroused by erotica designed for women” (Scott & Cortez, 2011, p. 174). Summary of Popular Media Article The online published article from PsychCentral written by Nauert (2010) entitled “Men and Women Differ on Sexual Arousal” indicated that there are disparities between the way males and females respond physiologically to mental sexual arousal. As contended, “men’s reports of feeling sexually aroused tend to match their physiological responses, while women’s mind and body responses are less aligned” (Nauert, 2010, par. 2). These findings were reported to be the result of a study conducted by Meredith Chivers, a professor from the Queen’s University. According to the article, the research allegedly delved into examining 134 previous studies that included as much as 4,400 participants (1,900 were male participants and the remaining 2,500 were female). Likewise, it was revealed that the participants were questioned as to their level of arousal from the time that exposure to varied sexual stimuli was measured until after exposure. It was clarified that a subjective measure of arousal was collected and apparently compared with physiological changes such as: “penile erection for men and changes in genital blood flow for women” (Nauert, 2010, par. 7). The findings revealed that there were apparent differences between genders’ physiological responses to subjective mental sexual arousal where the subjective ratings for males were noted to have closely matched the reported physiological measures, as compared to females. Likewise, it was also disclosed that the mind and bodies of males were allegedly always in agreement as compared to the inconsistencies noted for females. The rationale for this difference was noted to have stemmed from two factors: timing of assessment of the reported sexual arousal and the content as well as presentation of sexual stimuli. Critique The studies shares similarities in terms of reporting the research aim or hypothesis, presenting the participants in the study and the methodology, as well as detailing the findings or results of the studies. The studies were similar in terms of intending to measure the levels of arousals between genders using defined stimuli. These studies were most significantly different in terms of the manner of extensiveness and comprehensiveness in presentation; as well as in citing authoritative secondary sources that supported their respective research. The scholarly article was presented in greater depth and detail that initially presented a conceptual and theoretical framework, prior to expounding on the research design and methodology. The article that was published online, although it was premised on a study made by a professor at Queen’s University, only presented excerpts of the research. Likewise, Nauert (2010), failed to appropriate cite the research with correct citations and referencing to enable readers to validate the information that was presented. The value for consumers in reading the scholarly article is most significant, as compared to the value for reading the popular media article, since contents from the scholarly article were credible and reliable. The fact that the authors effectively provided details of their study, including credible sources of support from verifiable authors increased the reliability of the discourse. On the other hand, the article published in PsychCentral seemingly invited consumers to get a glimpse of an interesting topic on gender diversity with regards to sexual arousal using a study conducted by another author. The fact that the article failed to provide proper citations and referencing required consumers to validate the veracity of the arguments and therefore render this discourse of lesser reliability than the scholarly article. The disadvantage of presenting the information according to the way that the scholarly article was structured was its lengthy and significantly detailed manner. For audiences who are looking at easy to read and commercially appealing articles on the subject of gender disparities on sexual arousal, the brief and abstract presentation of information by the article from the popular media could be more appealing. On the other hand, if students are looking for credible, reliable and validated sources of information of the subject of sexual arousal and response, the in-depth presentation with verifiable sources presented by Scott & Cortez (2011) would be more beneficial. Therefore, the purpose of the audience or consumer for making the contents useful on their perspectives would make presentations cater according to their needs. Both sources can be important means of communicating information about your topic. Explain what is best about the scholarly approach and why, and what is best about the popular media approach and why. The scholarly approach is best for students, researchers, or practitioners who aim to learn more about the identified topic in terms of providing them with appropriate theoretical knowledge on the subject based on a wealth of other authoritative secondary sources that were equally presented in the discourse. The scholarly approach contains complete references to previous reviews of literature which the user could likewise explore and use for current and future studies. Thus, the scholarly article is most beneficial to studies and practitioners who aim use the current discourse for purposes that would enrich their knowledge on the subject, or to validate arguments in studies that they are pursing. The popular media approach is likewise beneficial to audiences who are merely looking for interesting topics to be entertained and want findings presented in a summarized manner. For this type of audience, the details that go through identifying selecting the participants or noting the details of the research design is inconsequential and unnecessary. Likewise, these audiences do not need to verify the credibility of the information and thus, does not require a long list of references, nor citations to validate the presented arguments. Conclusion The topic of exploring human sexual is innately interesting and the wealth of information about this subject was recognized to be extensive and diverse. By being given the opportunity to compare locating the topic from scholarly sources and from popular media, one acknowledged that there could be findings that are similar for both or could be different depending on various factors. Likewise, the information generated and published from these sources would be useful to varied types of audiences. As noted, scholarly articles, as the term implies, would be most beneficial to students, researches and practitioners who aim to be enriched by exploring the whole process of delving into the research. Likewise, there are audiences who aim to be entertained and be apprised of summarized findings from articles published in popular media. Overall, one learned from these different discourses that there are disparities in terms of sexual arousal and responses according to gender depending on varied stimuli. Women were noted to have some inconsistencies in the way their levels of sexual arousal were manifested depending on timing of assessment, as well as content and presentation of sexual stimuli. It was also revealed that men were more sexually aroused with explicit erotic stories than suggestive narrative discourse. As such, more interesting findings could be revealed with future researches on the subject and various audiences could expect to learn more about human sexuality from scholarly sources and from popular media. References Nauert, R. (2010, January 5). Men and Women Differ in Sexual Arousal. Retrieved from PsychCentral: http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/01/05/men-and-women-differ-on-sexual-arousal/10547.html Scott, C., & Cortez, J. A. (2011). No Longer His and Hers, But Ours: Examining Sexual Arousal in Response to Erotic Stories Designed for Both Sexes. Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, Vol. 37,165–175. Read More