“Yuck!” Aversive Conditioning: Investigating the Link Between the Expectation of Disgust and Sexual Arousal

Luijtgaarden, Nua van de (2024) “Yuck!” Aversive Conditioning: Investigating the Link Between the Expectation of Disgust and Sexual Arousal. Master thesis, Psychology.

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Abstract

Disgust has been described as an important factor in inhibition of sexual arousal processes, and in the development and maintenance of sexual dysfunctions. This thesis investigated whether (i) a disgust expectation could be created through an differential conditioning paradigm, (ii) whether the expectation of disgust lowered sexual arousal, and (iii) if this effect changed over time. The participants (n = 36) were exposed to a differential conditioning paradigm, where one erotic video stimulus (CS+) was coupled with the expectation of disgust, and another erotic video stimulus (CS-) was not. Prior to the acquisition of the disgust expectation, the two video stimuli (CS+ and CS-) did not differ significantly in their ability to elicit sexual arousal or disgust. An expectation of disgust had been created for the CS+, which lasted across the entire test stage, and significantly lowered sexual arousal for the CS+ compared to the CS- on the first trial. Sexual arousal was not significantly lower for the CS+ compared to the CS- across the trials, and this effect stayed consistent over time. In conclusion, the pairing of an erotic video stimulus with the expectation of an aversive disgusting stimulus created an expectation of disgust, which temporarily lowered sexual arousal. The results of this thesis contribute to the existing literature on the topic by adding evidence that the expectation disgust influences sexual arousal processes. Keywords: female sexual arousal, disgust expectation, differential conditioning paradigm, sexually asymptomatic women

Item Type:	Thesis (Master)
Supervisor name:	Borg, C.
Degree programme:	Psychology
Differentiation route:	Clinical Psychology (CP) [Master Psychology]
Date Deposited:	23 Jul 2024 11:59
Last Modified:	23 Jul 2024 11:59
URI:	http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/4040

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