The Impact of Induced Pain Expectancies on Subjective Sexual Arousal: A Conditioning and Extinction Study about Heterosexual Women

Ananias, Daniela (2025) The Impact of Induced Pain Expectancies on Subjective Sexual Arousal: A Conditioning and Extinction Study about Heterosexual Women. Master thesis, Psychology.

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Abstract

Many women experience pain during intercourse, which can negatively affect sexual well-being. Previous research suggests that pain expectancies may reduce sexual arousal, but findings have been mixed. This study investigated whether conditioned stimuli paired with an unconditioned stimulus (CS+) would elicit lower subjective sexual arousal compared to stimuli without the US (CS−), and whether an extinction procedure could recover this process. It was hypothesized that pain expectancies would diminish subjective sexual arousal and that an extinction procedure will not result in a full disappearance of the difference in sexual arousal for the CS+ vs. CS-. A repeated measures within-subject design was used in which 32 heterosexual women, mainly first-year psychology students of the University of Groningen, viewed erotic video clips (CS+/CS−) while acquiring an electrical shock (US) after the CS+ during the acquisition phase. During the extinction phase, both CS+ and CS− stimuli were presented without the US. Contrary to the hypotheses, results showed that subjective sexual arousal increased during CS+ trials, and this effect persisted during extinction. Pain expectancies were significantly higher for the CS+ from the first trial onward and decreased only partially during extinction, demonstrating effective conditioning. These findings challenge earlier findings about the role of pain expectancies on sexual arousal. Arousal may have been misattributed, or the US might not have been aversive enough to cause differential responding. In sum, this study introduces a novel pattern of conditioned subjective sexual arousal, highlighting the need for further research into how pain, expectancy, and sexual arousal interact. Keywords: sexual arousal, pain, conditioning, extinction

Item Type:	Thesis (Master)
Supervisor name:	Borg, C.
Degree programme:	Psychology
Differentiation route:	Clinical Psychology (CP) [Master Psychology]
Date Deposited:	24 Jul 2025 09:19
Last Modified:	24 Jul 2025 09:19
URI:	http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/5730

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