The primary objective is to assess to what extent excitation transfer occurs, i.e., to what extent sexual arousal to sexual stimuli is higher in an emotional state than in a neutral state.
ID
Source
Brief title
Condition
- Other condition
Synonym
Health condition
seksueel functioneren
Research involving
Sponsors and support
Intervention
Outcome measures
Primary outcome
Sexual arousal is assessed by penile circumference and subjective ratings. The
main endpoints for the study is sexual arousal in response to the erotic
stimuli in the six experimental blocks (neutral/nonemotional,
aggression/dominance, fear, endearment, disgust, shame).
Secondary outcome
The secondary endpoints are: unusual sexual interests and sexual outlet as
assessed by self-report.
Background summary
Deviant sexual interests may be born from the need to enhance sexual arousal by
means of other emotional stimuli, a process referred to as *excitation
transfer*. We propose a study to assess this interaction between sexual arousal
and other emotions. We hypothesize that exposure to an emotional stimulus will
enhance sexual arousal in response to a sexual stimulus. This study increases
our knowledge about the etiology of deviant sexual interests, which,
ultimately, may help to improve treatment of (potential) sex offenders. NB.
This study follows a prior pilot study to excitation transfer (approved by VUmc
METC Sept 4th, 2018, METC registration number 2018.214) and plans to
incorporate a larger and more sexually diverse sample.
Study objective
The primary objective is to assess to what extent excitation transfer occurs,
i.e., to what extent sexual arousal to sexual stimuli is higher in an emotional
state than in a neutral state.
Study design
The current study is of experimental nature with a within-subjects design.
Volunteers will be presented with 6 experimental blocks (5 emotional and 1
neutral/nonemotional) in counterbalanced order to prevent order effects.
Sexual arousal is induced by erotic film fragments, emotional arousal is
induced by emotional film fragments. All stimuli are presented in a 360-degree
environment using Virtual Reality (VR) goggles.
Intervention
Sexual arousal is induced by erotic film fragments, emotional arousal is
induced by emotional film fragments. All stimuli are presented in a 360-degree
environment using Virtual Reality (VR) goggles.
Study burden and risks
There are no risks associated with participation. Participants may experience
nausea and dizziness from VR, this will diminish after use. It is possible that
measures of penile circumference are experienced as intrusive or uncomfortable.
However, research indicates that participants generally experience the
assessment of penile circumference as minimally intrusive. To maximize comfort,
participants are left in the room alone during the experiment, sitting
underneath a blanket, and they are allowed recovery time after the experiment.
Participants receive a ¤35,- reimbursement for their participation and
reimbursement of travel costs up to a maximum of ¤40,-. Participants may always
withdraw from the experiment without any consequences.
Oudlaan 9
Utrecht 3515GA
NL
Oudlaan 9
Utrecht 3515GA
NL
Listed location countries
Age
Inclusion criteria
Male, age 18+
Exclusion criteria
- Insufficient understanding of Dutch language to complete questionnaires
- Visually handicapped
Design
Recruitment
Followed up by the following (possibly more current) registration
No registrations found.
Other (possibly less up-to-date) registrations in this register
No registrations found.
In other registers
| Register | ID |
|---|---|
| CCMO | NL80036.068.21 |