Conditioning of Sexual Interests and Paraphilias in Humans Is Difficult to See, Virtually Impossible to Test, and Probably Exactly How It Happens: A Comment on Hsu and Bailey (2020)

Pfaus, James G.; Quintana, Gonzalo R.; Cionnaith, Conall E. Mac; Gerson, Christine; Dubé, Simon; Coria-Ávila, Genaro A.

doi:10.1007/s10508-020-01739-2

Cited by 17 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Obvious ethical constraints make it virtually impossible to manipulate, much less test, conditioning during critical first experiences with sexual reward that can occur any time across the lifespan in humans. We note that sexual interests span a continuum of preferences, from particular features and specific behavioral patterns to fetishes and paraphilias, as well as sexual orientation based on anatomical sex and perceived gender [ 19 , 23 ]. The wide variety of idiosyncratic features that can be conditioned in our species means that everyone will be found desirable by at least another, assuming that they possess the ability for competent sexual stimulation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For obvious ethical reasons, much of our knowledge regarding the effects of first experiences with sexual reward, the neuropharmacological and molecular mechanisms that underlie them comes from animal models (e.g., rats, quail, voles). Despite species’ differences in copulatory behavior, it is very likely that similar, if not identical, mechanisms underlie those experiences in humans [ 19 , 23 ].…”

Section: Sexual Excitation and Inhibitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…conditioned by response-reinforcer (operant) associations with arousal and pleasure [ 249 ]. Together, Pavlovian and operant associations with sexual arousal and pleasure partially define a preference for a familiar “type” and the movements that become one’s typical pattern of sexual response, including particular paraphilias [ 19 , 23 ].…”

Section: First Experiences Of Sexual Reward In Humans; or The Path Of...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Behavioral, Neural, and Molecular Mechanisms of Conditioned Mate Preference: The Role of Opioids and First Experiences of Sexual Reward

Quintana

Cionnaith

Pfaus

2022

IJMS

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Although mechanisms of mate preference are thought to be relatively hard-wired, experience with appetitive and consummatory sexual reward has been shown to condition preferences for partner related cues and even objects that predict sexual reward. Here, we reviewed evidence from laboratory species and humans on sexually conditioned place, partner, and ejaculatory preferences in males and females, as well as the neurochemical, molecular, and epigenetic mechanisms putatively responsible. From a comprehensive review of the available data, we concluded that opioid transmission at μ opioid receptors forms the basis of sexual pleasure and reward, which then sensitizes dopamine, oxytocin, and vasopressin systems responsible for attention, arousal, and bonding, leading to cortical activation that creates awareness of attraction and desire. First experiences with sexual reward states follow a pattern of sexual imprinting, during which partner- and/or object-related cues become crystallized by conditioning into idiosyncratic “types” that are found sexually attractive and arousing. These mechanisms tie reward and reproduction together, blending proximate and ultimate causality in the maintenance of variability within a species.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Sexual Excitation and Inhibitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: First Experiences Of Sexual Reward In Humans; or The Path Of...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Behavioral, Neural, and Molecular Mechanisms of Conditioned Mate Preference: The Role of Opioids and First Experiences of Sexual Reward

Quintana

Cionnaith

Pfaus

2022

IJMS

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“…Although this is a logical argument to make in light of the evidence related to the conditioning of paraphilic sexual interests (see Pfaus et al, 2020), it fails to acknowledge the potential for dolls playing a role in the prevention of child sexual abuse. Some professionals have tentatively made this argument (for a summary, see Rutkin, 2016), but it has generally been rejected without much detailed discussion of its validity.…”

Section: )mentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the ownership of child-like sex dolls

Harper¹,

Lievesley²

2022

Preprint

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There is a fervent social debate ongoing that relates to the ownership of child-like sex dolls. On the one hand, some proponents of dolls suggest that they offer a safe sexual outlet for minor-attracted people (MAPs) and could be used in efforts to prevent the sexual abuse of children. On the other side of the debate, child-like dolls are seen as articles that sexualize children, encourage deviant fantasies, and increase offending risk. To date, no empirical analyses have been undertaken with people who own such dolls. In this paper we present data from child-like sex doll owners (n = 85) and MAPs who do not own dolls (n = 120). Specifically, we compared their psychological characteristics and proclivities for sexual aggression. Among non-owners, almost 80% of participants declared an interest in owning a sex doll, which is higher than in adult-attracted samples of non-owners. We found few differences between the groups on most personality variables, with doll owners being less antisocial and anxiously-attached than non-owners, but exhibiting more schizotypal traits. Related to offending proclivities, doll ownership was associated with lower levels of sexual preoccupation and self-reported arousal to hypothetical abuse scenarios, but higher levels of sexually objectifying behaviors and anticipated enjoyment of sexual encounters with children. We discuss these data in relation to a functional model of child-like sex doll ownership among MAPs.

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“…Regardless, selecting standardised stimuli for experiments involving pornography can be problematic given the variety in preferences for content and degree of explicitness [see 52]. Indeed, the effects of sexual conditioning also tend to be weak in adults [53] possibly owing to already formed preferences and their heterogeneity [54]. However, individuals that exhibit heightened reactivity to drug related cues also showed greater reward responsiveness to non-drug related reinforcement [55,56].…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

No significant effect of frequent online sexual behaviour on Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT): Implications for compulsive sexual behaviour disorder

Wells

Krejčová²,

Binter³

et al. 2022

PLoS ONE

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Reward based learning is broadly acknowledged to underpin the development and maintenance of addictive behaviour although the mechanism in sexual compulsivity is less understood. Using a Pavlovian-to-Instrumental Transfer (PIT) task we tested whether the motivational aspect of conditioned Pavlovian conditioned stimulus invigorated instrumental responding in relation to specific compatible monetary rewards. Performance on the task was analysed between two groups of males based on Low (N = 38) and High (N = 41) self-report online sexual behaviour (OSB). Psychometric tests including sexual compulsivity scale and behavioural activation/behavioural inhibition (BIS/BAS) were also administered to determine the relationship between OSB and general reward sensitivity. We show clear evidence of acquisition in the Pavlovian and instrumental conditioning phases. Specific transfer effect was greater in the High-OSB group although the difference compared to the Low-OSB group was non-significant. OSB negatively correlated with both BIS and BAS indicative of introversion and low reward sensitivity. OSB positively correlated with sexual compulsivity although it is unclear whether individuals in the High-OSB group considered their behaviour either excessive or problematic. These findings contribute to the ongoing debate regarding the nature of problematic OSB. Fundamental differences in motivational characteristics and mechanism contributing to compulsive behaviour in relation to high-OSB might indicate incompatibility with behavioural addiction models. PIT was not enhanced in high-OSB by appetitive conditioning, although problematic OSB could stem from failure to inhibit actions. Further research should investigate whether aversive conditioning differentially affects responding in high-OSB individuals, potentially explaining perseverant behaviour despite negative consequences.

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Conditioning of Sexual Interests and Paraphilias in Humans Is Difficult to See, Virtually Impossible to Test, and Probably Exactly How It Happens: A Comment on Hsu and Bailey (2020)

Cited by 17 publications

References 41 publications

Behavioral, Neural, and Molecular Mechanisms of Conditioned Mate Preference: The Role of Opioids and First Experiences of Sexual Reward

Behavioral, Neural, and Molecular Mechanisms of Conditioned Mate Preference: The Role of Opioids and First Experiences of Sexual Reward

Exploring the ownership of child-like sex dolls

No significant effect of frequent online sexual behaviour on Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT): Implications for compulsive sexual behaviour disorder

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