Contingent Negative Variation as an Indicator of Sexual Object Preference

Costell, Ronald M.; Lunde, Donald T.; Kopell, Bert S.; Wittner, William K.

doi:10.1126/science.177.4050.718

Cited by 41 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Numerous studies Chivers et al, 2004;Suschinsky, Lalumiere, & Chivers, 2009) have demonstrated that most women possess''nonspecific'' patterns of genital arousal, such that they become aroused to both same-sex and other-sex stimuli, regardless of their own self-reported sexual orientation. This effect has been replicated in a variety of studies using other psychophysiological and behavioral measures of sexual arousal, such as electroencephalograms, functional magnetic resonance imaging, and the length of time that individuals look at erotic picture (Costa, Braun, & Birbaumer, 2003;Costell, 1972;Hamann, Herman, Nolan, & Wallen, 2004;Wright & Adams, 1999). Men, in contrast, tend to report highly gender-specific patterns of sexual arousal that correspond closely to their self-reported sexual orientation (one notable exception to this pattern is that although lesbians' genital responses to depictions of sexual activity are nonspecific, their responses to images of solitary nude figures are category-specific, such that they show substantially more arousal to female than male bodies) (Chivers, Seto, & Blanchard, 2007).…”

Section: The Importance Of Nonexclusivitymentioning

confidence: 81%

The Desire Disorder in Research on Sexual Orientation in Women: Contributions of Dynamical Systems Theory

Diamond

2012

Arch Sex Behav

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Over the past decade, numerous studies have documented fundamental differences between the phenomenology of male and female sexual orientation, largely centering on women's capacity for fluidity in their sexual attractions. The past decade has also witnessed fundamental changes in clinical perspectives on "normal" versus "dysfunctional" patterns of female sexual desire, largely centering on women's greater capacity for responsive and context-dependent sexual desires. In both cases, traditional male-based models of sexuality have been found inadequate to describe women's experiences. I argue that this inadequacy stems from a failure of traditional models to appropriately account for the phenomenon of variability over time, which may constitute a fundamental feature of female sexual phenomenology. I maintain that dynamical systems theory provides a useful and generative approach for reconceptualizing female sexual orientation, because dynamical systems models focus specifically on describing and explaining complex patterns of change over time. I review the key properties of dynamical systems models and provide an illustrative model of how this approach might yield new perspectives on female sexual orientation.

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Section: The Importance Of Nonexclusivitymentioning

confidence: 81%

The Desire Disorder in Research on Sexual Orientation in Women: Contributions of Dynamical Systems Theory

Diamond

2012

Arch Sex Behav

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“…An investigation of the EEG response to same and opposite sex stimuli in men and women supports imaging findings and suggests that the women distinguish less between same and opposite sex stimuli than men do (Costell, Lunde, Kopell, & Wittner, 1972). Costell et al measured the amplitude of the contingent negative variation (CNV) wave.…”

Section: Sex Differences In Neural Response To Sexual Stimulimentioning

confidence: 88%

Sex Differences in Response to Visual Sexual Stimuli: A Review

2007

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This article reviews what is currently known about how men and women respond to the presentation of visual sexual stimuli. While the assumption that men respond more to visual sexual stimuli is generally empirically supported, previous reports of sex differences are confounded by the variable content of the stimuli presented and measurement techniques. We propose that the cognitive processing stage of responding to sexual stimuli is the first stage in which sex differences occur. The divergence between men and women is proposed to occur at this time, reflected in differences in neural activation, and contribute to previously reported sex differences in downstream peripheral physiological responses and subjective reports of sexual arousal. Additionally, this review discusses factors that may contribute to the variability in sex differences observed in response to visual sexual stimuli. Factors include participant variables, such as hormonal state and socialized sexual attitudes, as well as variables specific to the content presented in the stimuli. Based on the literature reviewed, we conclude that content characteristics may differentially produce higher levels of sexual arousal in men and women. Specifically, men appear more influenced by the sex of the actors depicted in the stimuli while women's response may differ with the context presented. Sexual motivation, perceived gender role expectations, and sexual attitudes are possible influences. These differences are of practical importance to future research on sexual arousal that aims to use experimental stimuli comparably appealing to men and women and also for general understanding of cognitive sex differences.

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“…The task used Costell et al's (1972) S1-S2 paradigm. Before task onset, an instruction screen asked the participants to direct their attention to the images and to remain as still as possible.…”

Section: Picture-anticipation Taskmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This measure is based on a design developed by Costell and colleagues to successfully differentiate sexual preference (Costell, Lunde, Kopell, & Wittner, 1972). Costell's design incorporated stimulus preceding negativity (SPN), a brain response that occurs during the anticipation of and motivation to attend to emotionally important stimuli (Hillman, Apparies, & Hatfield, 2000;Takeuchi, Mochizuki, Masaki, Takasawa, & Yamasaki, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Brain activity during anticipation of smoking-related and emotionally positive pictures in smokers and nonsmokers: A new measure of cue reactivity

Gilbert¹

2008

CNTR

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Previous studies have shown that a brain wave pattern known as stimulus preceding negativity (SPN) can index the anticipation of motivationally relevant events. The present study was the first to use SPN as an index of the motivational significance of smoking-related pictures. Emotionally positive and neutral pictures served as controls. The paradigm involved the following sequence: (a) presentation of a picture (S1) for 500 ms, (b) a fixation cross for 3,500 ms, (c) a second presentation (S2) of the same picture for 2,000 ms, and (d) another fixation cross signifying the beginning of a new S1-S2 trial using a different picture. The participants (N = 24, half smokers and half nonsmokers) viewed pictures from three categories (smoking-related, emotionally positive, or emotionally neutral). Consistent with predictions, smokers exhibited significantly greater mean SPN amplitudes in anticipation of smoking-related pictures relative to neutral pictures. Among nonsmokers the SPN was significantly smaller in anticipation of smoking pictures compared with neutral pictures. These findings are consistent with the incentive sensitization theory of addiction and other conditioning and cue-reactivity models.

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Contingent Negative Variation as an Indicator of Sexual Object Preference

Cited by 41 publications

References 12 publications

The Desire Disorder in Research on Sexual Orientation in Women: Contributions of Dynamical Systems Theory

The Desire Disorder in Research on Sexual Orientation in Women: Contributions of Dynamical Systems Theory

Sex Differences in Response to Visual Sexual Stimuli: A Review

Brain activity during anticipation of smoking-related and emotionally positive pictures in smokers and nonsmokers: A new measure of cue reactivity

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