The Labial Photoplethysmograph: A New Instrument for Assessing Genital Hemodynamic Changes in Women

Abstract

Aim The labial photoplethysmograph (LP), a new measure for assessing genital responses in women, was compared to the vaginal photoplethysmograph (VP). Methods Fifteen women wore both devices simultaneously while viewing neutral, sexual, sexually-threatening, and threatening film clips. Results The LP and VP exhibited comparable specificity to sexual stimuli. Additionally, the LP demonstrated greater resistance to movement artifacts and a slightly higher correspondence with subjective measures of sexual arousal. Conclusion The LP, while somewhat more difficult to place and less comfortable than the VP, is a promising new measure of genital response in women that warrants further development.

An Evaluation of the Validity of Thermography as a Physiological Measure of Sexual Arousal in a Non-University Adult Sample

“…This limits instrumentation artifacts in comparing men and women and enhances the applicability of the methodology. The use of both positive and anxiety arousal control groups in our study also provided strong discriminant validity for genital temperature as a measure of sexual arousal and was in line with previous research using such control groups (Both et al, 2003;Kukkonen et al, 2007;Laan, Everaerd, & Evers, 1995;Prause et al, 2005). Furthermore, the data collected from a non-college age sample allowed us to generalize the methodology to a broader population and supported the results from our previous research (Kukkonen et al, 2007).…”

“…Finally, the inclusion of a measure of instrument intrusiveness provided valuable information on the perceived effect of the camera on sexual arousal and supported the ecological validity of the technique. Very few Prause et al (2005) found a highly significant correlation between perceived discomfort of both the vaginal and labial photoplethysmographs and their level of interference in attending to films, which suggests that having an instrument that requires no contact would circumvent this distraction. It could be argued, however, that in the case of thermography, having a camera record genital temperature can differentially affect participants with varying levels of dispositional self-consciousness, something that was not measured in this study but should be examined in future research (Meston, 2006;van Lankveld, van den Hout, & Schouten, 2004).…”

“…While the results from this first thermographic study were quite promising and provide initial support for the discriminant and convergent validity of thermography as a measure of sexual arousal, there were limitations: (1) our sample consisted of healthy undergraduate students and, as such, the results do not indicate the applicability of this instrument for older populations and clinical settings (external validity); (2) there was no anxiety control condition, which has been the most commonly used stimulus for evaluating the discriminant validity of instruments measuring sexual response (e.g., Both, Everaerd, & Laan, 2003;Laan, Everaerd, & Evers, 1995;Prause et al, 2005); and (3) there was no continuous monitoring of sexual arousal, which provides an indication of concurrent validity and is also one way to examine individual differences in arousal (Brody, 2007;Laan, Everaerd, & Evers, 1995;Laan, Everaerd, van der Velde, & Geer, 1995;Mitchell, DiBartolo, Brown, & Barlow, 1998;Rellini, McCall, Randall, & Meston, 2005;Wincze, Hoon, & Hoon, 1977;Wincze, Venditti, Barlow, & Mavissakalian, 1980).…”

“…Thermography provides numerous potential advantages over existing instrumentation (for a review of current instrument validity, see Janssen, 2001): (1) thermography does not require any genital manipulation or contact, which may result in either discomfort or in some cases arousal (Kukkonen et al, 2006;Prause, Cerny, & Janssen, 2005); (2) the same instrumentation can be used for both men and women; and (3) thermographic output, temperature, is measured on a known absolute scale, allowing for between group comparisons.…”

Assessing female sexual arousal with the labial thermistor: Response specificity and construct validity

“…This measurement feature is desirable, because it minimizes data transformations. However, full return-to-baseline appears to occur rarely (for exception see Prause, Cerny, & Janssen, 2005). Evidence across multiple measurement domains now suggests that returning to baseline after a period of sexual stimulation typically is a long process for women.…”