The relation between sexual interest and personality characteristics in men: an eye-tracking study

Abstract

There is a large individual deviation for men, which may be caused by a difference in personality characteristics, in sexual interest in response to sexual stimuli. In this study, we investigate whether attention to the sexual region in a video depends on the personality characteristics of men, assessing this with an eye-tracking system. The study included 30 healthy males with a normal psychological state, who viewed a sexual video in which the sexual region had been designated. Visual attention was measured across the designated region according to gaze duration. Ten types of personality characteristics were evaluated as a T-score by a questionnaire. By Pearson's correlation coefficient, the relations between gaze duration at the sexual region and T-scores of paranoia, psychasthenia and social introversion were found to be statistically significant. By multivariate stepwise regression analysis, only social introversion was negatively associated with the sexual region. Even normal variation of personality characteristics can affect the viewing period of the sexual region. This is the first report showing that subjects with a high degree of paranoia, psychasthenia and particularly social introversion have a tendency to view the sexual region for a shorter duration.

The Pattern of Sexual Interest of Female-to-Male Transsexual Persons With Gender Identity Disorder Does Not Resemble That of Biological Men: An Eye-Tracking Study

“… 17 We previously reported that even the normal variation of personality characteristics is associated with sexual interest in men by using the specified questionnaire used in personality tests worldwide. 12 Thus, the degree of masculinity in our subjects might have affected our results. We suggest that this is only a pilot study that should be repeated with a larger sample and more accurate methodology.…”

“…Our methodology was published previously. 11 , 12 Briefly, the participants viewed audiovisual material in the form of three different sexually explicit video clips.…”

“…We recently conducted a study of a new eye-tracking system in which eye positions of subjects are recorded automatically while viewing sexual videos to evaluate which regions of the video are of interest to the subjects. 11 , 12 This method is ideal because sexual interest can be evaluated quantitatively and non-invasively. After using this system, we reported that a sex difference existed in visual attention to a sexual video: men viewed the opposite sex for longer periods than women, and women viewed the same sex for longer periods than men.…”

Mental- and Physical-Health Indicators and Sexually Explicit Media Use Behavior by Adults

“…Similarly, clearer articulation of the interrelationships between mental health distress, SEMB, and risky sexual health perceptions and behaviors is needed. Given that reciprocal relationships are probable, future research explicating these possibilities will require more extensive research designs (e.g., longitudinal studies); inclusion of more extensive environmental (e.g., social support) [24,84,85] and personal (e.g., individual differences) determinants [86–88]; and more sophisticated analytical strategies (e.g., multilevel models, structural equation models). Nevertheless, the findings suggest that evidence‐based sexual health promotion strategies simultaneously addressing individuals' SEMB and their mental health needs might be a useful approach to improve mental health and address preventable sexual health outcomes associated with SEMB.…”

Sexual Interest and Neuroimaging of the Site of the Libido

“…We also investigated whether attention to the sexual region in the video depends on the personality characteristics of men, assessing this with an eye-tracking system. Regarding the gaze duration for the sexual region, multiple stepwise regression analysis showed that only social introversion was associated negatively 13) . It was unclear whether these differences were a result of a congenital or an acquired factor.…”