Unconscious Desire: The Affective and Motivational Aspects of Subliminal Sexual Priming

Abstract

Sexual arousal is thought to be the result of the processing of sexual cues at two levels: conscious and unconscious. Whereas numerous studies have examined the affective and motivational responses to supraliminal (consciously processed) sexual cues, much less is known regarding the responses to subliminal (processed outside of one's awareness) sexual cues. Five studies examined responses to subliminal sexual cues. Studies 1–3 demonstrated increases in adults' positive affect following exposure to subliminal sexual cues compared to control cues. Study 4 demonstrated that the positive affect resulting from exposure to subliminal sexual cues increased motivation to further engage in a neutral task. Study 5 provided evidence suggesting that the affect and motivation found in Studies 1–4 were associated with motivation to engage in sex specifically, rather than a general approach motivation. The implications of these findings for the processing of subliminal sexual cues and for human sexuality are discussed.

Commentary: Commentary: Beauty Requires Thought

“…Inclinations are acquired by experience. “In some cases (e.g., the sexual instinct; see Kant, 1775-1776, 25:584) one can feel an instinct without a direct cognition of the object of that instinct.” (Frierson, 2014) This strikingly coincides with the evidence Luoto provides concerning sexual stimuli (Ponseti and Bosinski, 2010; Gillath and Collins, 2016), facial beauty (Willis and Todorov, 2006) and the integration of visual information outside of consciousness (Mudrik et al, 2014; cf. Kant, 1798, 07:135f).…”

The time course of pupil dilation evoked by visual sexual stimuli: Exploring the underlying ANS mechanisms

“…It is puzzling, however, how little is known about the cognitive mechanisms underlying the processing of visual sexual stimuli (Rupp & Wallen, ). Evidence from studies using subliminal priming (Gillath & Collins, ; Janssen, Everaerd, Spiering, & Janssen, ) as well as attentional interference (e.g., dot‐probe tasks; Kagerer et al, ) suggests that sexual meaning can be processed on a largely automatic basis, independent of subjective appraisal and awareness. This may also account for important differences between the sexes, as established by previous research: Whereas genital arousal in women is elicited by exposure to a broad range of erotic cues (regardless of subjective preference; Chivers & Bailey, ), men are usually most strongly aroused by content matching their sexual orientation (Chivers, Rieger, Latty, & Bailey, ; Rieger et al, ).…”

Tie-Up Cycles in Long-Term Mating. Part I: Theory

“…A wide range of cues, including subliminal ones [109], can generate a significant activation of RA [110]. RA has a passive function; thus, the fact that F's sexuality resides in F-RA tends to (erroneously) characterize F as 'sexually passive' when compared to M's AA-driven sexual initiative.…”