Masters and Johnson: Measuring human sexual response (lecture and reading) – Flashcards

Methodological shift - lab research (not surveys) Observations of vaginal sex Measuring body responses Hugely important in history of sex research - foundational sex researchers in terms of our understandings today, moved on but underpinnings of today's understanding Sex therapy - created notion of, based on their ideas - not restricted to psychiatrists => sex therapy did not work over time, initially was successful but as more people became knowledagble about sexual activity, there was less that basic information could do for them = more physical problems to deal with than psychological

Experiment conducted in a repressed sexual environment - conservative culture Largest lab study of the human orgasm Women asked to display sexual acts in labs, wore hoods to obscure identity Female orgasm not required for conception Homosexual conversion therapy

Reproductive cycle of rabbit - original focus and how this compares to human reproductive cycle Went from gynachology to sexology

Female sexuality and issues - credentials, valid line of inquiry with a woman on the team She had no credentials of academic or otherwise significant value in the area

Human Sexual Response (1966) Human Sexual Inadequacy (1970) The Pleasure Bond (1974) Homosexuality in Perspective (1979) Sex and Human Loving (1982) Heterosexual Behavior in the Age of AIDS (1988) Heterosexuality (1994) Most influential - human sexual response 15,000 sold out in one day Sexual inadequacy - looks at sexual issues like lack of female organism, men ejaculating too quickly, lack of sexual interest Tested out equipment on small group of prostitutes - not published in final results because of judgement Most subjects were middle class

Did not ask women whether penis size matters, arguably were protecting men's pride inspite of their research Women = double standard, told to perform well in bed but also repress sexual feelings

Observed and recorded the physical details of human sexual arousal. Masters began by interviewing 118 female and 27 male prostitutes. =>didn't include their data in final publication for fear of lacking anatomic normalcy =>Johnson then joined the team Recruited actual sample from the local academic community. By 1965 they had observed the sexual response cycles of 694 people (382 women and 312 men) during over 10,000 orgasmic sexual response cycles. Women aged 18-78, men aged 21-80 =276 married couples, 106 single women, 36 single men The sexual activities included self-masturbation, genital stimulation by a partner, oral-genital stimulation and intercourse. =>Physiology focused Had to avoid people finding out about experiments - carried out in secret =>Requirements - women had to have had organisms through masturbation and sex in order to take part =>Participants would have sex before being hooked up so they were comfortable in the room =>Lesbians and gays invited later on to take part =>examined the women in more detail than the male

Excitement (initial arousal) Plateau (at full arousal, ready for orgasm) Orgasm Resolution (after orgasm) Measured: heart rate, breathing rate, skin conductivity, vaginal contractions, blood flow, muscle tension 4 stages identified - inevitably you could argue they would find this KEY FINDING males and females shared the same 4 stages and 0.8 second interval - bodies are different but the types of things happening is the same =>argued that although the cliteros is the anatomical equivalent of the penis, they react very differently to sexual stiumlation (penis = erect, cliteros becomes withdrawn upon orgasm)

0.8 second interval contractions applies in males and females

The sexual behaviour of the married couple was far more performance oriented... Preoccupation with orgasmic attainment was expressed time and again by heterosexual men and women during interrogation after each testing session... [By contrast] the committed homosexual couples took their time in sexual interaction in the laboratory... In committed heterosexual couples' interaction, the male's sexual approach to the female... rarely more than 30 seconds to a minute, were spent holding close or caressing the total body area before the breasts and/or genitals were directly stimulated. This was considerably shorter than the corresponding time interval observed in homosexual couples." (Masters & Johnson, 1979: 64-65, 66)

Greater differences in lesbian and hetero women in techniques than gay and homo guys Block of sexual functioning - being gay, tried to change being gay into being straight BPS - still have to state their adversion to conversion therapy More shocking now, conversion therapy was a thing back then Indoctrination of men and seduction of women Homo = handicapped in normal sexual functioning Differences in homo and hetero = same sex take longer, less genitally focused, gay = more foreplay, lots of time on more of the body, similar for lesbians - sexual technique vary Less focused on orgasm - lesbians compared to gay men Less likely to experience pleasure of nipple touching - hetero men

Male and female responses similar Physical tension Building excitement and release of tension Contributed to industry of sex therapy Included nurses and psychology therapists despite no credentials Sexual disfunction treated with behavioural therapy rather than a physical underlying issue - psychological focus Human sexual response cycle = influential model in clinical sexology and dysfunction treatment Freud - clitoral organisms, immaturity Masters and johnson - primary source of pleasure in women

Neither of them were psychologists - provided therapy without credentials Ethics: Kinsey - didn't have the technology to collect the type of data Masters and Johnson did Controversial = homo reversal advocacy Behaviours change in the presence of others AIDS book controversial Where's the justification for voyeurism - measures could have been taken in private Focused on the body - what about the psychological impact or rest of the body Didn't focus on libido, foreplay - motivation, trying to fix the problem of sexual dysfunction - what if it's not a problem, it's a natural occurrence Self fulfilling problem - therapy once human sexual response cycle not working for everyone Time went on = success rates went down after the therapy, teaching basic knowledge people didn't have - information wide spread after a while - no more could be done to help Wouldn't be the same types of people coming to therapy later - more challenging issues around conceptualising what is healthy and normal sex

Didn't ask any female participants whether penis size matters, protective of male sexuality and pride by not exploring this area Johnson - no scientific credentials Participant collection - how did they find these people Lab experiment - subjective interpretation of what being orgasmic is: unnatural environment may prevent orgasm? May not report these Voyeristic - deception to some degree: ethical issues Possible to fake Participants = extraverted to some extent to be able to have sex in front of people Not representative - doesn't tell us about everyone's sexual behaviours Created and prescribed a human sexual response cycle rather than discovered one Excluded those who don't orgasm easily Kinsey - 58% of women can masterbate to orgasm - 40% ruling out these women Middle class - not representative Socioecomonic status - kinsey found differences, body response isn't the only thing going on in sexual behaviours = masters and Johnson ignored Same sex behavior in women - penetration not needed for orgasm so this study limits responses to orgasm Confirmation bias - looked at things that would only guarantee them results Didn't report almost orgasms/ loss of sexual interest half way etc.

Iron out differences between genders = obscure these differences Cultural factors = rubbed out and making it simplistic Body is a tool - challenged this notion

Problematic sexual identity for women = inevitable, complete cycle, focused on male orientated sexual behaviours