These summaries of selected research projects give you a glimpse into what our Kinsey Institute researchers are working on today. You can find more information on these projects, and information on all our ongoing research on our Current Research page here >>

Few studies have examined how closely the findings of decades of laboratory studies on sex actually reflect the experiences of men. In this study led by Erick Janssen, men participating in focus groups expressed a range of experiences and feelings relating to such matters as the relationship between erections and desire, the importance of scent and relationships, and a woman’s intelligence. The focus groups involved 50 men divided into three groups based their age (18-24 years, 25-45 years and 46 and older).

Examples of the experiences reported by the men include:

• Some factors, such as being depressed or being at risk of being discovered during sex, inhibited sex for some, while other men found that it could enhance their desire and arousal.
• Most of the men responded that they can experience erections without feeling aroused or interested, leading researchers to suggest that erections are not good criteria for determining sexual arousal in men.
• Many men found it difficult to distinguish between sexual desire and sexual arousal, a distinction prominent in most sexual response models used by researchers and clinicians.
• Changes in the quality of older men’s erections had a direct effect on their sexual encounters, including, for some, a shifting focus to the partner and her sexual enjoyment. Older men also consistently mentioned that as they aged, they became more careful and particular in choosing sexual partners.
• The sexual history of women also mattered to the men – but differently for different age groups. Sexually experienced women were considered more threatening by younger men, who had concerns about “measuring up,” but such women were considered more arousing for older men.

Background:

The Dual-control model of sexual response holds that separate and relatively independent activating and suppressing sexual systems exist within the central nervous system and that the balance between these two systems determines a person’s sexual response in any particular situation. Dr. Erick Janssen relates this to the gas and break pedals in a vehicle – both can influence a car’s behavior (you can slow down by letting go of the gas or by pressing the brake) but they do so in different ways. This model is used around the world by sex researchers in studies on topics as varied as sexual dysfunction and sexual risk taking.

The original questionnaire was developed for men, leading researchers at the Kinsey Institute to conduct focus groups with women in an effort to create a similar questionnaire that would be more relevant for women. Janssen said the success of women’s focus groups led him and his colleagues to conduct the focus groups with men. Findings confirm variability and complexity in men’s sexual response.

Janssen, E, McBride, K, Yarber, W, Hill, B, Butler, S. (2008) Factors that Influence Sexual Arousal in Men: A Focus Group Study. Archives of Sexual Behavior. 37(2) 252-265.

See also:

Sexual Inhibition and Sexual Excitation - The Dual Control Model >>