Joana Carvalho

In recent decades, digital media have come to play a central role in how adolescents and young adults encounter information about sexuality, relationships, and intimacy (Goldfarb & Lieberman, 2021;...

Chronotype, also known as morning-evening preference, is a behavioral manifestation of a biological circadian rhythm that influences individuals’ preferences for the best time of day to engage in p...

Sexual arousal is a multidimensional construct encompassing physiological, emotional, motivational, and cognitive components. The information-processing models of sexual response posit that sexual arousal can be unconsciously triggered by exposure to sexual stimuli. However, the empirical research supporting this claim is limited and largely based on the heterosexual population. Therefore, the current study aimed to explore the pre-attentional processing of sexual stimuli in the non-hetero/allosexual population (individuals experiencing non-heterosexual attraction) and its associations with sexual arousal propensities. We have employed the breaking continuous flash suppression (b-CFS) paradigm to measure the breakthrough time of sexually explicit versus non-sexual and neutral stimuli into the awareness of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) participants. Sexually explicit stimuli were expected to trigger more pre-attentional resources, resulting in lower response times until detection compared to other types of stimuli. Moreover, the faster detection of sexual stimuli was expected to be associated with LGB participants´ propensity for higher sexual excitation and lower sexual inhibition traits. Despite such expectations, findings did not support the assumption that sexually explicit stimuli are detected faster; similarly, no associations were found between response times toward the critical stimuli and participants’ sexual excitation and inhibition tendencies. While the current results extend on the literature by adding how non-heterosexual/allosexual individuals detect sexual stimuli at early stages of information processing, the current evidence does not support previous theoretical models, pointing to the complexities underpinning how sexualized stimuli unveil to the human mind.

Human sexual response is a complex phenomenon lacking empirical evidence on its psychological underpinnings. Information-processing models of sexual response consider that the sexual response emerges before individuals’ awareness, as indexed by their reaction to sexual stimuli presented out of consciousness. Yet, that assumption lacks empirical support, and the presentation of findings has been biased toward positive results. Accordingly, the current work aims to understand putative information-processing mechanisms underpinning sexual response in cis men and women by means of the participant’s performance of a breaking continuous flash suppression task (b-CFS) in a paradigm containing sexually explicit stimuli, opposing to non-sexual and neutral stimuli. Sexually explicit stimuli are expected to reach awareness faster than non-sexual and neutral stimuli, particularly in cis men. Likewise, awareness of sexually explicit stimuli is expected to be associated with a higher propensity for sexual excitation and a lower propensity for sexual inhibition. Contrary to expectations, findings revealed that non-sexual stimuli (dressed men and women), rather than sexual stimuli (nudes, sexualized human bodies), yielded faster detection times. Likewise, no relationship was found between detection times toward sexual stimuli and sexual excitation/inhibition propensities. While the present evidence is not aligned with core information-processing models of sexual response, it opens new veins for critical discussions in the field of sexual response and behavior.

The proliferation of violent pornography and its potential link to sexually aggressive behavior has raised concerns among authors. While some research has demonstrated the association between the use of violent pornography and sexually aggressive behavior, rape myths also play an important role in this relationship. Further, most research has been carried out with men, while female perpetrators are often overlooked, despite evidence suggesting their involvement in sexual offences. The present study aims to test the association between the use of violent/ non-violent pornography, the endorsement of rape myths, and the use of sexually aggressive tactics in college students. Furthermore, we aim to understand potential disparities between genders and consumption patterns. A sample of 903 participants was collected through an online self-report survey targeting college students. This survey evaluated the endorsement of rape myths, the perpetration of sexually aggressive behaviors, and the use of violent pornography through three key variables: prevalence, frequency, and intensity. In terms of consumption patterns, spanking and hair-pulling were the most reported behaviors watched. Also, men started watching pornography earlier than women. A series of mediation models were used to test these associations. Results showed that, non-violent pornography consumption did not influence sexually aggressive behavior for either gender, also rape myths did not mediate this relationship. For both men and women, the prevalence of violent pornography predicted sexually aggressive behaviors, while rape myth endorsement partially mediated this relationship for woman. The intensity and frequency of violent pornography use were not significant predictors of sexual aggression among participants who visualize violent pornography. This study adds to the body of literature about violent pornography use and sexual aggression, while also examining consumption patterns and highlighting how these relationships differ between genders.