Award Date
1-1-2002
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Psychology
First Committee Member
Marta Meana
Number of Pages
81
Abstract
It is well documented that cognitive interference detrimentally influences sexuality, but little is known about the content of that interference. This study compared the self-reports of 220 college men and 337 college women on two types of cognitive interference during sex, performance-oriented and appearance-oriented. Also assessed via use of the Derogatis Sexual Functioning Inventory and the Sexual History Form were: sexual satisfaction, psychological distress, sexual knowledge, sexual experiences, sexual attitudes, sexual fantasy, body image, affect, and sexual functioning, all areas thought to be related to sexual functioning. As predicted, findings indicated that women were more concerned with their own appearance during sexual activity than were men. Contrary to our hypothesis, however, men and women did not differ significantly in self-reported performance-interference. Data also suggested that certain constructs were gender-specific predictors of the two types of interference, as psychological distress was predictive for women and sexual attitudes were predictive for men only. Most constructs were non gender-specific, as sexual satisfaction, body image and our covariate, length of relationship, were predictive in both men and women. Implications are discussed, as results point to the need for gender-specific treatments for sexual dysfunction.
Keywords
Arousal; Cognitive; Differences; Gender; Interference; Sexual
Controlled Subject
Clinical psychology; Psychophysiology
File Format
File Size
2140.16 KB
Degree Grantor
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Language
English
Permissions
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Repository Citation
Nunnink, Sarah Elizabeth, "Gender differences in cognitive interference with sexual arousal" (2002). UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations. 1462.
http://dx.doi.org/10.25669/ywu8-lqwd
Rights
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