CLASSICAL-CONDITIONING OF FEMALE SEXUAL AROUSAL

The classical conditioning of subjective and physiological aspects of female sexual arousal was examined. Experimental subjects were run in a delayed conditioning design, where an amber light was paired with ex cerpts from erotic videos. Control subjects received presentations of the same amber light and videos, but these presentations did not overl ap with one another. Dependent variables included subjective ratings o f arousal to the light and the videos as well as change in vaginal pul se amplitude assessed during exposure to the different stimuli. Experi mental subjects evidenced increased arousal to the light over conditio ning trials, as assessed by subjective ratings of sexual arousal. This finding is suggestive of a learned effect However, results failed to indicate significant differences between experimental and control grou ps. Therefore, the increased arousal to the light evidenced by experim ental subjects may not be due to classical conditioning. Suggestions r egarding these findings, clinical implications, and future research ar e discussed.