Abstract
In the visual processing of sexual content, pupil dilation is an indicator of arousal that has been linked to observers’ sexual orientation. This study investigated whether this measure can be extended to determine age-specific sexual interest. In two experiments, the pupillary responses of heterosexual adults to images of males and females of different ages were related to self-reported sexual interest, sexual appeal to the stimuli, and a child molestation proclivity scale. In both experiments, the pupils of male observers dilated to photographs of women but not men, children, or neutral stimuli. These pupillary responses corresponded with observer’s self-reported sexual interests and their sexual appeal ratings of the stimuli. Female observers showed pupil dilation to photographs of men and women but not children. In women, pupillary responses also correlated poorly with sexual appeal ratings of the stimuli. These experiments provide initial evidence that eye-tracking could be used as a measure of sex-specific interest in male observers, and as an age-specific index in male and female observers.
Highlights
The measurement of sexual arousal and observers’ sexual interests is important for psychological research and practice
We investigated whether the pupillary responses of male and female observers might reflect differences in the general attractiveness of the stimulus categories, by measuring how sexually attractive observers thought the stimuli were to others
Male and female observers perceived the general sexual attractiveness of men and women to be more comparable and these ratings did not correlate with pupillary response. These findings suggest that pupillary responses reflect the personal sexual interests of male but not female observers, but are age-specific in both groups
Summary
The measurement of sexual arousal and observers’ sexual interests is important for psychological research and practice. The viewing of visual content is accompanied by automatic changes in observers’ pupil size (Bradley, Miccoli, Escrig, & Lang, 2008), which appear to be sensitive to sexual arousal (Bernick, Kling, & Borowitz, 1971). While this pupillary response was first explored 40 years ago with some elementary methods (Hess, Seltzer, & Shlien, 1965), it has received little attention since. We wishto explorewhetherincreased pupil sizecan provideanindex ofadults’sexualinterest inotheradultsbutalsowhetherthisindex is age-specific This addition might be important for clinical and forensic practice
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
