What a feeling! Touching sexually laden stimuli makes women seek rewards

We argue that women's previously documented unresponsiveness to sexual primes when making economic decisions may be a consequence of the specific types of primes that have been used (i.e., visual primes). In three studies we show that presenting women with tactile sexual cues does influence their decisions about economic rewards. Similar to the effect found in men, the first study demonstrates that touching a pair of boxer shorts leads to a craving for monetary rewards in women. In the second study it is shown that touching a pair of boxers makes women less loss averse for both money and food. The third study explicitly focuses on the relative effectiveness of tactile versus visual sexual cues in altering women's economic decisions, and reveals that women's willingness-to-pay for economic rewards increases only when the sexual cue is tactile. We suggest that touching (vs. seeing) sexually laden stimuli prompts pre-programmed consummatory Pavlovian responses that promote approaching economic rewards.     

中国传统女性伦理与礼仪及其现代价值

中国传统女性伦理与礼仪内容庞杂,糟粕精华并存。现代女性伦理与礼仪建设应当摒弃其中维护男性特权,束缚女性人身自由的非人道性的糟粕,承继其中具有现代价值的精华,从而建立人道、文明、科学的现代女性伦理与礼仪新体系。     

“I Don’t feel like melting butter”: An interpretative phenomenological analysis of the experience of ‘inorgasmia’

Inorgasmia is under-studied in the domain of sexual health psychology. This study explores women's experiences of inorgasmia and the meanings giving to this experience. Interviews with six inorgasmic women were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). The analysis showed that the absence of orgasm was experienced as problematic and disturbing. A search for reasons for their condition, and its effects on self-image and self-confidence underpinned the experience of inorgasmia as a problem. The spectrum of meanings surrounding female orgasm demonstrates that, far from being perceived as a merely physical experience, the moment of orgasm takes on relational significance and it has implications for the women's identities. The paper identifies areas for future research and theorising.     

“I control my own emotions for the sake of the team”: Emotional self-regulation and interpersonal emotion regulation among female high-performance curlers

ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to examine emotional self-regulation and interpersonal emotion regulation within a team of competitive athletes.DesignInstrumental case study approach (Stake, 1995).MethodData collection involved multiple semi-structured interviews with all four members of a female high-performance curling team, as well as observation of team meetings, practices, and games over the entire season.ResultsAnalyses produced the main themes of emotional self regulation (body language and self-censorship) and interpersonal emotional regulation (providing positive and/or technical feedback, humour, cueing teammates about their emotions, prosocial actions and indirect actions). We also identified factors influencing emotional regulation (length of time together, team dynamics/cohesion, context, social norms and team roles, and seeking support outside the team).ConclusionsAthletes were aware of and took into account social and contextual factors (e.g., social norms and role on team) when regulating emotions in a team context, and they also identified challenges associated with emotional regulation within the team. Findings highlight the complex interplay between athletes' emotions, emotional expression, and self-regulation to achieve multiple goals (e.g., positive performances, positive social relationships), as well as the importance of examining interpersonal processes related to emotion and emotion regulation within team sports.     

Effects of male testosterone and its interaction with cortisol on self- and observer-rated personality states in a competitive mating context

Increases in men’s testosterone (T) levels after intrasexual competitions and exposure to females facilitate competitive and courtship behaviours, suggesting T reactivity should affect relevant personality state changes. How exactly T reactivity, also under potential buffering effects of cortisol (C), relates to personality state changes is unclear. In a preregistered study, we aimed at inducing T increases in young men (N = 165) through dyadic intrasexual competitions while exposed to a female experimenter. We investigated self-reported and video-based observer-rated personality state changes, captured by the interpersonal circumplex and social impressions, in relation to hormonal levels. Results revealed increases in self-reported competitiveness and observer-rated self-assurance, relative to a control group, moderated by T reactivity and partly by T × C interactions, providing insights into hormone-personality response-links.     

The effects of body mass index and waist-to-hip ratio on ratings of female attractiveness, fecundity, and health

This paper examines the effects of body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) on people’s perceptions of female attractiveness and fecundity. One hundred and two participants (51 females) were asked to rate 18 line drawings, varying across three BMI and six WHR levels, on seven different attributes (‘healthy’, ‘fertile’, ‘youthful’, ‘intelligent’, ‘nurturing’, ‘flirty’, and ‘attractive’). Line drawings manipulated arm and leg thickness while keeping torso WHR consistent, thus unconfounding previously confounded variables. The data were analysed through a doubly multivariate analysis of variance. Effect sizes were larger for BMI than for WHR. Figures of average weight and a WHR of 0.7 were rated as most attractive and healthy. Overall, the results demonstrate that the effects of BMI and WHR on perceptions of attractiveness and fecundity are interdependent and should be studied concurrently rather than in isolation.     

Physical stature influences character perception in women

It is well established that height influences the perceived character of men but very little evidence exists that the same influences of height exist for women. To investigate the effects of female height on perception of their character, we used a novel technique of digitally altering the perceived height of two women depicted in photographs such that the same targets appeared to be of tall or short stature to different participants. We asked participants to rate each of the two women on personal qualities and characteristics that reflected the instrumental/expressive distinction in masculine/feminine stereotypes. Overall, tall women were rated as more intelligent, affluent, assertive and ambitious than shorter women. A perceiver-sex difference was found such that men rated short females more highly than tall females on expressive characteristics while women raters did not. Thus, we provide the first direct evidence that female height influences perception of their character.     

Estrogen abolishes latent inhibition in ovariectomized female rats

Estrogen is frequently prescribed as a method of birth control and as hormone replacement therapy for post-menopausal women with varied effects on cognition. Here the effects of estrogen on attention were examined using the latent inhibition (LI) behavioral paradigm. Ovariectomized (OVX) female rats were given either estrogen benzoate (EB, 10 or 100 microg/ml/kg; SC) or sesame oil vehicle. Males and OVX females receiving vehicle displayed normal LI. In contrast, LI was abolished in OVX females receiving EB. The lack of LI in OVX females receiving EB was a result of low suppression ratios, reflecting strong conditioning between the tone and the shock in these subjects even if they were pre-exposed to the tone. Thus, estrogen impaired the ability of OVX females to ignore irrelevant stimuli. Since different cognitive tasks vary in their required ability to ignore irrelevant stimuli, these results may account for some of the variations in the current literature on estrogen and cognition.     

What Do Women Want? A New View of Women’s Sexual Problems

Recent attempts to medicalize women’s sexual “dysfunction” are critiqued and a “New View” of women’s sexual problems is introduced. The author argues for a female-centered perspective on women’s sexual desires and problems, based on a review of the literature on women’s sexuality and her observations of young women’s sexual experiences from 25 years of teaching Human Sexuality to undergraduate women. The review suggests that a pill or a patch cannot adequately address the sexual problems commonly experienced by US women.     

Mental Health Screening of Female Juvenile Offenders: Replication of a Subtyping Strategy

Recent research indicates that adjudicated female youth have higher rates of mental health problems and histories of trauma exposure and abuse relative to adjudicated male youth. These differences are important for gender-specific assessment, intervention, and management strategies. We replicated a subtyping strategy for adjudicated female youth based on mental health screening data from the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument-2 (MAYSI-2) by investigating subtype differences on trauma symptoms, abuse history, and other background variables. Cluster analysis of the standard MAYSI-2 scales revealed a three cluster solution replicating results from a prior study. Additionally, results indicated expected differences between female youth with mental health problems compared to those without mental health problems with co-occurring female youth (i.e., self-reported mental health and substance abuse problems) having have greater mental health problems and more extensive abuse histories compared to other subtypes.