Sex differences in sexual arousal to different erotic stories

Previous research on sex differences in arousal to erotic stimuli suggests that the pattern of dominant behavior exhibited by the characters in the stimuli influence males' and females' sexual response to the stimuli. In this study, an erotic story describing a male and a female engaging in sexual activity was presented to male and female college students. The story varied the sex of the dominant character and whether the description focused on the feelings and reactions of the male or female character. The subjects were then asked to indicate their degree of sexual arousal as well as their positive and negative feelings. It was predicted that male subjects would report more arousal, more positive affect, and less negative affect when the dominant character in the story was the male and also when the story focused on the male character's feelings. Female subjects were expected to report more arousal, more positive affect, and less negative affect when the female was the dominant character in the story and also when the story focused on the female character's feelings. Results indicated that male subjects reported more sexual arousal and less negative affect when the story described the male character as dominant. Female subjects, on the other hand, re‐ported more sexual arousal and less negative affect when the female character was described as dominant. Whether the story focused on the male or the female character's reactions did not significantly affect the subjects' sexual arousal, but it did influence their positive feelings toward the story. The subjects' empathy with the same‐sex character may be responsible for these results.