The Study of human sexual response comes from the pioneering work of William Masters and Virginia Johnson (1966). These investigators were the first to examine physical responses to sexual stimulation in the laboratory. Masters and Johnson found that physiological patterns of sexual response are very similar in women and men. For both sexes, there are four stages of sexual arousal.Pleasure and sexual satisfaction are directly related to the phases of the human sexual response cycle, consisting of a set of somatic and psychological changes that are triggered by a certain stimulation.
4 Phases of Human Sexual Response
The excitement phase
It can be initiated by physical factors (such as genital stimulation) or by psychological factors (such as sexual fantasies). In this phase, heart rate and respiration increase and blood flows into the genitals, making the penis erect and causing the clitoris to swell. Moisture forms on the vaginal walls.
Plateau phase
If erotic stimulation continues, the plateau phase be gins. As the genitals reach their maximum engorgement, the person may have a sense that orgasm is inevitable.
Orgasmic phase
In the orgasmic phase, muscular contractions push the blood in the genitals back into the bloodstream. The vaginal walls and the uterus contract. Muscles in and around the penis pulse to cause ejaculation, the discharge of semen.
Resolution phase
In the resolution phase, the body returns to its pre excitement state. Sex experts emphasize that human sexual response is a complex and highly personal process,
Although men and women share these basic stages of sexual response, there are a few differences in their physiological reactions. Women do not ejaculate, although women’s orgasms may in some cases be accompanied by a release of fluid from the urethra
Masters and Johnson also found that the same kinds of orgasms can be achieved through masturbation, intercourse, or in some cases even fantasy. The fact that an erotic novel or vivid sexual fantasy can prompt the same sexual response as direct genital stimulation highlights a fundamental fact about our sexuality: for humans, sex is as much psychological as it is physical as much in the head as in the genitals.
Sexual partners may also bring nonsexual problems to the bedroom: it may be hard to enjoy sex if you’re exhausted, angry at your partner, or preoccupied with work. Recently, attention has also been given to the ways in , which experiences of rape and child sexual abuse can make it hard for a person To be sexually trusting and responsive.
