COMMENTS: This study (below) is the first to assess if conditioning one’s sexual arousal template to porn use is the mechanism that explains why greater porn use correlates with poorer sexual and relationship satisfaction. It does – for both men and women. This suggests porn use can result in preference for masturbation to porn over partnered sex. The results punch holes in the claim that relationship dissatisfaction comes first and explains more porn use. The authors also criticize the methodology and irresponsible conclusions of some of the pro-porn research, such as papers by Taylor Kohut and Samuel Perry. A few excerpts:
The present study employed national probability-data from a large sample of men and women in the United States, focusing on a subset of participants who were in romantic relationships, to examine whether three of the most frequently hypothesized mechanisms (conditioned arousal to pornography, upward comparisons between one’s own sex life and sex as it is shown in pornography, and pornography-induced masturbatory displacement of partnered sex) were predictive of lower sexual (and consequently relational) satisfaction.
Specifically, the present study tested a conceptual model postulating that (a) regularly consuming pornography conditions the user’s arousal template to be particularly responsive to pornographic depictions, (b) this amplified arousal to pornography increases both (c) upward comparisons between one’s own sex life and sex as it is represented in pornography and (d) a preference for masturbation to pornography over partnered sex, which in turn (e) weaken perceptions of how satisfying it is to have sex with one’s partner, and ultimately (f) decreases perceptions of relational satisfaction…. The findings were supportive of the hypothesized linkages for both men and women.
The authors cast doubt on Samuel Perry’s dubious/unsupported assertion (promulgated by pro-porn sexologists as “fact”) that masturbation, not porn, is behind poorer relationship satisfaction. This new study explains:
The explicit questionnaire wording linking pornography to the mediating mechanisms (pornographic arousal, not simply arousal; upward pornographic comparisons, not simply upward comparisons; and preference for pornographic masturbation, not simply masturbation) addresses the critique that pornography (as measured without such context in prior studies) is incidental to the true factors that cause both its use and lower satisfaction (Perry, 2020b).
The authors also question the usefulness of another pro-porn sexologist favorite, the often-cited Taylor Kohut study, featuring “testimonials” of regular porn users:
Consistent with previous studies that have correlated pornography indices with separate measures of sexual and relational satisfaction (Wright et al., 2017), the present results provide additional reason to question users’ product testimonials as objective evidence of pornography’s positive effects (Kohut et al., 2017).
Unsurprisingly, Kohut and Perry were both members of the trademark-infringing pro-porn site, RealYBOP.
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Paul J Wright, Bryant Paul, Debby Herbenick, Robert S Tokunaga
Human Communication Research, Volume 47, Issue 2, April 2021, Pages 192–214,
https://doi.org/10.1093/hcr/hqab001
Abstract
Research finding that pornography use is associated with lower sexual satisfaction is common; evaluation of the mechanisms hypothesized as underlying the association is not. Informed by multiple theoretical perspectives, the present study tested a conceptual model positing that (a) regularly consuming pornography conditions the user’s arousal template to be particularly responsive to pornographic depictions, (b) this amplified arousal to pornography increases both (c) upward comparisons between one’s own sex life and sex as it is represented in pornography and (d) a preference for masturbation to pornography over partnered sex, which in turn (e) weaken perceptions of how satisfying it is to have sex with one’s partner, and ultimately (f) decreases perceptions of how satisfying one’s relationship is with one’s partner. Path-analytic results were supportive of the hypothesized linkages for both men and women. Discussion focuses on the implications of the present study’s findings for current debates in the literature and theoretical development.
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