The study, “A Sexual Motivation” was a sexual study done by William Masters and Virginia Johnson in 1966. Masters and Johnson began this study because they wanted to understand human sexuality, and in order to do that they had to “study actual sexual behaviors as they occur in response to sexual stimulation” (Hock, 2013 pg. 160). Masters and Johnson wanted to be able to help people and address their sexual inadequacies that they were experiencing at that time. The first step in conducting their sexual experiment was to obtain participants that felt comfortable engaging in sexual acts while being closely monitored. In the early stages of Master and Johnson’s study they had recruited prostitutes to take part in their experiment; this was because they thought that prostitutes would feel the most comfortable engaging in sexual activity publicly. There were 8 females and 3 males that were chosen. Unfortunately, the information that was concluded could not be applied to the population in general because prostitutes sexual lifestyles and choices could not represent the population at large. So instead, Masters and Johnson recruited a total of 382 males and 312 females. In order to study how the body responds during sexual activity, various ways of measurement were necessary. Participants were observed while engaging in sexual activities in various positions or they were observed while masturbating “manually” or using man-made devices that were made purposely for this study. In order to obtain a sense of security and ease for the participants, Masters and Johnson ensured that no sexual activity would occur in the research quarters until the participants felt completely comfortable, and there would also be no recording of the sexual activities until the participants felt comfortable performing. Some of the participants that they had recruited only stayed for one or two recording sessions, while others remained for several years after the research had begun. In total Masters and Johnson had studied “10,000 complete sexual response cycles with female observation outnumbering male observation by a ratio of 3 to 1” (Hock, 2013 pg. 162). After recording and studying 10,000 sexual events, “Masters and Johnson found that human sexual response could be divided into four stages, which they termed the human sexual response cycle. The first stage is excitement. Excitement is when both males and females become enlarged and the vagina will lubricate itself. The second stage, plateau, is when the females decrease in lubrication and muscle tension and heart rate both increase. In males, the plateau stage is where they “cowper’s gland secretes pre-ejaculate fluid” (Hock, 2013 pg. 163) and the testes enlarge. The muscle tension and heart rate also increase, this is when both male and female are near orgasm, which is the third stage. In females, an orgasm “ begins with rhythmic contractions in pelvic area at intervals of 0.8 second” “Duration recorded from 7.4 seconds to 104.6 seconds” (Hock, 2013 pg. 163). In males an orgasm is when they release semen in two phases: emission and expulsion. The last stage in the sexual response cycle is resolution. Resolution in females is when the sexual organs return to un-aroused state. This stage is the same in men, but the testes will reduce in size and descend and the scrotum relaxes. Masters and Johnson also found that the average penis size is approximately 3 inches flaccid (non erect) and 6 inches erect, and the penile size doesn’t not determine the sexual stimulation that their partner will experience. Masters and Johnson also found some differences in males and females. What they found was that males have what they call a refractory period. This is when a male in incapable of experiencing an orgasm after sexual pleasure, even if he is experiencing more stimulation. The refractory period was said to last minutes, hours, or days depending on the male and his age. Women on the other hand do not have a refractory period; women are able to experience multiple orgasms after the first. The research findings of Masters and Johnson are significant because, “virtually all sex therapy, whether for erectile problems, orgasm difficulties, rapid ejaculation, inhibited arousal issues, or any other sexual problem rests on a basic foundation of Master and Johnson’s research” (Hock, 2013 pg. 167). Masters and Johnson allowed us to better understand our own bodies as well as our partners. Humans can better understand their bodies and behaviors by reading a book that was published by Masters and Johnson after their research findings that's called Human Sexual Response. Without the research finding from Masters and Johnson, we would not fully understand our own bodies and how we experience pleasure. According to Kinsey Today, “William Masters and Virginia Johnson have been widely recognized for their contributions to sexual, psychological, and psychiatric research, particularly for their theory of a four-stage model of sexual response (also known as, “the human sexual response cycle”) and their study of sexual response among the elderly. Numbered among their awards are acknowledgements from the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors and Therapists in 1978, and the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors and Therapists in 1985 and 1992. The Society for Sex Research and Therapy grant the Masters and Johnson annual award for research”. There are many ways that the psychology textbook relates to Masters and Johnson's study. In order to understand our bodies and how they work we must use psychology’s four primary goals: what is happening, why is it happening, when will it happen again, and how can it be changed? (Ciccareli, 2014 pg. 4). We can use the four primary goals and Master and Johnson’s study to better understand our bodies, sexually. I can also live a better, more informed life after reading Master and Johnson’s study as well. It is always nice to learn new information and I hope that I can help anyone else who wants to know about the human body and how our sexual organs work.
Ciccarelli, Saundra K., and Nolan J. White. (2014) Psychology. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Print.
Hock, Roger R. (2013) Forty Studies That Changed Psychology: Explorations into the History of Psychological Research. 7th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall. Print.
(July 2013) Kinsey Today. Kinsey Today. N.p.,Web. 24 Mar. 2015. <http://www.kinseyinstitute.org/newsletter/fall2011/mastersjohnson.html>.C