The Experience of Sexual Emotions

Abstract

Abstract In this article we propose an emotion perspective on the study of sexual experience. First we discuss the contents of experience, which are based on three sources of information: the environment or situation being appraised, autonomic response, and both readiness for and feedback from behavioral response. Then we describe a working memory model to help explain how the experience of sexual emotions is constructed. Finally, we illustrate the application of an emotion perspective through discussion of gender differences in the processing of sexual information and through psychophysiological studies on sexual response.