AP Psych- Sexual Motivation

sexual response cycle

4 stages of sexual responding: excitement, plateau, orgasm, resolution

excitement phase

men and women’s genital areas become engorged with blood

plateau phase

excitement peaks and breathing, pulse, and blood pressure increase

orgasm

muscle contractions and further increases in breathing, pulse, etc

resolution phase

body returns to unaroused state

refractory period

males are incapable of another orgasm

sexual dysfunctions

problems that consistently impair sexual arousal or functioning

erectile disorder

inability to have or maintain an erection

female orgasmic disorder

distress over infrequently or never experiencing orgasm

paraphilias

experience sexual arousal in unusual ways

3 influences on sex

external stimuli, imagined stimuli, and cultural expectations