Subscribe
The latest psychology and neuroscience discoveries.
My Account
  • Mental Health
  • Social Psychology
  • Cognitive Science
  • Psychopharmacology
  • Neuroscience
  • About
No Result
View All Result
PsyPost
PsyPost
No Result
View All Result
Home Exclusive Relationships and Sexual Health

Women more likely than men to experience shame when listening to erotic audio sequences, study finds

by Vladimir Hedrih
May 26, 2023
in Relationships and Sexual Health
Share on TwitterShare on Facebook
Stay informed on the latest psychology and neuroscience research—follow PsyPost on LinkedIn for daily updates and insights.

A study in China explored emotional and heart rate changes happening when participants listened to erotic, happy, and neutral audio sequences. It found that women tended to report a higher level of shame than men when listening to erotic audios. Unlike men, they also found these audios to be less pleasant than happy audio sequences. The study was published in Behavioral Sciences.

Sexual arousal is a dynamic combination of physiological, cognitive and emotional changes that prepare the body for sexual activity. Stimuli that can cause sexual arousal are referred to as erotic stimuli. Exposure to erotic stimuli is associated with a range of positive and negative emotional experiences, ranging from pleasant, passionate, ashamed, embarrassed or disgusted.

Studies have indicated that men demonstrate higher sexual arousal compared to women. Physiological and reported subjective manifestations of sexual arousal are also in greater concordance in men than in women. Men tend to rate erotic stimuli as more pleasant than do women.

In contrast, erotic stimuli can provoke negative emotions in women. Of these, shame and embarrassment are the most commonly reported. This has led researchers to conclude that there might be a gender difference in the pattern of emotional responses to erotic stimuli.

Study authors Zhongming Gao and his colleagues wanted to explore gender differences in positive and negative emotions, as well as in cardiac responses to erotic audio sequences. They note that visual erotic stimuli have been widely studied before, but that studies dealing with auditory stimuli are few.

They conducted a study in which they exposed healthy male and female participants to erotic, neutral, and happy audio segments, while these participants reported their levels of pleasure and shame. While presenting these audio sequences, the researchers took electrocardiograms of participants’ heart activity.

Participants were 40 Han Chinese adults (20 women and 20 men). Their age ranged between 18 and 27 years. They were recruited by flyers posted in libraries in the China West Normal University. All participants reported being heterosexual.

At the beginning of the study, participants were set up with an electrocardiogram recording system and asked to adjust the volume on their earphones. Audio sequences were than played to their earphones. Participants were asked to rate pleasure and shame that they felt while listening to these audio clips.

Each audio clip was 5 seconds long and there were 2 audio clips for each category (6 in total). The sequence of video clips was randomized and it was made sure that no two audio sequences from the same category were next to each other. Each participant completed 3 such blocks of audio clips.

Erotic audio clips were extracted from Pornhub, neutral clips from ximalaya.com and happy clips from chinaz.com. “Specifically, the erotic audios were extracted, which included sounds of having sex, such as moaning (mainly from women), thrusting, and sounds of water and lubrication. The neutral audios were extracted from sounds of Mandarin reading, such as the introduction of stones, technical reports, and weather forecasts. Meanwhile, the happy audios were of laughter,” the study authors explained.

Results showed that women rated happy audios as the most pleasant, while erotic audios received lowest average pleasantness ratings of the three types of sequences. Men rated erotic and happy audios as equally pleasurable and more so than neutral audios.

Both men and women tended to report feelings of shame only while listening to erotic audios, but women more than men. Feelings of shame when listening to the other two types of audios were almost zero on average in both men and women.

Erotic stimuli induced a greater deceleration of heart rate than both neutral and happy stimuli in both genders. These changes were not associated with the reported level of pleasure or shame.

“Our results demonstrated distinct emotions regarding erotica between genders, with women reporting a higher level of shame compared to men, and rating erotic stimuli as neutral. Meanwhile, men tended to feel more pleasant when exposed to erotic relative to neutral stimuli. Cardiac data indicated that both genders showed comparable heart rate deceleration in response to erotica compared to neutral and happy stimuli,” the authors concluded.

The study makes a valuable contribution to the scientific understanding of human sexual responses. However, it also has limitations that need to be taken into account. Notably, sexual experience can affect sexual responses, but it was not controlled in the study. Also, personal beliefs can influence feelings reported in response to sexual stimuli and they were not accounted for in the study.

The study, “Distinct Emotional and Cardiac Responses to Audio Erotica between Genders”, was authored by Zhongming Gao, Xi Luo, and Xianwei Che.

TweetSendScanShareSendPinShareShareShareShareShare

RELATED

Stress disrupts gut and brain barriers by reducing key microbial metabolites, study finds
Infidelity

Othello syndrome: Woman’s rare stroke leads to psychotic delusions of infidelity

July 5, 2025

After suffering a rare type of stroke, a woman with no psychiatric history became convinced her husband was cheating. This case reveals how brain damage can trigger Othello syndrome, a form of delusional jealousy with potentially violent consequences.

Read moreDetails
7 subtle signs you are being love bombed—and how to slow things down before you get hurt
Relationships and Sexual Health

7 subtle signs you are being love bombed—and how to slow things down before you get hurt

July 4, 2025

Is it true love or love bombing? Here’s how to spot the difference.

Read moreDetails
Scientists just uncovered a surprising illusion in how we remember time
Infidelity

Not bothered by celebrity infidelity? This psychological trait might be why

July 3, 2025

The online shaming of unfaithful celebrities is a modern spectacle, but why do some join in while others don't? Researchers exploring this puzzle found a key predictor: a belief in a just world, which unexpectedly dampens outrage and blame.

Read moreDetails
Authoritarianism in parents may hinder a key cognitive skill in their children
Attachment Styles

New research suggests interparental conflict can spill over into a mother’s parenting style

July 2, 2025

A new study shows that when mothers experience hostile conflict with their partner, they may feel less emotionally secure—an effect that predicts harsher discipline toward their children. Fathers showed no similar pattern in parenting behavior.

Read moreDetails
New psychology study sheds light on mysterious “feelings of presence” during isolation
Attractiveness

What is the most attractive body fat percentage for men? New research offers an answer

July 1, 2025

What makes a man’s body attractive? A new international study explored this question using body scans and evolutionary models—testing which physical traits matter most. The results challenge some popular assumptions about leanness, muscle, and what people really prefer.

Read moreDetails
New research delves into the unexplored psychology of Femcels
Dating

Ghosting and ‘breadcrumbing’: the psychological impact of our bad behaviour on dating apps

June 30, 2025

Dating apps are less forest than a maze, where users encounter lying wolves, breadcrumb trails and sudden ghosting. Research reveals that deception, sporadic interest and abrupt disappearances are common, underscoring the need for honest communication and friendship before romance blooms.

Read moreDetails
Study explores psychological pathways from attachment style to love addiction
Addiction

Love addiction linked to memory and attention problems

June 30, 2025

Obsessive romantic attachment may be more than an emotional burden—it could also impair your thinking. A new study reveals that love addiction, especially when fueled by anxiety and social media use, is linked to memory problems and daily cognitive failures.

Read moreDetails
Openness to sugar relationships tied to short-term mating, not life history strategy
Evolutionary Psychology

Openness to sugar relationships tied to short-term mating, not life history strategy

June 28, 2025

Sugar relationships may be more about sexual attitudes than survival strategies. A new study shows people drawn to these arrangements tend to favor short-term mating, while early-life unpredictability plays only a small role—especially for men.

Read moreDetails

SUBSCRIBE

Go Ad-Free! Click here to subscribe to PsyPost and support independent science journalism!

STAY CONNECTED

LATEST

Othello syndrome: Woman’s rare stroke leads to psychotic delusions of infidelity

How to protect your mental health from a passive-aggressive narcissist

Dark personality traits linked to generative AI use among art students

Scientists are uncovering more and more unsettling facts about our politics

People with depression face significantly greater social and health-related challenges

Stress disrupts gut and brain barriers by reducing key microbial metabolites, study finds

New research reveals hidden biases in AI’s moral advice

7 subtle signs you are being love bombed—and how to slow things down before you get hurt

         
       
  • Contact us
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms and Conditions
[Do not sell my information]

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

Subscribe
  • My Account
  • Cognitive Science Research
  • Mental Health Research
  • Social Psychology Research
  • Drug Research
  • Relationship Research
  • About PsyPost
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy