Pornography: an experimental study of effects (1971))

COMMENTS: one of the first studies to demonstrate habituation in regular porn users


Am J Psychiatry. 1971 Nov;128(5):575-82.

Reifler CB, Howard J, Lipton MA, Liptzin MB, Widmann DE.

PMID: 4398862

DOI: 10.1176/ajp.128.5.575

https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.128.5.575

Abstract

The authors studied the effect of repeated exposure to pornographic material on young men. The 23 experimental subjects spent 90 minutes a day for three weeks viewing pornographic films and reading pornographic materials. Before-and-after measurements on these subjects and a control group of nine men included penile circumference changes and acid phosphatase activity in response to pornographic films. The data support the hypothesis that repeated exposure to pornography results in decreased interest in it and responsiveness to it. A variety of psychological tests and scales discerned no lasting effects on the subjects’ feelings or behavior other than feeling bored by pornography, both immediately following the study and eight weeks later.