The Role of Pavlovian Conditioning in Sexual Behavior: A Comparative Analysis of Human and Nonhuman Animals

The literature on human sexual deviations is replete with case studies and behavior therapies that demonstrate successful treatment of maladaptive sexual behavior acquired through Pavlovian conditioning. Ironically, the empirical research with humans in this area is limited and plagued by methodological confounds. Nonhuman animal studies have provided some information about the mechanisms of the role of Pavlovian conditioning in sexual arousal/behavior but have not been well coordinated with clinical research. The present paper serves to highlight the major empirical findings and theories of these two disparate bodies of literature, briefly discuss how they have emerged over time, and finally discuss their overlap and make connections between animal and human research on sexual arousal