THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
FULFILLMENT 0F INTERFERSONAL NEEDS
AND ORGASM IN WOMEN ' .

Thesis to: the Degree of M. A.
MlCHlGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
ALLISON BLAKE STERN

‘ 1975

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ABSTRACT

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FULFILLMENT 0F
INTERPERSONAL NEEDS AND ORGASM IN WOMEN

By

Allison Blake Stern

Sexual histories and descriptions of last sexual
experience were collected from 899 women. The protocols
of the 382 women who reported coitus as their last sexual
experience were used to evaluate the hypothesis that
women having an orgasm during their last coital experience
demonstrate more fulfillment of interpersonal needs than
women reporting no orgasm during their last coitus. Two
raters scored the protocols using a scale developed for
this study from Apperson's (1973) Sexual Motive Projective
Test for measurement of fulfillment of interpersonal needs.

The results soundly supported the hypothesis. The
association of fulfillment of interpersonal needs and or-

gasm during last coital experience held for women reporting

‘Allison Blake Stern

25-l00% of orgasm attainment, but the relationship was not
observed in the low orgasm percentage group (0-24%).

Number of months of previous coital experience was
not related to interpersonal'gratification scores. Orgasm
during Tast coital experience, however, was less likely
for women who had engaged in intercourse less than one
month. For women having had intercourse longer than one
month, there was no association between orgasm and amount
of previous coital experience.

Orgasm during last coitus was independent of in-
volvement in a relationship. ‘Relationship type (e.g.,
married; going steady) and duration were also unrelated
to last coital orgasm.

The interpersonal needs most frequently scored
were Affiliation, Succorance, and Nurturance. "There was
no difference in the mean word length of the sexual de-
scriptions nor any difference in the mean time elapsed
since last coitus of women who were orgastic and nonor-
gastic during their last coital experience.

The subjects in the present study were compared
to previously researched groups based on national proba-

bility sampling. The incidence of types of sexual

Allison Blake Stern

experiences, percentage of orgasms during these sexual
experiences, monthly coital frequency, and number of
coital partners reported by subjects in the present study
was similar to previous studies. The number of subjects
using contraception was similar to previously researched
samples, but the type of contraceptives used differed.
Qualifications and implications of the findings
of this research were discussed and future research di-
rections were suggested. A speculative and syncretic
model of female sexual functioning was developed contain-

ing hypotheses for future testing.

Approved: ZM/éfiez

Date: _5s/;(/475

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FULFILLMENT OF

INTERPERSONAL NEEDS AND ORGASM IN WOMEN

By

Allison Blake Stern

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

Department of Psychology

1975

To Don,
My lover and companion

I have awakened to
fresh mornings of whimsy
with you

I have hurt and haped
with you

And together we have

shared the meaning
we both sought

ii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I cannot thank Dr. Joseph Reyher or Dr. Donald
Grummon enough. These men have been consistent sources
of knowledge for me. That would have been enough. How-
ever, the gifts of warmth, compassion, honesty, and humor
they gave have significantly changed my life and will
never be forgotten.

I wish to thank Dr. Albert Aniskiewicz. I am
grateful for his participation.

Marc and Beth Oleshansky and JoAnne Etkin were
more than experimenters. Without their thoughtfulness,
enthusiasm, and diligence this research would not have
been completed. I also wish to thank David Morganstern.
Because of his efforts, the computer is no longer a dan-

gerous beastie. but rather, a tool of value.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES.

LIST OF FIGURES .

INTRODUCTION.
METHOD.

Subjects.

Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Measurement .

RESULTS

Reliability .

Interpersonal Gratification

Other Variables

Age of Subjects . . .

Percentage of Orgasm Attainment . .

Interpersonal Gratification and Orgasm
Percentages of Orgasm Attainment .

Time Since First Intercourse. .

Time Since First Intercourse and Interpersonal
Gratification. .

Time Since First Intercourse and Orgasm .

Types and Duration of Relationships

Interpersonal Needs .

Number of Words in the Sexual Descriptions.

Time Elapsed Since Last Coitus. . . .

Comparability of this Sample to Others.

Summary of the Data . . . . . . .

iv

Page

vi

. viii

\JNNOD

IT

IT
13
14
14
16

16
20

21
23
24
27
28
3O
30
37

Table of Contents (cont'd.)

DISCUSSION. . . . . . . . . . . . . .'. . . . .
Interpersonal Gratification and Other Variables
Directions for Future Research.

Speculative Theory of Female Sexual Behavior.
REFERENCES. . . . . . . . . . . .
APPENDIX A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sexual Description Form . . . . . .
Sexual History Form . . . . . . . . . .

APPENDIX B. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Definitions of Interpersonal Needs.
APPENDIX C. . . . . . . . . .

Scoring Instructions. . .
Interpersonal Gratification Scale .

Page
4l
47
54
55
63
67

67
68

7O
72
72

72
75

LIST OF TABLES

Comparison of mean interpersonal gratification
of orgastic and nonorgastic women during
last coital experience. . . .

Age of subjects. All women (A). Women report-
ing intercourse as their last sexual
experience (B). . . . . . . .

Comparison of the ages of women reporting
orgasm during their last coital experience.

Reported percentages of orgasm attainment of
women who had coitus as their last sexual
experience and who have had coitus longer
than six months

Comparisons of the mean interpersonal gratifi-
cation of orgastic and nonorgastic women who
reported various percentages of orgasm
attainment.

Time since first intercourse of women reporting
coitus as their last sexual experience.

Comparison of interpersonal gratification and
orgasm during last coital eXperience of
women with more than two years of coital
experience. . . . . . . . . . . .

Analysis of variance for the effects of orgasm
and experience on interpersonal gratification
during last coital experience

Types of relationships reported by women having
coitus as their last sexual experience.

vi

Page

13

15

15

I7

19

20

21

22

25

List of Tables (cont'd.)
Table Page

l0. Comparison of the number of words used by
orgastic and nonorgastic women in their
descriptions of coitus. . . . . . . . . . . . 28

ll. Comparison of the time elapsed since last
coitus of orgastic and nonorgastic women. . . 30

l2. Incidence of types of sexual experience of
lB-Zl year old women in this sample and of
previous reports of similar aged women. . . . 32

.l3. Percentages of l8-Zl year old women reporting
having experienced orgasm through types of .
sexual experiences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

14. Number of partners in coitus the lB-Zl year old
women in the present sample reported as com-
pared to previous samples of similar aged
subjects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

15. Frequency per month of engaging in coitus of
18-21 year old women currently sexually
active in the present study as compared to
a previous study of similar aged subjects . . 36

l6. Contraceptive use by lB-Zl year old women in
the present study who had intercourse as
their last sexual experience as compared to
the contraceptive use of a previous study of
similar aged women. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

vii

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure ‘ Page

1. Histogram of the number of individual needs
scored for all subjects who reported coitus
as their last sexual experience. . . . . . . 29

viii

INTRODUCTION

This study was an attempt to directly assess
whether or not gratification of interpersonal needs is
associated with orgasm in women during coitus. Affili-
ation, aggression, achievement, deference, dominance,
exhibition, nurturance, and succorance were assumed, on
a priori basis to be a salient, though not necessarily
exhaustive, subset of interpersonal needs playing a role
during coitus. The gratification or lack of gratifica-
tion of these needs, not the psychological significance
of their presence or absence, was ascertained. The
approach used in this investigation contrasts with the
strategy of those studies which attempt to relate global
personality characteristics, adjustment, and pathology in
women to measures of sexual behavior.

Numerous investigations have attempted to ferret
out the personality characteristics of women with differ-
ent degrees of sexual responsiveness. The personality
characteristics are often condensed by using such reified
labels as psychotic, neurotic, and normal. The problems

I

of reliability and validity associated with such nosolog-
ical terms are well documented (e.g., Sarbin, 1967; Rosen-
han 1973, 1975). The measures of sexual responsiveness
used in the investigations vary and assumptions should
not be made that these measures correlate highly with
each other (Fisher, 1973). However, commonly used meas-
ures of sexual responsiveness are orgasm attainment, fre-
quency of intercourse, and satisfaction with intercourse.
The results of these quests for the personality
profiles of women with differing degrees of sexual respon-
siveness are mixed. Some investigations have found an in-
verse relation between degree of maladjustment and sexual
responsiveness (e.g., Landis gt_al., 1940; Coppen, 1965;
Winokur gt_gl., 1959; Terman, 1938, 1951; Purtell gt_gl.,
1951; Swenson, 1962) O'Neil and Kempler, 1969), others
have not (Winokur g3_al., 1959; McCulloch and Stewart,
1960; C00per, 1969; Freedman, 1965; Miller and Wilson,
1968). Personality variables, historical information,
and demographic data have been collected about men and
attempts have been made to relate these variables to the
sexual responsiveness of their partners (e.g., Terman,
1938, 1951). Again, the empirical literature is mixed

regarding partner attributes (Fisher, 1973).

Investigations which assess personality character-
istics of women with differing degrees of sexual respon-
siveness elucidate little about interpersonal factors and
sexual responsiveness, even allowing for the problems of
reliability and validity associated with such studies.
Personality variables should not be viewed as absolute
entities. People cannot be shuffled from relationship to
relationship with similar interpersonal effects and part-
ners cannot be defined globaliy‘with such hypostatized
concepts as easy-toérelate-to vs: difficult-to-relate-to.
Fisher (1973), when discussing the finding that wives
married to difficult-to-relate-to partners (i.e., alco-
holics) do not display limited orgasmic functioning,
questions the importance of the association of interper-
sonal factors and sexual responsiveness (p. 32). Such
ana1yses overlook the probability that interpersonal
needs are relative, that it is not necessarily the psycho-
logical significance of the presence or absence of speci-
fic traits or needs which is important to assess, but the
degree to which interpersonal needs are fulfilled in a
relationship, regardless of what they are.

Some investigations have examined the relationship

between both participants in coitus to assess the

interdependence of interpersonal factors and sexual func-
tioning. However, most investigations have used reTa-
tively global measures of interpersonal relationships.
Dickinson and Beam (1931) and Terman (1938, 1951), report
unhappy couples have intercourse just about as frequently
as happy couples. Landis §t_gl, (1940) could not estab-
lish a correlation between orgasm consistency in women
and marital happiness. In contrast, Terman (1938, 1951),
Kinsey gt_al. (1953), and Chesser g1_gl. (1957), found
that marital happiness and orgasm capacity in women are
positively correlated.

Global estimates of the quality of a relationship,
such as marital happiness, may change over the duration
of a relationship with her partner, and for some women,
daily. "Happiness“ cannot be used as a synonym for satis-
faction of interpersonal needs, or “unhappiness" equated
with a lack of fulfillment of interpersonal needs. Fur-
thermore, it is quite possible that the interpersonal
needs salient immediately before, during, and after coi-
tus may differ from those elicited at other times in the
relationship or outside coital situations. The fulfill-
ment or lack of fulfillment of these needs may vary in

these different situations. Likewise, the interpersonal

needs present in a sexual situation may differ from coi-
tal experience to coital experience in the same woman and
may vary considerable for different women.

Clearly, a situational examination of interper-
sonal factors and sexual responsiveness, without assump-
tions of personality traits and the use of global mease
ures, such as marital happiness, is needed to fill the
lacunae of knowledge about female sexual responsiveness.
The hypothesis that fulfillment of interpersonal needs
and orgasm“during a particular coital experience are
associated in women will be referred to as the interper-

sonal gratification hypothesis.

METHOD

Subjects

Subjects were undergraduate female volunteers who
signed up to participate in an experiment on Nwomen's
feelings about intercourse." The title of the experiment
was chosen so that subjects knew the general content of
the research and could avoid participating if they found
it offensive. The title was also chosen so that by sign-
ing up for the research, subjects were not indicating
publicly the extent of their sexual experience. The
latter was felt to be important because in earlier re—
search subjects indicating coital experience received
objectionable anonymous phone calls.

All subjects were enrolled in psychology courses
and most were freshmen. Of the 899 subjects, 382 subjects
reported having intercourse during their last sexual ex—

perience.

Materials

 

'1. Sexual Description Form. The sexual descrip-
tion form requests a subject to describe her thoughts and
feelings about her last sexual experience, whether coitus
was involved, and whether she had an orgasm (see Appendix
A).

2. Sexual History Form. This form covered a
range of materials regarding the subjects' sexual activi-

ties and personal data (See Appendix A).

Procedure

 

One male and three female experimenters admini-
stered the measures used in this study to 100 groups of
women. The groups ranged in size from three to sixty sub-
jects. 'The Sexual Description Form was presented first
and followed by the Sexual History Form. Subjects were

encouraged to be frank and assured of their anonymity.

Measurement

Subjects described their sexual experience in a
“free response" manner in that they had no clues about
the interpersonal dimensions under investigation. In

order to measure the fulfillment or lack of fulfillment

of interpersonal needs of these protocols, a scale was
constructed from Apperson's (1973) Sexual Motive Projec-
tive Test (SM-PT). Apperson (1973) constructed the SM-PT
from Murray's (1938) need system to measure psychological
motivation for sexual behavior in males and females. On
an a priori basis, she postulated the following needs as
important for sexual motivation: Achievement (Ach), A
Affiliation (Aff), Aggression (Agg), Deference (Def),
Dominance (Dom), Exhibition (Exh), Nurturance (Nur),
Succorance (Suc). The definitions.of the motive cate-
gories Apperson (1973) used to construct the items of the
SM-PT are contained in Appendix B- For content validity
Apperson (1973) had six clinicians rate the statements
she used for measurement of sexual motivation. The items
she used in the SM-PT had perfect agreement by at least
four out of the six judges that the statements were re~
lated to the definitions she used.

Half of the sentences which compose the SM-PT are
appropriate to females; these sentences were used as cri-
terion sentences by raters in the present study. Two
modifications of these sentences were necessary. First,
additional sentences were constructed which stated the

needs in an unfulfilled form. This unfulfilled form was

an opposite or negated statement of the Apperson (1973)
sentences. Second, the sentences were put in the first
person, rather than the third, to facilitate ease of
rating.

Whenever the phrase in a woman's description of
her last sexual experience matched a criterion sentence,
the match was noted. The criterion sentences, as stated
above, were written in sets of two, one of each pair re-
ferring to fulfillment of an interpersonal need, the
other referring to lack of fulfillment of that particular
need. -When a subject's phrase matched a "fulfillment"
criterion sentence, the match was scored +1. When the
match was with a “lack of fulfillment" criterion sentence,
the match was scored -1. The algebraic sum of each sub-
ject's protocol for all the needs was a quantitative esti-
mate of the degree of overall fulfillment, regardless of
the nature of the needs.

This sum was weighted by the number of words in

the subject's protocol

sum of interpersonal needs
( number of words used x 100)

to minimize the chance of a subject's score being influ—

enced mainly by the brevity or length of her record. The

10

overall estimate of how many needs were satisfied or un-
satisfied, weighted by number of words used, will be re-
ferred to as a subject's interpersonal gratification for
that sexual experience. A high interpersonal gratifica-
tion score means that a subject demonstrated more fulfill-
ment of interpersonal needs during her last coital exper-
ience than a subject with a low interpersonal gratifica-
tion score.

The women's descriptions of their last coital ex-
perienceS‘were typed and separated from their forms. The
typing was to insure that raters would only be analyzing
the protocols on the basis of what the women wrote, with-
out knowledge of orgasmic status during last coital ex-
perience or the information contained in the sexual his-
tory form.’ The raters were two psychology graduate

students.

RESULTS

Reliability

 

One psychology graduate student scored all the
subjects‘“descriptions of their last coital experience
for fulfillment or lack of fulfillment of interpersonal
needs. Forty-five records, or over 10% of the protocols,
were randomly chosen from the sample of women indicating
they had had intercourse as their last sexual experience
for a second psychology graduate student to score. The
first rater was female, the second rater was male. Scor-
ing independently, the range of scores they computed was
from -9 to +17 (uncorrected for word length). In 25
cases the raters scored the same score; in 11 cases they
were differed by 1 point; and in 9 cases they deviated
from 2-4 points. The Spearman rank-order correlation
(corrected for ties was compUted for the rankings of the
two raters. “The degree of interjudgment agreement was
.93.

In order to evaluate the results, standard t-

tests were employed. In addition F tests were used to
11

12

examine whether the assumption of homogeneity of vari-°
ance of the t-tests was met. In these analyses, a sig-
nificant F test means that the variances were not homoge-
neous. Since the groups compared were often not of equal
size, relying on the robustness of the t-test, if there
was heterogeneity of variance, was not considered the
best approach. In addition to the t and F tests, then.
the Bayesian Posterior Probability, which does not assume
homogeneity of variance, was computed. (For a further
description of the Bayesian Posterior Probability see
Footnote C, Table 5.) A high Bayesian Posterior Probabil-
ity (i.e., near 1) gives strong evidence that the sample
means differ. In the tables which follow, the Bayesian
Posterior Probability has been omitted if the F tests in-
dicated that the homogeneity of variance assumption was
met (i.e., p > .05). The t-tests were then considered
appropriate and sufficient.

The data from the 382 subjects reporting coitus
as their last sexual experience was used in the analysis
of the hypothesis. These 382 subjects, were designated
as coitus-last subjects. It should be noted that subjects
not reporting coitus as their last sexual experience were

not necessarily virgins; they simply did not have

13

intercourse as their last sexual experience. When coitus-
last subjects are described as orgastic or non-orgastic,
only the presence or absence of orgasm during their last-

sexual experience is meant to be indicated.

Interpersonal Gratification

The interpersonal gratification hypothesis was
soundly supported. The mean interpersonal gratification
of orgastic coitus-last subjects was significantly higher
than non-orgastic coituswlast subjects.
Table 1. Comparison of mean interpersonal gratification

of orgastic and nonorgastic women during last
coital experience.

 

v7

 

Groups Mean Na Variance I tb, FC
Orgastic 3.498 217 21.964 6.889* 1.049
Nonorgastic .111 162 23.031

 

aThree subjects did not report whether or not they had an
orgasm during their last coital experience.

bThe significance level reported is for a nondirectional
test.

CThe assumption of homogeneity variance was tested with
the F statistic which is apprOpriate when normality holds
(Hays, 1973).

*
p < .00001

14

Other Variables

In order to evaluate the interpersonal gratification
hypothesis, the possibility that various factors were moder-
ating variables was considered. The possible moderating
variables examined were age, reported percentage of orgasm
attainment, period of time since first coital experience,
types of relationships the women reported they were involved
in, the duration of these relationships, and whether the

women planned to be married to their coital partners.

Age of Subjects

Since Kinsey £L_ll- (1953) found a correlation of
age and decade of birth with orgasm, the ages of the sub-
jects were examined. The results shown in Table 2 were as
expected because of the college population from which this
sample was drawn. Ninety-three percent of the coitus-last
subjects were 18-21 years of age.’ In fact, 82.5% of the
coitus-last subjects were 18 or 19 years old. Ninety-four
percent of the subjects were 18-21 years of age, disregard-
ing the type of their last sexual experience.

Comparisons were made between the ages of orgastic
and non-orgastic coitus-last women. As can be seen in

Table 3, there was no significant difference in the mean

15

Table 2. Age of subjects. All women (A). Women reporting
intercourse as their last sexual experience (8).

 

 

N Range Mean Standard Deviation
A 897a 14-44 18.48 1.69
B 382 14-44 18.81 2.25

 

aTwo subjects omitted age information.

Table 3. Comparison of the ages of women reporting orgasm
during their last coital experience.

 

Groups Mean Na Variance t Fb

 

Orgastic 18.91 217 6.738 .943 2.325*
Nonorgastic 18.69 162 2.898

aThree subjects omitted whether or not they had an orgasm
during their last coital experience.

bThe assumption of homogeneity of variance was tested with
the F statistic which is appropriate when normality holds
(Hays, 1973).

cp < .01.

16

ages. However, the variances were significantly differ-
ent. The orgastic coitus-last group included the oldest

and youngest participants.

Percentage of Orgasm Attainment

 

Table 4 presents the reported percentage of orgasm
attainment of coitus-last subjects. Only the coitus-last
subjects who reported having had coitus over six months
are shown, since the reported percentage of orgasm attain-
ment of women with minimal experience is difficult to in-
terpret. Namely, women experiencing coitus for the first
time have a percentage of orgasm attainment of either 0%
or 100%. Six months coital experience was arbitrarily
chosen as providing sufficient time for a subject to have
had enough coitus to base an estimate of her percentage

of orgasm attainment.

Interpersonal Gratification and
Percentages of Orgasm Attainment

In order to evaluate the interpersonal gratifica-
tion hypothesis in terms of reported percentages of orgasm

attainment, comparisons were drawn between interpersonal

17

Table 4. Reported percentages of orgasm attainment of
women who had coitus as their last sexual ex-
perience and who have had coitus longer than
six months.

 

 

Orgasm . N % of Mean Standard
Percentages Subjects Deviation
0-252 62 33.0 i .472 .369

25-50% 25 10.0
50-75% 46 18.5
75-10074a 95 38.3
Missingb 24

272 99.3“d

 

aInclusion is at the lower end point of the interval.

bMissing data is from subjects who did not give their

orgasm percentages.
c . .
Percentages are based on nonm1ss1ng data.

dInexact percentage totals are due to round-off error.

18

gratification of orgastic and non-orgastic coitus-last
subjects falling within various ranges of percentage of
orgasm attainment. Only subjects reporting having had
coitus over six months were used in the analyses because
of the aforementioned difficulty in interpreting an or-
gasm percentage of a woman with minimal coital exper-
ience.

As can be seen in Table 5, the mean interpersonal
gratification of orgastic coitus-last women was signifi-
cantly higher than the mean-interpersonal gratification
of nonorgastic coitus-last women, except the 0-24% range
of attained orgasm. The trend in this group is the same
as that for the other groups, though not significantly
so (p < .07). A puzzling finding is the significant dif-
ference in the variances of the interpersonal gratifica-
tion scores of the women on the extreme ends of reported
range of orgasm attainment. Consistently, the non-
orgastic coitus-last subjects had greater dispersion

of scores than orgastic coitus-last women.

19

Table 5. Comparisons of the mean interpersonal gratification of or-

gastic and nonorgastic women who reported various percen-
tages of orgasm attainment.

 

 

Probabilityc
a . b that the
Groups Mean N Variance t F first mean >
the 2nd mean
0—24%
Orgastic 2.095 21 9.491 1.872 3.562** .991

Nonorgastic -.400 60 33.80

25-74%
Orgastic 3.810 42 20.792 4.013*** 1.103 .999
Nonorgastic -.571 28 18.847 _
75-lOO%
Orgastic 4.151 66 23.146 2.392* 1.888 .967

N

onorgastic .688 16 43.696

 

a

b

C

U

*

All subjects reported having had intercourse longer than six months.
Thirty-seven subjects having coitus as their last sexual experience
and having intercourse over six months, did not give their orgasm
percentages.

The assumption of homogeneity of variance was tested with the F sta—
tistic which is appropriate when normality holds (Hays, 1973).

The Bayesian posterior probability computed was the probability that
the true strata means are ordered in the same way as the sample
means. It is derived from an approximation to the Behrens-Fisher
distribution. A high probability (i.e., near 1) gives strong evi-
dence that the sample means differ. It is derived assuming normal
sampling but not equal variances (Fox and Guire, 1973). The Behrens
distribution approaches normality as the degrees of freedom tend to
infinity. For a further description of the posterior probability
computed and the approximation to the Behrens-Fisher distribution
sed, see Lindley Part 2 p. 91-95.

** ***
p < .05; p < .01; and p < .001.

20

Time Since First Intercourse

 

Table 6 presents the duration of time coitus-
1ast subjects reported having engaged in intercourse since
their first coitus. The number of women who had experi-
enced intercourse for a prolonged period of time was small
in this population studied.

Table 6. The time since first intercourse of women report-
ing coitus as their last sexual experience.

 

 

Length of Time Na % of Subjects

First Time 11 3.0
< 1 month (but not 1st time) 13 3.5
> 1 month - 6 months 72 19.6
> 6 months - 1 year 83 22.6
> 1 year - 2 years 107 29.1
> 2 years 82 22.3

. 3;;- 100—3."

 

aFourteen subjects omitted data on length of having had
coitus. The percentages are based on nonmissing data.

bInexact totals due to round-off error.

21

Time Since First Intercourse
and Interpersonal Gratification

 

 

The possible moderating influence of time since
first coitus, referred to here as experience, was consid-
ered in two ways. The first comparison utilized women
with more coital experience. As Table 7 indicates, there
was a significant difference in the mean interpersonal
gratification scores of orgastic and non-orgastic coitus-
1ast subjects who reported having had coitus over two
years. If no significant difference had occurred, it
would have been suggestive of a decline of importance in
interpersonal factors with more experience.

Table 7. Comparison of interpersonal gratification and

orgasm during last coital experience of women
with more than two years of coital experience.

 

 

Group Mean Na Variance tb Fc
Orgastic 3.520 48 20.808 4.4398* 1.4765
Nonorgastic -.706 34 14.093

 

aFourteen subjects omitted data on length of having had
coitus.

bThe significance level is for a nondirectional test.

CThe homogeneity of variance assumption was tested with
the F statistic which is appropriate when normality holds
(Hays, 1973).

'k
p < .00001.

22

To obtain further information on the variable of
experience, a 2x6 Analysis of Variance was performed. The
factors were orgasm (0) or not during last coital experi-
ence and duration of time (E) the women reported having
engaged in intercourse. The dependent measure was inter-
personal gratification with subjects nested in levels of

factors 0 and E and the factors completely crossed.

Table 8. Analysis of Variance for the Effects of Orgasma

and Experienceb on Interpersonal Gratification
during Last Coital Experience.

 

 

Source df SS MS F
Orgasm (O) 1 287.475 287.475 13.637*
Experience (E) 5 133.091 26.618 1.263
0 x E 5 144.367 28.873 1.369

Error (within)c 353 7441.423 21.031
Total 364 8006.356

 

aThree subjects did not report whether they had orgasm
during their last coital experience.

bFourteen subjects omitted data on length of having had
intercourse.

CThe error term used throughout was the within-cell variance
(mean square).

*

p < .01.

23

As can be seen in Table 8, the effect of orgasm
and interpersonal gratification was significant for both
age groups considered, irrespective of experience. The
results indicate that interpersonal factors do not decline
or increase in importance as a woman's sexual experience

increases.

Time Since First Intercourse
and Orgasm

The association of the variables experience and
orgasm, disregarding interpersonal gratification, was
tested with coitus-last subjects. The Pearson chi square
test for independence was used to ascertain if there was
some dependence of these variables. Cramer's phi, w'
(Hays, 1973; Blalock, 1960), was also determined to pro-
vide a measure of the apparent strength of association of
the variables. Experience and orgasm during last coital
experience were not independent for the women (x2=ll.743,
df=5, n=365, p < .03). However, the association of the
variables was not strong (x7 =.l8).

When extreme ne0phytes (women reporting having en-
gaged in intercourse less than one month) were dropped

from the analyses, independence of orgasm during last

24

coitus and experience was found (x2=2.l3, df=3, n=34l,

p > .05, ¢'=.08). Likewise, when the percentages of or-
gasm attainment of women reporting they had had inter-
course over one month were compute ,‘a hypothesis of inde-
pendence of the variables could not be rejected (x2=8.48,
df=9, n=288, p > .05, 0' = .10).

The results indicate that with less than one month
of sexual experience, women may have difficulty attaining
an orgasm, since 82% of the women having intercourse for
the first time did not experience an orgasm and 62% of the
women with less than one month of sexual experience did
not have an orgasm during their last coitus. However, the
effect of experience and orgasm quickly diminishes with

time.

Types and Duration of Relationships

The generalizability of the interpersonal gratifi-
cation and orgasm effect might be influenced by whether
the women in this sample were involved in relationships,
and if so, what kind (See Sexual History Forms). Since
most of the coitus-last women were "going steady," the

effect of interpersonal gratification and orgasm can be

25

most safely generalized to women in that type of relation-

ship.

Table 9. Types of relationships_reported by women having
coitus as their last sexual experience.

 

 

14-44 Year Old Women

 

Type of Relationship 3
N % of Subjects

 

 

No relationship 41 10.7
Married 19 5.0
Living together

(but not married) 9 224
Steady boyfriend 256 67.0
Had relationship before with

coital partner (but not

currently) 18 4.7
Other kind of relationship 39 10.2a

382 99.9

 

aInexact total due to round-off error.

Whether or not the women reported being in some
sort of relationship, and if they were, the kind of rela-
tionship they reported, and orgasm during last coital ex-
perience were independent (x2=5.692, df=5, n=379, p > .05,

p'=.12). (See Table 9 for the relationship types.) 0f

26

the women reporting being in a relationship and having had
intercourse with the person described in the relationship,
orgasm during last coital experience and the relationship
types were dependent (x2=.65, df=4, n=288, p > .05, p' =
.05). Only 19 subjects reporting coitus as their last
sexual experience had intercourse with someone other than
the partner they described in the relationship section.
These subjects were between 18-21 years of age and the re-
lationships were “going steady" and "other." Orgasm dur-
ing last coital experience was found to be independent of
whether the subjects had intercourse with the person de-
scribed in the relationship section or a person different
from the person described in the relationship section
(x2=.26, df=l, n=286, p > .05, p'=.06). An analysis of
relationship types and reported percentages of orgasm
attainment yielded too few subjects per cell to compare
the variables.

The duration of time women were involved in the
relationships they reported should be considered, but too
few subjects were involved in relationships other than
"going steady." However, the relationship between dura-
tion of time being involved in a "steady" relationship was

examined with respect to orgasm during the last coitus as

27

well as to percent of orgasm attainment. The time ranges
examined were between one month and four years. The
length of time the women reported having gone "steady"

and orgasm during their last coital experience was found
to be independent (x2=1.7, df=3, n=219, p > .05, p'=.09).
Only women having intercourse with their steady were used
in these analyses. Likewise, the length of time the women
stated they were "going steady" and their reported percen-

tages of orgasm attainment were found to be independent

(x2=8.8, df=9, n=127, p > .05, w' .15). The women used

in these analyses had to have been having intercourse over
six months to make the percentages of orgasm attainment
more meaningful, and they had to have had their last coi-

tal experience with the person with whom they were “going

steady."

Interpersonal Needs

As can be seen in Figure l, the most frequently
scored need was fulfillment or gratification of Affilia-
tion. Lack of fulfillment of aggression was the least
scored need. Considering each of the eight interpersonal
needs scored, gratification was scored more than lack of

gratification, except for the need for achievement. Lack

28

of fulfillment of the need for achievement was scored more

frequently than fulfillment of the need for achievement.

Number of Words Used in the
Sexual Descriptions

 

Although the interpersonal gratification scores in-
cluded a correction for word length, there was no signifi-
cant difference in the mean word length of the protocols
of orgastic and non-orgastic coitus-last women.

Table 10. Comparison of the number of words used by orgas-

tic and nonorgastic women in their descriptions
of coitus.

 

 

Group Mean Na Variance tb FC
Orgastic 104.89 216 3878.1 -l.521l 1.0808
Nonorgastic 114.91 162 4191.5

 

aThree subjects did not report whether they had an orgasm
during their last coital experience. Word length was not
computed for one subject.

bp > .05; nondirectional test.

cThe assumption of homogeneity of variance was tested with
the F statistic which is appropriate when normality holds
(Hays, 1973).

29

295

 

230
265
250 N=379a
235
220
205
190
175

160

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

115 . {

 

 

 

 

 

1:: N N

N 1 1 M M

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AFF AFF SUC SUC NUR NUR DEF DEF DOM DOM ASH ACH EXH EXH AGG AGG
A B A B A B A B A B A B ~A B A B
294 165 211 167 177 127 140 127 133 126 133 141 136 126 133 125

FIG. l.--Histogram of the number of individual needs scored for all
subjects who reported coitus as their last sexual experi—
ence. Fulfillment of the interpersonal need (A). Lack of
fulfillment of the interpersonal need (8).

aThree subjects did not report whether or not they had an orgasm
during their last coital experience and these protocols were not
scored.

30

Time Elapsed Since Last Coitus

As can be seen from Table 11, there was no signif-
icant difference in the mean time since last coitus of
orgastic and non-orgastic coitus-last subjects.

Table 11. Comparison of the time elapsed since last coitus
of orgastic and nonorgastic women.

 

 

Groups Mean Nb Variance tc Fd
Orgastica 2.523 214 1.0955 -.3636 1.054

Nonorgastic 2.568 155 1.0392

 

aTime based on categorical coding rather than actual time.
bThree subjects didn't put whether or not they had an or-

gasm during their last coital experience. Ten subjects
did not put length of time since their last coital ex-
perience.

cp > .05; nondirectional test.

dThe homogeneity of variance assumption was tested with the

F statistic which is appropriate when normality holds
(Hays, 1973). “

Comparability of This Sample
to Others

This sample was compared to previously researched
samples for incidence of types of sexual experience, or-

gasm, frequency of coitus, number of coital partners, and

31

contraceptive use. Previously researched samples of
roughly similarly aged subjects were used for comparison,
and subjects in the present study falling outside the age
range of 18-21 years were excluded.

The previously researched samples cited in the
following Tables were more comprehensive in that they were
based on national probability samples (Sorenson, 1973;
Zelnick and Kantner, 1972), or approximated them (Hunt,
1974). Kinsey's giggl, (1953) data was collected through
personal interviews. The data of the other studies cited
in the Tables was collected by questionnaires. Sorenson's
(1973) research included married adolescents. The figures
cited from the other studies were based on unmarried sub-
jects. The ten married women between 18-21 years in the
present study were included in the percentages which follow.

As can be seen from Table 12, the present sample
was very similar to previously researched samples in the
incidence of types of sexual experience the women had had.
Sorenson (1973) found an association between masturbation
and intercourse. He found that girls having intercourse
reported masturbating twice as often as girls who were not
currently having intercourse (Sorenson, 1973, p. 133). The

present study found that having ever had intercourse and

32

Table 12. Incidence of types of sexual experience of 18-21
year old women in this sample and of previous
reports of similar aged women.

 

Percentages of Present Sample

Percentages Reported Age Range 18-21

 

by Previous Studies N=845-61
Kissinga ................. 100 99.5
Stimulation of breast.. 98 85.7
Manual stimulation of
genitalsc’d ............ 33-91 77.5
Cunnilinguse ............. 69 53.3
Coitusfig ................. 45-46 52.4
Masturbation. ............ 39 40.4

 

aKinsey et a1. (1953), p. 280. Percentage based upon figures reported
for "simple" kissing of women with 13-16 years of schooling.

bSorenson (1973), p. 171. The percentage based on what he called "sex-
ual beginners" (women without coital experience). Sorenson did not
specify whether the stimulation was with or without clothing. This
study specified without clothing. His percentage based on women
aged 13-19.

CKinsey et a1. (1953), p. 234. Of women aged 16-20, 88% "actively"
petting. '

dHunt (1974), p. 136. Of women aged 18-24, 90% "actively" petting.

eHunt (1974), p. 166. Percentage based on white males, aged 18-24,
reports of having engaged in cunnilingus.

fSorenson (1973), p. 187. Percentage based on women ages 13-19.

gZelnick and Kantner (1972), p. 360. Percentage based on women ages
15-19. '

hSorenson (1973), p. 129. Percentage based on women ages 13-19.

1Two subjects omitted data on all types of sexual experience except
coitus. One subject omitted data on coitus. The percentages are
based on nonmissing data.

33

having ever masturbated were highly dependent (18-21 year
old women x=23.64, df=l, n=845, p.< .00001, w'=.l67).
However, Cramer's phi did not show a strong association.
Hunt (1974) found that between the ages of 18-24,
substantially more than 50% of the unmarried women he
studied had "experienced orgasm through petting techniques
in the past half year (p. 136)." Hunt (1974) also found
that three-quarters of his young unmarried females had ex-
perienced orgasms in their premarital coital relationships.
Table 13. Percentages of 18e21.year old women reporting

having experienced orgasm thro.ugh.'types of
sexual experiences.

 

 

 

Type of Experience . Percentage ........ NR
Kissing 3.52 818
Stimulation of breast

(without clothing) 10.74 701
Manual stimulation of genitals

(without clothing) 56.38 632
Cunnilingus “ 54.03 427
Coitus 77.29 420

Masturbation . 57.68 318

 

aTwenty-three 18-21 year old subjects omitted data on or-
gasm through types of sexual experience. The percentages
are based on nonmissing data.

34

As can be seen from Table 13, these percentages are similar
to the percentages found in the present study. The percen-
tage of women reporting having experienced orgasm through
masturbation is different from previous studies. Sorenson
(1973) found that 71% of the 13-19 year old female adoles-
cents in his sample had experienced an orgasm through mas-
turbation sometime during the preceding month (p. 134).
However, only 57.7% of the 18-21 year old women in the
present study had ever experienced an orgasm through mas-
turbation.

As can be seen in Table 14, the number of sexual
partners reported by the women in their sexual histories
is roughly comparable to previously researched samples.
The vast majority had had few partners and are probably
what Sorenson (1973) terms "serial monagamists (p. 219)."
Fewer subjects in the present sample reported having had
7-15 partners than in the Sorens0n (1973) study. But the
number of subjects having had 16 or more partners was
similar.

Likewise, as can be seen in Table 15, the subjects
in this sample currently having intercourse reported hav-

ing coitus about as often as found in a previous study.

35

 

 

 

 

Table 14. Number of partners in coitus the 18-21 year old
women in the present sample reported as compared
to previous samples of similar aged subjects.

Number Reported Reported Present Sample

of by a by Zelnick 18-21 Years

Partners Sorenson and Kantner N=353C

l 50% 59.9% 48.2%

2-3 22 24.1 30.3

4-6 14 16.0e 13.4

7-15 12 6.6

16 or more 2 1.8d

100% .lO0.0% 100.3%

 

aSorenson (1973), p. 433. Percentage based on women ages

13-19.

b

Zelnick and Kantner (1972), p. 365. Percentage based on

women ages 15-19.

cNinety subjects did not report how many partners they'd
had. Percentage based on nonmissing data.

dInexact total due to round-off error.

eZelnick and Kantner (1972) data based on his percentages
for whites only. He found 9.2% had had 4-5 partners and
6.8% had had 6 or more partners. These percentages were
summed for ease of visual presentation.

36

Table 15. Frequency per month of engaging in coitus of
18-21 year old women currently sexually active
in the present study as compared to a previous
study of similar aged subjects.

 

Frequency Percentage Reported Percentage in
per Month by Sorensona Present Studyb
(18-21) N=297

 

 

l 9 11.1
2 11 11.4
3 11 7.7
4 13 8.1
5-8 15 21.6
9-12 15 16.8
13-19 10 , 12.7
20 or more 16 ' 10.2c
1003‘ 99.6%

A

aSorenson (1973), p. 271. Percentages based on monogamist
data since it most closely approximates relationship type
data of the present study (i.e., the number of subjects

reporting "going steady"). .Sorenson data based on 13-19
year old subjects.

bFifty-seven subjects omitted data on frequency per month.

Percentages based on nonmissing data.

CInexact total due to round-off error.

37

As can be seen in Table 16, about as many subjects
in the present study stated they use contraceptives as in
a previous study. However, the types of contraceptives
used differs drastically. ‘Many fewer subjects in the
present study reported they rely on "less safe" methods
of birth control, such as withdrawal and rhythm. More
subjects reported taking birth control pills than in any

previous study.

Summary of the Data

The hypothesis that women who report having an
orgasm during their last coital experience have more ful-
fillment of interpersonal needs than women reporting no
orgasm was soundly supported. The effect held for women
with most ranges of percentage of orgasm attainment (25-
100%). The women not experiencing an orgasm during their
last coital experience, and reporting very low or very
high percentages of orgasm attainment (0-24% or 75-100%),
had greater dispersion of interpersonal gratification
scores. 4

The amount of time women reported having engaged
in intercourse was not related to their interpersonal

gratification scores; however, women who had engaged in

T

38

able 16. Contraceptive use by 18-21 year old women in the
present study who had intercourse as their last

sexual experience a

5 compared to the contracep-

tive use of a previous study of similar aged

women .

 

Percentage Percentage

Contraceptive

Reported in the

by Zelnick Present Study

and Kantnera (18-21) n-354

 

N
B
F
I
D
C
D
W

one

irth Control Pills
oam

UD

iaphragm

ondom

ouche

ithdrawal

Rhythm

C

ombination
(e . g . , condom and foam)

 

 

16.0 20.5
21.0 57.3
2.3 1.3
.5 3.2
1.4 .6
13.3 10.3
2.4 0.0
27.7 .3
2.2 .6
10.73 5.0
102.5% 100.1%

 

a

b

Zelnick and Kantner (1972), p.
whites only, women aged 15-19.

their subjects whether or not

"never,” "sometimes," "always.

ported for most recently used
subjects using contraceptives

369. Percentages for
Zelnick and Kantner asked

they used contraceptives

" The percentages they re-

contraceptive were based on

and excluded the 16% never

using contraception. The percentages they reported for
most recently used contraception were modified here to

include the 16% never using c
ity. The 102.5% total was ov
metic Operations performed.

Twelve subjects did not repor
contraceptives. Percentages

ontraceptives for comparabil-
er 100% because of the arith-

t whether or not they used
based on nonmissing data.

39

intercourse less than one month were found less likely to
experience orgasm. There was no association between ex-
perience and orgasm for women having had intercourse
longer than one month.

Involvement in a relationship (See Sexual History
Form) and orgasm during last'coitus were independent. In
addition, the types of relationships the women reported
having and orgasm during last coitus were not associated.
The duration of time women who were "going steady" reported
they had been involved in the "steady“ relationship was not
associated with orgasm during last coital experience or the
women's reported percentages of orgasm attainment during
coitus.

The interpersonal needs most frequently scored
were Affiliation, Succorance, and Nurturance. There was
no difference in the mean number of words used in the coi-
tal descriptions of orgastic and non-orgastic women, nor
was there any difference in the mean time elapsed since
last coitus of orgastic and non-orgastic women. The re-
sults are most appropriately generalized to women 18-21
years of age who consider themselves "going steady."

The subjects in the present study were compared to

previously researched samples based on national probability

40

sampling. The incidence of types of sexual experiences,
orgasms through these sexual experiences, frequencies per
month, and number of coital partners subjects in the
present study reported was‘similar to previous studies.
The number of subjects using contraceptions was similar
to previously researched samples, but the type of contra-

ceptives used differed.

DISCUSSION

The results of this study clearly indicate some
association of fulfillment of interpersonal needs and or-
gasm. The direction of causality cannot be empirically
ascertained at this point. Women having orgasms may per-
ceive that their interpersonal needs have been met or ful-
fillment of interpersonal needs may be necessary for or-
gasm.

Comparisons can be drawn between the results of
the present study and Fisher's (1973) study. Fisher
(1973) found that low orgasmic women were concerned about
object loss, chronically preoccupied with the possibility
of being separated from persons loved and valued. One ex-
planatory framework he proposed he derived from psychoana-
lytic concepts about separation anxiety. Separation anxi-
ety, he says, may be a fear of the recurrence of the same
build-up of tension which orginally occurred when the per-
son responsible for gratification of needs (e.g., mother)

left. He points out that sexual excitement is a build-up

41

42

of tension, and postulates that the low orgasmic woman may
fear sexual excitement because it represents the loss of
love objects.

Fisher's (1973) explanation focuses on the build-up
of tension feared by the low orgasmic woman. However, if
the emphasis is changed; to the fear of absence of a "love
object," his explanation of his results and the results of

the present study are parallel. Apropos to this point is

the following:

Certain neurotics who are still afraid of the
experience of their'own excitement, at least
beyond a certain intensity of this excitement,
are so not because of a primary 'anxiety of the
intensity of their own excitement' but because
other types of anxiety have caused them to
block the natural course of their excitement,
turning pleasure secondarily into intense dis-
pleasure.‘ This leads sooner or later to the
fear that external means of satisfaction might
possibly fail to arrive. It is the 'fear over
loss of love' or rather loss of help and pro-
tection. This fear is more intense than it
would be if it represented only a rational
judgment about real danger because the early
self-esteem is regulated by means of external
supplies so that a loss of help and protection
means also a loss of self-esteem (Fenichel,
1945, p. 44). “"

Rather than a fear of build-up of uncontrollable tension,
the individual with separation anxiety primarily fears a
lack of satisfaction of needs, a fear of loss of love and

help and protection. In other words, the low orgasmic

43

woman fears a loss of interpersonal supplies--a lack of
gratification of interpersonal needs.

Fisher (1973) derived another explanation of his re-
sults from the observation that the normal state of con—
sciousness is affected by a build-up of sexual excitement
(Kinsey, gt_al., 1953; Masters anleohnson, 1966). He
proposed that arousal diminishes awareness of external
stimuli and that "objects" may become psychologically more
distant. Hence, he speculated that the woman fearing "ob-
ject loss" would fear sexual excitement which, psycholog-
ically blunts “objects."'

The second explanation can also be used to explain the
results of the present study. The only assumption neces-
sary to link the results of the present study and Fisher's
(1973) explanations of his results is the meaning of "loss
of objects” feared by the woman with separation anxiety.
The fear of "loss of objects“ can easily be viewed as fear
of “loss of objects" which satisfy interpersonal needs.

Both of Fisher's (1973) explanations of his results
neatly fit the present study with only a slight modifica-
tion. The modification is the significance of fear of
"object loss" in low orgasmic women. If the significance

of fear of "object loss" assumed here is accepted, the

44

meaning of the results of both studies are parallel. In-
terpersonal factors and orgasm are associated.

As Fisher (1973) points out, a fear of "object
loss" does not necessarily exemplify a personality type,
and in the present study, the interpersonal needs of a
woman in her sexual experiences are not necessarily an
indication of her personality type. Interpersonal needs
may vary from sexual experience to sexual experience and
the needs salient in a woman's sexual experiences may not
typify her non-sexual interpersonal interactions.

Hence, Fisher's (1973) findings about personality
traits can be put into context. Fisher (1973) found that
anger, coping with anger, dominance, sociability, cheer-
fulness, desire to help others, achievement, and activity-
passivity dimensions of personality were not significantly
related to high- or low-orgasm capacity. In addition, the
fulfillment of interpersonal needs (not just the presence
of the needs) which this study found, seems to be an im-
portant factor in linking interpersonal interactions and
orgasm.

Fisher (1973) had the women in his study write
about their sexual experiences. He characterizes them:

1. Some women present intercourse primarily as
a great adventure in which there are new

45

experiences and sensations to be sampled.
Emphasis is placed upon the range of positions
used, the novelty of some of the sensations
aroused, and the potential for unlimited ex-
ploration by each spouse of the other spouse's
body.

Related to this first theme is the perception
of intercourse as a means of attaining ecstasy
or going on a 'trip' in which there are strange
sensations and loss of identity. .Included in
this category are those who wish to ascribe a
religious or mystical quality to sexual arousal.
For some women intercourse is an opportunity

to prove their superior prowess in an activity
that is highly valued. They dwell on their re-
sponsiveness, their ability to attain multiple
orgasms, and the fact that they exceed their
husbands in sexual capacity.

Another theme found in the intercourse descrip-
tions portrays intercourse primarily as an
opportunity for intimacy and blending oneself
with a sex partner. Much is said about close-
ness, skin contact, cuddling, and feeling un-
believably united to another human being. The
process of joining with someone is depicted as
comforting and anxiety allaying.

A troubled martyred stance appears in some.

The women in this category see intercourse as
either painful or unpleasant. They picture
themselves as victims of an inability to re-
spond adequately to sexual stimulation. They
dwell on their irritability during intercourse
and their anticipation of ultimate frustration.
One interesting group characterizes sexual
excitement as almost too intense to tolerate.
They refer to their state of sexual arousal

as painfully intense and suggest that they

can barely control the tension that builds

up . . . . Reference is also made to excited
body areas feeling 'sore' and oversensitive.
Sexual excitement seems to be regarded as a
force greater than self, which has potential
overwhelming and disorganizing properties.
There are also those who adopt a no-nonsense
'businesslike' attitude. They describe

46

intercourse as a routine, well-practiced
procedure that provides adequate gratifi-
cation, but which is simply one of a number
of other important like activities. Several
of the women who conveyed this idea indi-
cated that shortly after intercourse they
often resume some household task or work that
needs to be done.

8. Those who experience intercourse as a reaf-
firmation of feminine identity should also
be mentioned. They speak of how 'womanly'
they feel during and after sexual arousal.
They experience sexual arousal as a demon-
stration that a man has accepted them in
the role of 'real' woman (Fisher, 1973, p.
214-215).

The themes were similar in the present study. Al-
though actual frequency counts were not performed, even a
cursory analysis of the data shows that the perception of
the intercourse as an opportunity for intimacy and blend-
ing oneself with a sex partner was the most common theme.
Sex as a force greater than oneself with potential disor-
ganizing properties was the least common description.
However, the range of themes Fisher (1973) found was rep-
resented in the present study. In addition, other themes
were present which were not captured by Fisher's (1973)
descriptions. Several women viewed intercourse as a means
by which they could be taken care of in a tender fashion.
Several other women perceived intercourse as a gift to

their partners.

47

It is important to remember the measure of arousal
used (i.e., orgasm), and the method of deriving fulfill-
ment of interpersonal needs. The results of this study,
cannot be validly compared to studies using other measures.
Orgasm, as Fisher (1973) has demonstrated, is not equiva-
lent to satisfaction with a sexual experience. The inter-
personal gratification scores at times were discrepant
from what would have been expected from the women's state-
ments about whether they liked or disliked their experi-

ences .

Interpersonal Gratification
and Other Variables

 

 

The lack of significant difference of the ages of
the women in the coitus-last orgasmic and non-orgasmic
groups suggests that no biases were introduced by inadver-
tently having the older subjects in the orgasmic group and
the younger ones in the non-orgasmic group. .Kinsey's £3
31. (1953) finding of a correlation of age and decade of
birth with orgasm would have made the interpersonal grati-
fication effect difficult to interpret if the subjects had

been stratified in this manner. The difference in variance

48

of the ages of the orgastic and non-orgastic coitus-last
women seems due to a lack of random sampling.-

The distribution of reported percentage of orgasm
attainment in this sample was bimodal. Only 28.5% of the
women reported experiencing orgasms 25-74% of the time;
whereas, thirty-three percent of the women reported exper-
iencing orgasms 0-24% of the time and 38.3% reported ex-
periencing orgasms 75-100% of the time. Hence 71% of the
subjects were on the upper and lower ends of reported per-
centage of orgasm attainment. Kinsey et_al, (1953) found
that 36% of the married women he sampled reported exper-
iencing orgasm 0-29% of the time during their 1st year of
marriage and 39% reported experiencing orgasm 90-100% of
the time. Though the populations are not strictly compar-
able, the similarity in distributions is apparent,, Orgasms
may be consistently experienced or not, with less variabil-
ity than is usually considered.

The finding that the mean interpersonal gratifica-
tion of orgasmic coitus—last subjects reporting low per-
centages of orgasm attainment (O-24%) was not significantly
different than nonorgasmic coitus-last subjects is inter-

esting.

49

The orgasmic coitus-last women in this range of
orgasm attainment could have relatively low gratification
of interpersonal needs and still experience an orgasm; the
nonorgasmic coitus-last women could have relatively high
gratification of interpersonal needs and not report an
orgasm. Situational interpersonal factors would appear
to make less difference in this low orgasm attainment group.
Unfortunately, the design of this investigation prohibits
evaluating such possible explanation of female hyposexual-
ity as oedipal ties, penis envy, separation anxiety, nega-
tive social learning and hormonal factors. Further re-
search is necessary to clarify the result.

One puzzling result was the dispersion in inter-
personal gratification scores of the women reporting very
high (75-100%) or very low (O-24%) percentages of orgasm
attainment. The variances of the orgasmic and nonorgasmic
coitus-last women were significantly different in these
groups. The women not experiencing orgasms had more ex-
treme scores. No explanation is immediately apparent
which accounts for the significant differences in variance
of bgth the high and low percentage of orgasm attainment

groups.

50

The data on presence or absence of relationships,
types of relationships, and duration of relationships
clearly augments the need to study sexual behavior situa-
tionally. Since adequate interpersonal gratification is
the best predictor of orgasm, assumptions which devalue
the interpersonal gratification possible with “one night
stands'I should be abandoned as well as the assumptions
about the interpersonal fulfillment of women with rela-
tionships of long duration. Gross categorizations of
relationships seems unfruitful.

This investigation only evaluated a subset of the
domain of interactions possible between people. However,
every category of interpersonal needs received some scor-
ings. While more women were concerned with affiliative,
succorant, and nurturant themes, consistent with sex role
learning (Apperson, 1973), to assume that certain needs
(e.g., aggression) do not belong in bed certainly tidies
up analysis of interpersonal interactions but does not
elucidate them. In addition, as$umptions about which in-
terpersonal needs are appropriate in a sexual context
seem unwarranted and moralistic.

The data on number of words used in the coital

descriptions indicates that the interpersonal gratification

51

scores were not subject to biases by orgasmic status. In
particular, the women who were orgasmic did not tend to
write long reports and the inorgasmic women did not tend
to write short ones. In addition, the mean time elapsed
since coitus indicated that biases which were a result of
hazy or accurate recollection due to time were not intro-

duced by orgasmic status.

Methodological Considerations

It can be questioned whether because subjects
volunteered for a study dealing with sexual matters, the
subjects were a biased sample. However, according to
Fisher (1973), Diamant, Martin, Marcuse, and Siegman (1956)
have not found any substantial personality differences be-
tween persons who volunteer for a "sex study" and those
who do not.

The women in this study reported whether or not
theerxperienced an orgasm during their last sexual exper-
ience and their percentages of orgasmic attainment. It is
not known whether or not the women Werelying. The women
could have felt the need to lie for a variety of reasons.
They might have lied to boost their self-esteem if consis-

tently inorgasmic. They may have felt that they were

52

devaluing their interpersonal relationship if they didn't

experience an orgasm and lied to I'prove their love." They
may have been orgasmic and reported being inorgasmic feel-
it immoral to “enjoy" coitus. However, it should be noted
that criticisms of studies on the grounds of subject lying
are appropriate to all sex studies not monitoring subject

reports with electrophysiological recordings.

Some subjects may not have lied, but their records
could have been distorted because of ignorance. They may
not have known what the experience of orgasm feels like
and reported an orgasm while being inorgasmic simply be-
cause of their lack of knowledge. Not knowing what an
orgasm feels like was probably the case for the three
coitus-last subjects who did not report whether or not
they experienced an orgasm. The orgasmic status of two
subjects in the present study is dubious. These women
indicated they experienced an orgasm but wrote comments
about the nature of the experience which casts doubt on
the probability of their having experienced an orgasm.

One of these women wrote, “orgasm equals being elated and
happy because he's the one you're with.“ The other woman

wrote, "I enjoyed it, therefore I assume I had an orgasm."

53

If the present investigation had included a re-
quest of the women to describe what their orgasms felt
like (if they experienced them) the quality of this data
could have been improved. Lying could not have been con-
trolled for, but mistakes due to ignorance about the na-
ture of an orgasm could have been estimated.

This investigation could also have been improved
if the Sexual History Form had been modified. The nature
of the women's sexual experience should have been random-
ized. In other words, rather than starting with kissing
and ending with masturbation, the order of these exper-
iences should have been randomly selected. The women may
have interpreted an order and felt reluctant to mark that
they had experienced what they perceived the investigator
as considering progressively more "loose“ sexual behavior.

The differences in sizes of the groups when the
data was collected may have influenced the candor of the
subjects in unknown ways. Some subjects may have felt
“more anonymous" in a large group and have given the sex-
ual information requested more freely. Other subjects may
have felt more comfortable with less women around them.
The sex of the experimenters administering the forms may

have influenced the subject's responses. Some women might

54

have felt more comfortable with a female experimenter and
others with a male. In addition, there may have been an
interaction of size of the groups tested and sex of the
experimenter. Since no estimate of the candor of the
women was available, these effects cannot be ascertained.
It has been repeatedly pointed out that the mea-
sure of orgasm as one aspect of sexuality is not appropri-
ately generalized to all other aspects of sexuality. In
addition, trait analysis of personality and orgasm has
been shown to be largely unfruitful. However, it should
also be noted that orgasm as a dependent measure simply
assumes a phenotypic identity between individuals. No
investigations have found a genotypic identity of orgasm.
The factors leading up to the same result (i.e., orgasm)
may be entirely different for individuals (e.g., genetic,

physiological, psychological).

Directions for Future Research

More research needs to be done on the validity of
the measure used in this study. Research should also be
done on different samples of subjects, particularly sub-
jects married, older, and of different socioeconomic

statuses and educational levels.

55

The consistency of interpersonal needs from sexual
experience to sexual experience would also be interesting
to ascertain as well as the relationship, if any, between
personality traits of women and their interpersonal needs
expressed in coital relationships.

Additionally, the measure of interpersonal grati-
fication used here could be fruitfully related to other
measures of sexual behavior such as degree of strength of
orgasm, satisfaction with coital experiences, frequency
of coitus, etc.

Of particular interest would be a situational
approach to the relationship between the fulfillment of
interpersonal needs of men and measures of their sexual
behavior (e.g., erection, orgasm, premature ejaculation).
Also the type of interpersonal needs salient for men dur-
ing any particular coital experience would be useful to

establish for comparison with women.

Speculative Theory of
Female Sexual BehaVior

 

 

Drawing many concepts from a psychodynamic approach
a model concerning female sexual functioning is developed

here. The model is highly speculative and syncretic. It

56

is presented, not because it explains the data in the pres-
ent study in an empirical sense, but as a model with hypo-
theses to be used in further testing.

Freud laid the groundwork for combining interper-
sonal and sexual behavior. He recognized "that human sexu-
ality is by no means limited to the impulses and actions
that lead more or less directly to sexual intercourse
(Fenichel, 1945, p. 55).“ In addition, Freud explained
many phenomena as sexual which had not previously been
recognized as having any connection with sexuality.

Early in his theorizing Freud postulated the “ego
instincts" and sexual instincts. The "ego instincts" were
countersexual forces such as anxiety, guilt feelings, and
ethical ideals of the personality which served the purpose
of preserving the individual. Later, Freud viewed the
repressing and repressed (the ego and id) as having evolved
from the same source-~the‘sexual instincts. Freud felt
that the sexual instincts had to be tamed in order for
society to develop. He postulated that sexual needs, in-
stead of uniting men, separated them.

The instincts were viewed as "a borderline concept
between the mental and physical; "phenomena of instincts

can be considered from the physical aspect by examining

57

the source of the instinct, or they can be considered from
the mental aspect by examining the drive and the resultant
psychological phenomena (Fenichel, 1945, p. 54)." He
recognized that affects can effect bodily changes (e.g.,
affect equivalence, conversion symptoms). He posthlated
that, in general, “excitement and satisfaction are pheno-
mena that express themselves in a physical way (Fenichel,
1945, p. 216)."

It is proposed that any particular coital experi-
ence reflects an individual's physiological and emotional
state at that time. There may or may not be consistency
in these states from one coital experience-to another.
The physiological basis of coital behavior-is presumed to
be mediated by hormones, particularly androgen (Whalen,
1966; Money, 1961; Waxenberg gt+31,, 1959; Foss, 1951;
Salmon and Geist, 1943; Carter gt_al., 1947).

Following Whalen (1966), arousal is distinguished
from arousabilityt

The former refers to the momentary level of sex-
ual excitation of an individual,.maximal arousal
characterized by the occurrence of orgasm.

Arousability is the characteristic rate of
approach to orgasm as a result of sexual stimu-
lation of an individual. Arousability is de-
termined not only by the amount-of increment

in arousal produced by sexual stimuli, but also

58
by the absolute number of erotic stimuli which
simultaneously arouse the individual (p. 84).

Hormones are hypothesized to affect arousability
by altering the threshold for responsiveness to erotic
stimuli. According to Whalen (1966), current data does
not allow precise formulation of physiological relation-
ships between hormones and arousability.- However, he
hypothesizes:

hormones act centrally be determining the
amount of change in arousal produced by a
given stimulus, and act peripherally by de-
termining the amount of-receptor response
to a stimulus, and/or.the.rate of adapta-
tion of the receptor (in Barnhardt and Lie-
berman, 1971, p. 84).

It is this author's premise.that sexual.stimu1a-
tion is physical stimulation, occurring within the context
of what the individual perceives (unconsciously, precon-
sciously, or consciously) to be.a sexual situation, which
satisfies interpersonal needs. Stimulation may be of one
or more of the tactile, auditory, and visual receptors.
In this view, both physical stimulation of erogenous zones
and fulfillment of interpersonal needs is postulated to
have arousing physiological effects, similar to Freud's

view of the changes which can be effected by "mental phe-

nomena." This interpersonal "stimulation" is considered

59

usually insufficient for maximal arousal, physical stimu-
lation also being considered necessary. Physical stimu-
lation is deemed intrinsically rewarding.

If it is assumed that fulfillment of interpersonal
needs is intrinsically rewarding, similar to physical stim-
ulation, a difficulty is encountered.: Stated baldly, why
aren't people continually aroused in-their interpersonal
interactions? One could speculate that they are and are
not attending to it. This arousal would be similar to
that derived from tactile stimulation occurring outside
the context of a sexual situation.. For instance, in this
braless age, soft blouses.rubbing.against nipples may
elicit nipple erection, but few women automatically rush
off to copulate when this occurs.. However,aimore feasible
approach is the postulation of ego mediation and a taming
of the sexual instincts, as Freud suggested. The major
mode of this taming of sexual instincts is postulated to
be ego defenses which ward off drive; the situations in
which the appropriateness of sexual activities are learned
is postulated to derive from the individual's developmental
learning background.

This model assumes that individuals vary in their

arousability. However, a certain amount-of physical and

6O

interpersonal stimulation is necessary for maximal arousal
(i.e., orgasm). It is also assumed that not all interper-
sonal needs are consciously or preconsciously perceived.
Therefore, women will perceive the fulfillment or lack of
fulfillment of interpersonal needs solely in terms of the
needs they are aware of. A.woman’5 perception of her
partner is therefore neither strictly dependent on her
partner's personality characteristics in his interaction
with her, or on the "objective“ interaction between them.

Because of the above assumption, a woman may have
had certain interpersonal needs met which were outside of
her awareness, had an orgasm, and dislike her partner be-
cause he did not fulfill consciously perceived interper-
sonal needs. An example is the wifeeof an alcoholic. She
may perceive that her husband is not nurturant or caring
with her and be dissatisfied with him, but at the same
time, get sufficient gratification in her need to be dom-
inant or behave in a punitively aggressive fashion, berat-
ing him for his drunken, nonnurturant~behavior, to have an
orgasm.

Likewise, a woman not having an-orgasm because of
insufficient fulfillment of unconscious needs, may perceive

that her partner has satisfied all the interpersonal needs

61

she is aware of. For instance, a woman who consciously
desires a relationship with strong affiliative, equali-
tarian features may unconsciously need a relationship
which satisfies strong passive dependent.strivings or'
may wish to be dominated.

Interpersonal needs.are assumed to derive from a
woman's developmental background. The needs a woman is
aware of are dependent upon her defensive and character-
olotical structure. It should be stressed that in this
model all women have needs or drives the preferred aims
and objects of which they are-not aware of because aware-
ness would promote too much anxiety.. Itris also assumed
that the interpersonal needs salient for an individual may
vary from sexual situation to sexual situation.

Interpersonal needs are postulated to be expressed
and fulfilled in both direct and indirect ways. In partic-
ular, identical forms of techniques of foreplay may symbo-
lize for women a variety of interpersonal needs, and the
same forms of stimulation may vary in terms of their sym-
bolic interpersonal significance from sexual experience
to sexual experience for an individual woman.

The emotional and physical state of the indiVTHual

upon which both physical and interpersonal stimulation

62

operate, is assumed to be mediated by anxiety or lack of
anxiety about sexual behavior, and anxiety or lack of
anxiety about the expression of interpersonal needs, both
of which are presumed to be learned within the context of
the individual's cultural mileu. -According to Masters and
Johnson (1966), "Anxiety inhibits sexual arousability in
that it involves the sympathetic branch of the autonomic
nervous system, whereas, sexual arousal involves the para-
sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system before
orgasm, and the sympathetic branch only later (in Paul,
1973, p. 2)." If anxiety occurs, it is assumed that de-
fenses Operate in the service of reducing that anxiety,
and that these defenSes may or may not be effective. The
standard Freudian defenses: repression, projection, reac-
tion formation, negation, iSolation, undoing, reversal,
regression, and sublimation (Mahl, 1971) are those de-
fenses are those defenses assumed to operate in the con-

trol of anxiety.

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Chesser, Eustace. The sexual, marital and-family relation-
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Cooper, A. J. Some personality factors-in frigidity.
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Coppen, A. The prevalence of menstrual disorders in psy-
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APPENDICES

APPENDIX A

(Sexual description form)

In the space below please describe your last sexual exper-
ience. Please include your thoughts and feelings about
this experience. Was intercourse involved (yes/no). Was
this experience with a male or female. Approximate time
elapsed since the experience you are describing ( ).
Your partner's initials . Did you experience

an orgasm (yes/no).

67

(sexual history form)
Age

Are you married (yes/no). If yes, how long have you been
married . What are your husbands initials

 

 

Are you currently unmarried but living with someone (yes/
no). If yes, how long have you been living together

00 you plan to be married (yes/no). If
yes, do you have a date of marriage tentatively planned
(yes/no). When . Your partner's initials

 

 

Do you currently have a "steady" boyfriend (yes/no). If
yes, how long have you been involved with each other

00 you plan to be married (yes/no). If yes,
do you have a tentative date of marriage planned (yes/no).
When . Your partner's initials

 

 

 

Are you involved in a relationship that has not been de-

scribed above (yes/no). If yes, please briefly describe
it:

Check which of the following you have experienced:

A. kissing

8. being stimulated on the breast by someone else
(without clothing)

C. being stimulated around and in your vagina manu-
ally by someone else (without clothing)

0. oral stimulation of your vagina

E intercourse (penetration of vagina by penis)

F. masturbation

Did you experience orgasm during any of the activities
(yes/no). If yes, which: A B C D E F

If you have been engaging in intercourse, how long would
you estimate you have been so doing . How many

 

68

69

partners in intercourse would you estimate you've had

How many times per month would you estimate
you have intercourse now . If you have ex—
perienced orgasm during intercourse, what percentage of
the time would you estimate you have orgasm during inter-
course now . Do you use contraceptives (yes/
no). If yes, what kind?

 

 

APPENDIX B

(definitions of interpersonal needs)

Succorance

To have others provide help when in trouble, to seek
encouragement from others, to have others be kindly, to
have others by sympathetic and understanding about per-
sonal problems, to receive a great deal of affection from
others, to have others do favors cheerfully, to be helped
by others when depressed, to have others feel sorry when
one is sick or hurt; to solicit sympathy, affection, or
emotional support from others.

Aggression

To engage in behaviors which attack or hurt others;
to tell others off when disagreeing with them, to get re-
venge for insults, to become angry, to blame others when
things go wrong.

Dominance

To argue for one's point of view, to be regarded by
others as a leader, to make decisions, to persuade and
influence others to do what one wants, to supervise and
direct the actions of others, to be influential and con-
trolling in individual relationships.

Achievement

To do one's best, to be successful, to accomplish tasks
requiring skill and effort, to be a recognized authority,
to do a difficult job well, to solve difficult problems and
puzzles, to be able to do things better than others.

Nurturance

To engage in behaviors which extend material or emo-
tional benefits to others; to help friends when they are

70

71

in trouble, to treat others with kindness and sympathy, to
forgive others, to do small favors for others, to be gen-

erous with others, to sympathize with others who are hurt

or sick, to show a great deal of affection toward others,

to have others confide in one about personal problems.

Affiliation-Intimacy

To be loyal to friends, to do things for friends, to
share things with friends, to do things with another per—
son rather than alone, to form strong attachments.

Exhibition

To behave in such a way as to elicit the immediate
attention of others; to talk about personal adventures
and experiences, to have others notice and comment upon
one's appearance, to be the center of attention.

Deference

To seek and sustain subordinate roles in relationship
with others; to get suggestions from others, to find out
what others think, to follow instructions and do what is
expected, to praise others, to tell others that they have
done a good job, to accept leadership by others, to con-
form to custom and avoid the unconventional, to let others
make decisions.

From Apperson (1973), p. 136-137.

APPENDIX C

Scoring Instructions

 

Divide the protocol into meaningful phrases. Compare
each phrase of the subject's protocol to the sentences in
the scale. If any of the sentences in the scale are equi-
valent to what the subject is saying in her phrase, write
above the phrase the category name, and the sentence num-
ber which is matched. For instance, if the subject says,
“I told Joe all my thoughts and feelings," write above the
sentence Aff la.

Context in the protocol is utilized. For example, if
the subjects say, "It was good," find out what "it" refers
to from the context of her record and score if appropriate.
If the subject is speaking about a general situation or a
generalized other, score that phrase as if the subject
were speaking about herself. If the subject uses serial
adjectives, nouns, or verbs with the same theme, score
each adjective, noun or verb. For instance, if the sub-
ject says, "he made me feel wanted, needed, important,
whole," write above the subject's sentence Suc 4a x 4.
Score each phrase for one and only one category, except

the examples provided under "conventions of scoring."

72

73

Conventions of scoring

1.

The distinction between Nur 7a and Aff 23 and 6a is
that Nur 7a is used when intercourse is a gift to the
subject's partner.

Score, "We plan to be married," and "We are going
steady," Aff 6a. However, ganlt score, "My fiance
and I," or ”My steady and I." The latter are usually
used in place of the subjects partner's name.

Score, "I feel sex is okay if you love each other,"
Aff 6a.

00 not score talking or doing activities together
(e.g., taking a shower, lying together) unless the
interpersonal needs involved are clear and strong.
Score context sparingly. For example, if no inter-
personal needs were scored throughout the subject's
protocol, and then the subject says, "It was beauti-
ful," at the end, "It was beautiful," might be

scored depending on the context, but you should 333
then score other phrases not previously scored.
Score, "I love him and he loves me," Aff 6a and Sue
2a. Score "We love each other," Aff 6a.

Don't usually score sexual techniques, unless it's

very, very clear what those techniques mean to the

74

subject interpersonally.

8. Score, "We both like trying to please each other,"

Suc 3a and Nur 2a.

"A" sentences are equal to +1 and indicate satisfac-
tion of a particular need. "B" sentences are equal to -l
and contain both unfulfilled needs (e.g., I didn't feel
taken care of by my partner) and negated needs (e.g., I
don't like talking about my sexual experiences). The
assumption is that a negated need is unacceptable to the
subject and was not fulfilled in the experience the sub-
ject is describing.

Algebraically sum the interpersonal needs. Count the
number of words and divide into the summed needs. In this
corrected total, a negative overall score indicates that
the subject's interpersonal needs were unfulfilled. A
positive score indicates that, overall, the subject's
interpersonal needs were fulfilled. The corrected total
is a correction in order that the magnitude of the sub-
ject's score is not simply a function of brevity or length

of her record.

Interpersonal Gratification Scale

AFFILIATION
l. a. I shared my feelings and thoughts with my sexual
partner.
b. I didn't share my feelings and thoughts with my
partner.
2. a. I wanted sexual relations because I was experienc-
ing warm and friendly feelings toward my partner.
b. I wanted sexual relations, but not because I was
experiencing warm and friendly feelings toward my
partner.
3. a. We shared an (intense), intimate experience
through our sexual relations.
b. We didn't share an (intense), intimate experience
through our sexual relations.
4. a. I am loyal to my partner.
b. I am not loyal to my partner.
5. a. I prefer intercourse to masturbation as an outlet
for my sexual tensions.
b. I prefer masturbation to intercourse as an outlet
for my sexual tensions.
6. a. I feel a strong emotional attachment for my sexual

partner.
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6. I don't feel a strong emotional attachment for my
sexual partner.

7. We share (many) other activities and this lessens
my enjoyment of our sexual activities.

DEFERENCE

l. I went along with my partner's desire for sex
though I was not (originally) in the mood for it.
I couldn't go along with my partner's desire for
sex because I was not in the mood for it.

2. He initiated the sexual relations.
I wanted him to initiate the sexual relations in-
stead of me.

3. I like following his lead in sexual relations.
I wanted to follow his lead in sexual relations
but couldn't.

4. My main interest was in pleasing him.
I couldn't please him.

5. I like to have sex the conventional way.
I don't like sex when it's in the conventional way.

6. I like following the guidelines for sexual tech-

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nique.

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6 b. I don't like following guidelines for sexual
technique.

7. a I feel he is superior to me in (many) ways.

b. I don't feel he is superior to me.

AGGRESSION

1. a. I felt a close link between sex and aggressive
feelings.

b. I don't feel sexual when I am angry.

2. a I got even with my partner for insulting or hurt-
ing me by either refusing sex when he wanted to
or pushing sexual relations on him when he didn't
want to.

b. I didn't get even with my partner by pushing sex
on him or refusing to have sex with him even
though he had hurt and/or insulted me.

3. a Things went wrong. It was his fault.

b. Things went wrong. It was not his fault.

4. a I felt sexually aroused when I was angry.

b. I don't feel sexual when I am angry (l b).

5. a I had fantasies of attacking or hurting him.

b. I didn't have fantasies of attacking or hurting

him.

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My aggressive urges were expressed in a satisfying
way through our sexual relations.

My aggressive urges were unsatisfied in our sexual
relations.

We tusseled around, kind of fighting each other in
our sexual relations.

He didn't want to “play fight" with me.

NURTURANCE

l.

I showed him a great deal of affection.

I couldn't show him much affection.

I helped him feel cared for.

I couldn't help him feel cared for.

I did small favors for him.

I didn't do any small favors for him.

I helped him feel at ease in our sexual relations.
I couldn't help him feel at ease in our sexual
relations.

My partner was feeling down. I comforted him.
My partner was feeling down. I couldn't comfort
him.

He confided in me and told me his troubles.

He doesn't confide in me or tell me his troubles.

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7. a. I tried to fulfill his needs (in every way I
could).
b. I couldn't/didn't fulfill his needs.
DOMINANCE
l. a. I experienced a feeling of power in possessing my
partner sexually.
b. I felt powerless in my sexual relations with my
partner.
2. a. Our sexual relations involve a pleasurable element
of a "contest of wills."
b. The pleasurable element of a "contest of wills'I
was lacking in our sexual relations.
3. a. Our sexual relations are a contest in which there
is a winner and a loser.
b. I feel lost in the "contest" of our sexual rela-
tions.
4. a. I felt in charge of directing my sexual interaction
With my partner.
b. I wanted to direct my sexual interaction with my
partner but didn't.
5. a. I took the lead in initiating sexual relations.
b. I wanted to lead in initiating sexual relations

but he did.

8O

6. a. I persuaded him to go to bed with me.
b. I wanted to persuade him to go to bed but he per-
suaded me.
7. a. We had sexual relations because I wanted to have
them.
b. We didn't have sexual relations though I wanted
to very badly.
SUCCORANCE
1. a. I felt secure in the close contact of our (sexual)
relations.
b. I didn't feel secure in our (sexual) relations.
2. a. My partner showed a great deal of affection toward
me.
b. My partner didn't show much affection toward me.
3. a. I felt taken care of by my partner.
b. I didn't feel taken care of by my partner.
4. a. My partner was sympathetic and understanding
toward me.
b. My partner did not understand or feel sympathetic
toward me.
5. a. My partner does (little) things just to please me.
b. My partner doesn't do the little things I need to

please me.

6. a I like the warm comfortable feeling of being in
my partner's arms.
b. My partner didn't want to hold me in his arms.
7. a My partner is someone I can count on in rough
times.
b. I can't count on my partner during times of
trouble.
EXHIBITION
l. a. I like him looking at my body.
b. I didn't want him looking at my body.
2. a He noticed and commented upon my appearance.
b. He didn't notice or comment upon my appearance.
3. a I like talking about my sexual encounters and
experiences.
b. I don't like talking about my encounters or
experiences.
4. a I am the center of attention with my partner.
b. I am not the center of attention with my partner.
5. a I felt sexy and sophisticated.
b. I didn't feel sexy or sophisticated.
6. a I undressed before him.

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I didn't want to undress before him.
1

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7. a. During sexual relations I am aware of the way I
look and sound.
b. I don't want to think about the way I look and
sound.
ACHIEVEMENT
l. a. I feel I am a very good lover.
b. I don't feel I am a good lover.
2. a. I like to puzzle out or anticipate what will be
most successful with my partner.
b. I am not very good in figuring out what will be
successful with my partner.
3. a. I think I know a lot about sex.
b. I don't know very much about sex.
4. a. I feel I performed well sexually.
b. I don't feel I performed well sexually.
5. a. I feel I am more able to be a skillful sex partner
than other people.
b. I don't feel I am more able to be a skillful lover
than other people.‘
6. a. I feel I have the skill and make the effort for
successful lovemaking.
b. I don't feel I have the skill or make enough effort

for successful lovemaking.

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