Pornography: An Experimental Study of Effects
CLIFFORD B. REIFLER M.D., M.P.H.1,
JAMES HOWARD PH.D.,
MORRIS A. LIPTON PH.D., M.D.,
MYRON B. LIPTZIN M.D., , and
DONALD E. WIDMANN M.D.
1 Professor of Health Services, Psychiatry, and Preventive Medicine, University of Rochester, Rochester, N.Y. 14620
The authors studied the effect of repeated exposure to pornographic material on young men. The 23 experimental subjects spent 90 minutes a day for three weeks viewing pornographic films and reading pornographic materials. Before-and-after measurements on these subjects and a control group of nine men included penile circumference changes and acid phosphatase activity in response to pornographic films. The data support the hypothesis that repeated exposure to pornography results in decreased interest in it and responsiveness to it. A variety of psychological tests and scales discerned no lasting effects on the subjects' feelings or behavior other than feeling bored by pornography, both immediately following the study and eight weeks later.
