A state of arousal leads to activation of the autonomic nervous system that is characterized by changes in skin conductance rate, blood pressure, breathing rate, and pupil dilation (Zuckerman, 1971). Over the next decade, researchers began to investigate an array of mental activities linked to pupil size changes, including memory load (Kahneman & Beatty, 1966), and general arousal activation (Hess & Polt, 1960 Nunnally et al., 1967).įluctuations in pupil size are controlled by the autonomic nervous system and are a result of dynamic shifts between sympathetic (results in dilation) and parasympathetic (results in constriction) activation (McDougal & Gamlin, 2008 Zuckerman, 1971). With this approach, it became possible to conduct experimental investigations into the physiological and psychological factors underlying pupillary responses (Loewenfeld, 1958 Löwenstein & Loewenfeld, 1962). They developed the first technological method for measuring pupils, the electronic pupillograph, which captured motion pictures of the pupil and recorded their fluctuating movements (Löwenstein & Loewenfeld, 1958). In the twentieth century, a number of incidental observations of pupils responding to factors other than light, including interest and arousal, led to the pivotal research of Löwenstein and Loewenfeld. This is termed “the pupillary light reflex” and is responsible for an increase in pupil size (dilation) when the visual environment is darker and a decrease in pupil size (constriction) in brighter settings (Ellis, 1981). The fact that the pupil of the human eye responds to changes in brightness levels within our visual environment is well known to most people. However, the results suggest that pupillary measurement of sexual interest is promising for men and that standardization is essential to gain a better understanding of the validity of this measurement technique for sexual interest. These meta-analyses are based on a limited number of studies and are therefore preliminary. Three methodological moderators were identified-the sexual explicitness of stimulus materials, the measurement technique of pupillary response, and inclusion of self-report measures of sexual interest. Finally, lesbian women displayed greater pupil dilation to male stimuli. Although heterosexual women exhibited larger pupils to male stimuli compared to female stimuli, the magnitude of the effect was small and non-significant. Bisexual men showed greater pupil dilation to male stimuli. Only heterosexual and gay men demonstrated discrimination in pupillary responses that was clearly in line with their sexual orientation, with greater pupil dilation to female and male stimuli, respectively. In the final analysis, 15 studies were included for heterosexual men ( N = 550), 5 studies for gay men ( N = 65), 4 studies for bisexual men ( N = 124), 13 studies for heterosexual women ( N = 403), and 3 studies for lesbian women ( N = 132). Separate meta-analyses were performed for six sexual orientation categories. We carried out a meta-analytic review of studies published between 19 ( Mdn year = 2016) measuring pupil responses to visual stimuli of adult men and women to assess sexual interest. There has been a resurgence in research examining pupil dilation as a potential index of sexual orientation. Objective measures of sexual interest are important for research on human sexuality.
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