Scientific Design – Sexual Intercourse and Public Speaking Study

 Introduction. In the article by Stuart Brody (2006), the researchers showed that
those who recently engaged in penile-vaginal intercourse (PVI). However, this study
merely showed correlation between sexual behavior and blood pressure in a
stressful environment. While the researchers controlled for several outside factors,
they did not establish causality between the two variables. If an experimental study
were to be designed, the results would likely support this previous research, but
different findings may surface.
 Methods. To determine causality, participants will be selected at random from an
online sample and will be paid $20 each for their participation. They will then be
randomly assigned a condition (independent variable): no sexual activity,
masturbation, partnered masturbation, or PVI. Each condition requires that the
subject engages in the assigned behavior, and none of the other behaviors. One
week later, subjects will return to the lab and undergo a Trier Social Stress Test
(Kirschbaum et al. 1993). Blood pressure is the dependent variable used to
determine stress level. After finishing the test, the subjects will fill a survey
confirming whether they adhered to their assigned condition. Blood pressure levels
before, during, and after the stress test will be compared between conditions.
 Discussion. From this study, we can infer the effects of various types of sexual
activity on stress levels. There may be some difficulty in finding random participants
study due to the unusual and restrictive conditions required. Furthermore, due to the
nature of the study, subjects cannot be blind to the condition they are assigned.
Experimenters should be made blind to the subjects’ condition during the social
stress test to not affect their treatment of the subject (even subconsciously). The
survey confirming whether the subject adhered to their conditions should also
include other questions regarding the behaviors they engaged in during the study
period so that researchers may control for more variables that may affect stress
level. With more trials and more subjects, the researchers will be more likely to
collect enough data to compare groups while controlling for different factors.
339 words
Viktor Lillard

2/12/2019

Psych 2367 – Jake Teeny

Project 2