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The Masters and Johnson research team, composed of William H. Masters, a gynecologist, and Virginia E. Johnson,a psychologist, pioneered research into the nature of human sexual response and the diagnosis and treatment of sexual disorders and dysfunctions from 1957 until the 1990s.[1][2] They are also the focus of a new television project called "Masters of Sex"[3] being developed for Showtime based on the 2009 biography by author Thomas Maier.[3] The Showtime pilot was shot in March 2012 in New York City and stars actors Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan. [4] The work of Masters and Johnson began in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Washington University in St. Louis and was continued at the independent not-for-profit research institution they founded in St. Louis in 1964, originally called the Reproductive Biology Research Foundation and renamed the Masters & Johnson Institute in 1978. In the initial phase of Masters and Johnson's studies, from 1957 until 1965, they recorded some of the first laboratory data on the anatomy and physiology of human sexual response based on direct observation of 382 women and 312 men in what they conservatively estimated to be "10,000 complete cycles of sexual response." Their findings, particularly on the nature of female sexual arousal (for example, describing the mechanisms of vaginal lubrication and debunking the earlier widely-held notion that vaginal lubrication originated from the cervix) and orgasm (showing that the physiology of orgasmic response was identical whether stimulation was clitoral or vaginal, and proving that some women were capable of being multiorgasmic), dispelled many long standing misconceptions.[2][5]

Masters and Johnson

<Masters and Johnson both came from unstable relationship histories. Masters goal to dive into the sexual field of psychology started at Washington University in St. Louis doing research on fertility treatment. Johnson had no real educational value until later in her life. Johnson aspired to be a singer, and top of that her many unsuccessful marriages made her entrance into the world of sexual psychology easier. She first started off as Masters’ secretary. It had never occurred to Masters that women could actually fake orgasms until it was brought up by one of his patients. When this happened, thus spawned the relationship between Masters and Johnson because he needed a female investigator. Johnson’s abilities to communicate with women while having regards to the sensitivity of the subject, was a major part in the successes of their research. Johnson was a single mother of two before her relationship with Masters began. Their relationship admittedly was based on sexual research. Johnson has claimed that there was no real romance or attraction between her and Masters and that it was purely for the success of research. Financial security was the most important thing on Johnson’s mind and the recognition came with it later. To fast forward, Master and Johnson observed over 700 men and women engaging in sexual activity that included 10,000 episodes. However, due to the controversial sensitivity of the topic their work was not published until 1966. They were known as the “scientific peeping toms”. >

They jointly wrote two classic texts in the field, Human Sexual Response and Human Sexual Inadequacy, published in 1966 and 1970 respectively. Both of these books were best-sellers and were translated into more than thirty languages. The team have been inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame. Contents [hide] 1 Research work 2 Four stage model of the sexual response 3 Sexual response in the aging person 4 Impotence 5 Laboratory comparison of homosexual male versus female sex 6 Sexual dysfunction 7 Treatment of homosexual behavior 8 Criticisms 9 Publications 10 References 11 External links [edit]Research work

Masters and Johnson met in 1957 when William Masters hired Virginia Johnson as a research assistant to undertake a comprehensive study of human sexuality. (Masters divorced his first wife to marry Johnson in 1971.[6] They divorced in 1992.) Previously, the study of human sexuality (sexology) had been a largely neglected area of study due to the restrictive social conventions of the time, with one notable exception. Alfred Kinsey and his colleagues at Indiana University had previously published two volumes on sexual behavior in the human male and female in 1948 and 1953, respectively (known as the Kinsey Reports), both of which had been revolutionary and controversial in their time. Kinsey's work however, had mainly investigated the frequency with which certain behaviors occurred in the population and was based on personal interviews, not on laboratory observation. In contrast, Masters and Johnson set about to study the structure, psychology and physiology of sexual behaviour, through observing and measuring masturbation and sexual intercourse in the laboratory. As well as recording some of the first physiological data from the human body and sex organs during sexual excitation, they also framed their findings and conclusions in language that espoused sex as a healthy and natural activity that could be enjoyed as a source of pleasure and intimacy. The era in which their research was conducted permitted the use of methods that have not been attempted before or since: "[M]en and women were designated as 'assigned partners' and arbitrarily paired with each other to create 'assigned couples'."[7] [edit]Four stage model of the sexual response

One of the most enduring and important aspects of their work has been the four stage model of sexual response, which they described as the human sexual response cycle.[2][5] They defined the four stages of this cycle as: Excitement phase (initial arousal) Plateau phase (at full arousal, but not yet at orgasm) Orgasm Resolution phase (after orgasm) This model shows no difference between Sigmund Freud's purported categories of "vaginal orgasm" and "clitoral orgasm": the physiologic response was identical, even if the stimulation was in a different place.[2][5] Masters and Johnson's findings also revealed that men undergo a refractory period following orgasm during which they are not able to ejaculate again, whereas there is no refractory period in women: this makes women capable of multiple orgasm.[2][5] They also were the first to describe the phenomenon of the rhythmic contractions of orgasm in both sexes occurring initially in 0.8 second intervals and then gradually slowing in both speed and intensity. [edit]Sexual response in the aging person

Impotence

<Impotence is the inability of a male to obtain erection during sex often called Human Sexual Inadequacy. It is claimed that 90% of impotence starts from the psychological viewpoint. It is common for men of older ages to have this and is due to emotional issues as oppose to the common pre-disposition of men's biology. It is been evaluated that 50% of men phase through impotence in their elder years of life. Impotence is the main reason why men sometimes completely give up on and withdraw from sex. This creates frustration and embarrassment in the male and inevitable leads to social problems amongst the dynamics of a relationship.

Impotence reaches as far back as the emperor of China looking for a elusive cure to maintain libido during sex. It was early as Da Vinci, who discovered the fact the anatomy of the penis was induced by blood flow to the penis. The reaction occurs by the contraction of ischiocaernosus and the bulbocavernosus muscles. The venous occlusion theory was also assumed. In this experiment 16 dogs’s bulbo cavernous and ischiocavernous muscles were tightened which lasted up to 6 months. The experimenter would then transitions other female dogs in heat, while not letting them being touched. This was an example of conditioning the dog’s libido.

Further complication arise in the fear of men's incapability to communicate about their problems. Masters and Johnson had great succes in treating patients of impotence when the results spawned from performance anxiety and the failure of intimacy. Impotence is also connected with the process of pre-mature ejaculation. Masters and Johnson were able to formulate from their studies that subjects often had a fear of ejaculating too soon as to not satisfy their partner. There was a strange correlation between middle class men and working class men. Middle class men, in general, had greater fear of pre-mature ejaculation, which then resulted in this. Working class men were not as concerned with the satisfaction of their partner. As had Kinsey before them, Masters and Johnson confirmed the near universality of masturbation in their subjects

There is a cognitive approach behind the aid of impotence. This is known as cognitive dissonance, which is irregular cognitions can develop a feeling of discomfort which makes a person lessen that feeling by returning stability to the cognitive system. In order to do this, it may take the ability to add or subtract cognitions. When a person has a concentrated belief especially one with a strong emotional attachment that is linked to important values, then the information threatening that feeling creates disorder in the cognitive system. This then brings the fear and emotional state of impotence. Cognition and belief information are the majorities of this research. While adding such a cognition to the system should indeed reduce the dissonance caused by the aura of the belief threatening information, it also may have consequences throughout the entire cognitive system. The process of reducing cognitive dissonance is also known as a rationalizing process. This process is based on whether or not it would depend on the degree to which it produces a coherent, internally consistent resolution that allows the individual to view himself or herself as an intelligent which means the person not be hypocritical.>

Premature Ejaculation

<After Masters and Johnson had pioneered a successful treatment for premature ejaculation in the form of the so-called squeeze technique, which was in fact in itself an adaptation of an earlier technique called the stop-start technique published by Dr J Semans in 1956, it was widely assumed that premature ejaculation was the result of men learning to ejaculate quickly because their initial attempts at masturbation or intercourse had to be hurried or lacked privacy.>>

<It was suggested by Masters and Johnson that premature ejaculation can be a learned behavior. It is not safe to assume that the squeeze technique can work, simply because no one knows if it can work. It really depends on the goal of the man trying to implement this technique, which furthermore dismisses the theory that premature ejaculation is a learned behavior. Doctors suggest an alternate method mixed with psychotherapy and sensate focus, that is used in a program specifically designed to awaken a man to the atmospheres of his body which can lead to greater awareness and control over the ability to tame one’s self of premature ejaculation. It’s completely ironic to think that psychotherapy would aid in a man’s ability to control his ejaculation. >

The Squeeze Technique

<Masters and Johnson also explored the inability of many women not being able to reach orgasm during intercourse. It was a suggested amount of 50-60% of women did not possess the ability to achieve orgasm during sexual intercourse. The three things that Masters and Johnson boiled this down to were, low-self esteem, distrust, and poor communication between partners. Masters and Johnson decided to define primary orgasmic disorder as a sexual disorder. It is said that this is characterized as a severe sexual disorder and is looked upon as a long-term problem. Before Masters and Johnson introduced this disorder, it was notion that women could easily achieve orgasm through masturbation because anxiety is at a low risk of possibility with the partner. Having established this as sexual disorder, it became apparent that women may have the necessity of treatment. >

Sexual Response

Masters and Johnson were the first to conduct research on the sexual responsiveness of older adults, finding that given a state of reasonably good health and the availability of an interested and interesting partner, there was no absolute age at which sexual abilities disappeared. While they noted that there were specific changes to the patterns of male and female sexual responses with aging – for example, it takes older men longer to become aroused and they typically require more direct genital stimulation, and the speed and amount of vaginal lubrication tends to diminish with age as well – they noted that many older men and women are perfectly capable of excitement and orgasm well into their seventies and beyond, a finding that has been confirmed in population based epidemiological research on sexual function in the elderly.[8] [edit]Laboratory comparison of homosexual male versus female sex

Masters and Johnson randomly assigned gay men into couples and lesbians into couples and then observed them having sex in the laboratory, at the Masters and Johnson Institute. They provided their observations in Homosexuality in Perspective: Assigned male homosexual study subjects A, B, and C..., interacting in the laboratory with previously unknown male partners, did discuss procedural matters with these partners, but quite briefly. Usually, the discussion consisted of just a question or a suggestion, but often it was limited to nonverbal communicative expressions such as eye contact or hand movement, any of which usually proved sufficient to establish the protocol of partner interaction. No coaching or suggestions were made by the research team. —p. 55 According to Masters and Johnson, this pattern differed in the lesbian couples: While initial stimulative activity tended to be on a mutual basis, in short order control of the specific sexual experience usually was assumed by one partner. The assumption of control was established without verbal communication and frequently with no obvious nonverbal direction, although on one occasion discussion as to procedural strategy continued even as the couple was interacting physically. —p. 55 [edit]Sexual dysfunction

Their research into the anatomy and physiology of sexual response was a springboard to developing a clinical approach to the treatment of sexual problems in a revolutionary manner. Prior to 1970, when they described their treatment program to the world for the first time, sexual dysfunctions such as premature ejaculation, impotence, vaginismus, and female frigidity had been generally treated by long-term (multi-year) psychotherapy or psychoanalysis with very low rates of success. Masters and Johnson revolutionized things by devising a form of rapid treatment (2 week) psychotherapy always involving a couple, rather than just an individual, working with a male-female therapist team that resulted in a success rate of more than 80%. This was strictly a talking therapy – couples in their sex therapy program were never observed in sexual activity. [edit]Treatment of homosexual behavior

See also: Conversion therapy From 1968 to 1977, the Masters and Johnson Institute ran a program to convert or revert homosexuals to heterosexuality. This program reported a 71.6% success rate over a six-year treatment period.[9][10] At the time of their earlier work, homosexuality was classified as a psychological disorder by the American Psychiatric Association,[11] a classification which was repealed in 1973. In April 2009, Thomas Maier reported, in his biography Masters of Sex (Basic Books) and in Scientific American, "that Virginia Johnson had serious reservations about the program, and she suspected that, at worst, the results of the study may have been fabricated by William Masters".[3][12] [edit]Criticisms

Some sex researchers, Shere Hite in particular, have focused on understanding how individuals regard sexual experience and the meaning it holds for them. Hite has criticized Masters and Johnson's work for uncritically incorporating cultural attitudes on sexual behavior into their research; for example, her work concluded that the 70% of women who do not have orgasms through intercourse are able to achieve orgasm easily by masturbation.[13][14][15] She, as well as Elisabeth Lloyd, have criticized Masters and Johnson's argument that enough clitoral stimulation to achieve orgasm should be provided by thrusting during intercourse, and the inference that the failure of this is a sign of female "sexual dysfunction".[15] While not denying that both Kinsey, and Masters and Johnson have made major contributions to sex research she believes that people must understand the cultural and personal construction of sexual experience to make the research relevant to sexual behavior outside the laboratory. Hite's work, however, has been challenged for methodological defects.[16]

Publications

Masters, W.H.; Johnson, V.E. (1966). Human Sexual Response. Toronto; New York: Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-20429-7. Masters, W.H.; Johnson, V.E. (1970). Human Sexual Inadequacy. Toronto; New York: Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-20699-0. Masters, W.H.; Johnson, V.E. (1974). The Pleasure Bond. Toronto; New York: Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-20915-9. Masters, W.H.; Johnson, V.E. (1979). Homosexuality in Perspective. Toronto; New York: Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-20809-8. Masters, W.H.; Johnson, V.E.; Kolodny, R.C (1994). Heterosexuality. New York; London: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-7225-3027-7. [edit]References

^ "Masters and Johnson". The Discovery Channel. Archived from the original on 18 May 2006. Retrieved September 22, 2011.

^ a b c d e Federation of Feminist Women's Health Centers (FFWHC) (1991). A New View of a Woman’s Body. Feminist Heath Press. p. 46. ISBN 0-929945-0-2.

^ a b c Maier, Thomas (2009). Masters of sex : the life and times of William Masters and Virginia Johnson, the couple who taught America how to love. New York: Basic Books. ISBN 9780465003075. ^ 8 MOS (2011-11-17). "Michael Sheen, Lizzy Caplan to Star in Showtime's 'Masters of Sex' Pilot". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2012-10-03.

^ a b c d John Archer, Barbara Lloyd (2002). Sex and Gender. Cambridge University Press. pp. 85-88. ISBN 0521635330, 9780521635332. Retrieved August 25, 2012.

^ Nemy, Enid. "AN AFTERNOON WITH: Masters and Johnson; Divorced, Yes, But Not Split", The New York Times, 1994-03-24. Retrieved on 2008-12-03.

^ Masters, W. H., & Johnson, V. E. (1979). Homosexuality in perspective. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, p. 11.

^ Helgason, Asgeir; Jan Adolfsson, Paul Dickman, Stefan Arver, Mats Fredrikson, Marianne Göthberg and Gunnar Steineck (1996). "Sexual Desire, Erection, Orgasm and Ejaculatory Functions and Their Importance to Elderly Swedish Men: A Population-based Study". Age and Ageing (Oxford University Press) 25 (4): 285–291. doi:10.1093/ageing/25.4.285. PMID 8831873. ^ Masters, W.H.; Johnson, V.E. (1979). Homosexuality in Perspective. Toronto; New York: Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-20809-8.

^ Schwartz, MF; Masters, WH (1 February 1984). "The Masters and Johnson treatment program for dissatisfied homosexual men". American Journal of Psychiatry 141 (2): 173–181. PMID 6691475.

^ See Homosexuality and psychology#Declassification

^ Maier, Thomas (2009-04-27). "Can Psychiatrists Really "Cure" Homosexuality?: Scientific American". Sciam.com. Retrieved 2012-10-03.

^ Hite, Shere (2004). The Hite Report: A Nationwide Study of Female Sexuality. New York, NY: Seven Stories Press. pp. 512 pages. ISBN 1-58322-569-2, 9781583225691. Retrieved March 2, 2012.

^ Shere Hite: "I was making the point that clitoral stimulation wasn't happening during coitus. That's why women 'have difficulty having orgasms' - they don't have difficulty when they stimulate themselves.

Tracey Cox: "It's disappointing that one of Hite's main messages - that 70 per cent of women don't have orgasms through penetration - is not completely accepted today. Plenty of women don't feel comfortable admitting it, even to themselves, for fear their partners will love them less. But women are far more experimental now." "Shere Hite: On female sexuality in the 21st century". The Independent. April 30, 2006. Retrieved April 10, 2011.

^ a b Elisabeth Anne Lloyd (2005). The case of the female orgasm: bias in the science of evolution. Harvard University Press. p. 21–53. ISBN 0-674-01706-4, 9780674017061. Retrieved January 5, 2012.

^ http://davidstreitfeld.com/archive/controversies/hite01.html