Synonyms
Definition
A sexual climax typically experienced as a result of sexual stimulation, accompanied by involuntary muscle contractions and endorphin release.
Introduction
Orgasm is typically experienced as a sexual climax between the plateau and resolution phases of the human sexual response cycle (Masters and Johnson 1966). Whether the stimulation experienced during solitary or paired sexual behavior is induced manually, orally, or through the use of an object, orgasm in men is most reliably achieved through direct penile stimulation and in women through direct clitoral stimulation. Though there exists substantial overlap in the physiological and psychological sequelae of orgasm between the sexes, copulatory orgasm may serve different evolutionary functions in men and women. While men’s copulatory orgasm is necessary for reproductive success, it is unclear whether women’s copulatory orgasm is an adaptive mate-choice mechanism or a by-product of...
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References
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Shirazi, T., Puts, D. (2016). Orgasm. In: Weekes-Shackelford, V., Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_3366-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_3366-1
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