Definition
Difficulty reaching or controlling orgasm by a man or woman. The problem may be characterized by an early, delayed, or absence of orgasm.
Introduction
In both the four-stage model of sexual response first proposed by Masters and Johnson (excitement, plateau, orgasm, resolution) and the three-stage model later adapted by Kaplan (1995) (desire, arousal, orgasm), orgasm represents a reproductive and psycho-behavioral endpoint. In both models, orgasm follows variable periods of intensifying sexual arousal. Both sexes experience intense pleasure throughout the body during orgasm, a phenomenon mediated by brain regions involved with reward and pleasure. Although in men ejaculation nearly always occurs concomitantly with orgasm, women exhibit no comparable external genital response. Women’s orgasm is signaled by, among other responses, pelvic and...
Keywords
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
References
Binik, Y. M., & Hall, K. S. (Eds.). (2014). Principles and practice of sex therapy. New York: Guilford Publications.
Kaplan, H. S. (1995). The sexual desire disorders: Dysfunctional regulation and sexual motivation. New York: Routledge.
Laumann, E. O., Paik, A., & Rosen, R. C. (1999). Sexual dysfunction in the United States: Prevalence and predictors. JAMA, 281(6), 537–544.
Masters, W. H., & Johnson, V. E. (1970). Human Sexual Inadequacy. Toronto/New York: Bantam Books.
Meana, M. (2012). Sexual dysfunction in women. Cambridge, MA: Hogrefe Publishing.
Perelman, M. A., & Rowland, D. L. (2008). Retarded and inhibited ejaculation. In D. L. Rowland & L. Incrocci (Eds.), Handbook of sexual and gender identity disorders. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Rowland, D. (2012). Sexual dysfunction in men. Cambridge, MA: Hogrefe Publishing.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Rowland, D.L., Medina, M.C. (2017). Orgasmic Disorders. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_3385-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_3385-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences