CYBERPSYCHOLOGY, BEHAVIOR, AND SOCIAL NETWORKING

Volume 14, Number 6, 2011

ª Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
DOI: 10.1089/cyber.2010.0222

Watching Pornographic Pictures on the Internet: Role of

Sexual Arousal Ratings and Psychological–Psychiatric
Symptoms for Using Internet Sex Sites Excessively

Matthias Brand, Ph.D.,1,2 Christian Laier, M.Sc.,1,3 Mirko Pawlikowski, M.Sc.,1 Ulrich Schächtle, B.Sc.,1
Tobias Schöler, B.Sc.,1 and Christine Altstötter-Gleich, Ph.D. 3

Abstract

Excessive or addictive Internet use can be linked to different online activities, such as Internet gaming or
cybersex. The usage of Internet pornography sites is one important facet of online sexual activity. The aim of the
present work was to examine potential predictors of a tendency toward cybersex addiction in terms of subjective
complaints in everyday life due to online sexual activities. We focused on the subjective evaluation of Internet
pornographic material with respect to sexual arousal and emotional valence, as well as on psychological
symptoms as potential predictors. We examined 89 heterosexual, male participants with an experimental task
assessing subjective sexual arousal and emotional valence of Internet pornographic pictures. The Internet Ad-
diction Test (IAT) and a modified version of the IAT for online sexual activities (IATsex), as well as several
further questionnaires measuring psychological symptoms and facets of personality were also administered to
the participants. Results indicate that self-reported problems in daily life linked to online sexual activities were
predicted by subjective sexual arousal ratings of the pornographic material, global severity of psychological
symptoms, and the number of sex applications used when being on Internet sex sites in daily life, while the time
spent on Internet sex sites (minutes per day) did not significantly contribute to explanation of variance in IATsex
score. Personality facets were not significantly correlated with the IATsex score. The study demonstrates the
important role of subjective arousal and psychological symptoms as potential correlates of development or
maintenance of excessive online sexual activity.

Introduction pornography by employees in the workplace,12 the increased

risk of acquiring sexually transmitted diseases in individuals

N owadays, the Internet is used in daily life as a very

helpful tool. However, some individuals have an in-
ability to control their use of the Internet and may therefore
have problems in their everyday life with respect to social
relationships, work or academic processes, financial issues,
and psychological well-being.1–3 The phenomenon of exces-
sive Internet use is frequently called Internet addiction (e.g.,
Young,2 Block,4 Chou et al.,5 Widyanto and Griffiths,6 and
Praterelli and Browne7), although it has been termed differ-
entially in recent articles.8–11
One form of Internet addiction is excessive cybersex, which
seems to be a rising problem, particularly in industrial na-
tions. Some authors claim that cybersex has the highest po-
tential for developing an Internet addiction.8 Negative
consequences of excessive cybersex comprise the use of online
who excessively seek sexual partners through cybersex
sites,13 and—as a last example—the potential link between
pornography consumption and aggression.14 The importance
of considering correlates of excessive cybersex is also em-
phasized by Kafka.15
Although the topic of cybersex addiction has high clinical
relevance, it has been almost neglected in previous re-
search.16,17 In most of the studies on cognitive or personality
correlates of Internet activities in general, online/computer
gamers were primarily included in the samples18–20 or no
distinction between different online activities has been
made.21–24 Studies that particularly investigate experimen-
tally potential mechanisms of cybersex addiction are missing.
Cybersex comprises several active or passive forms, such
as seeking sexual partners in real life, sex chats, sex via web

1
General Psychology: Cognition, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany.
2
Erwin L. Hahn Institute for Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Essen, Germany.
3
Differential and Personality Psychology, University of Koblenz-Landau, Germany.

371
372
camera, and so on. The consumption of cyberpornography is
also an important facet of cybersex. Although some infor-
mation about sociodemographic characteristics of cyberpor-
nography users exist,16,17,25 no empirical study has assessed
directly how the consumption of cyberpornography is per-
ceived by users.16 Young26 proposed that the expectation of
finding sexual arousal and gratification is one key element of
motivation for cybersex (see also Young3). This is principally
in accordance with self-reports of subjects who excessively
consume cyberpornography.27 However, as has been pointed
out by Griffith,28 no strong experimental empirical data exist
that support the claims made by Young.3,26 On a theoretical
level, it makes sense to assume that subjects addicted to cy-
bersex experience a positive emotional episode accompanied
by sexual arousal when consuming cybersex sites. It might
also be that subjects who consume cybersex sites excessively
have a salience for the incentive in terms of sexual arousal (see
the discussion on ‘‘wanting’’ and ‘‘liking’’ as two components
of reward, e.g. Berridge et al.29). However, these speculations
need to be tested empirically.
On a hypothesized level, we see some parallels between
cognitive and brain mechanisms potentially contributing to
the maintenance of excessive cybersex and those described
for individuals with substance dependence or behavioral
addiction (e.g., pathological gambling). For instance, it is
known that the brain of subjects with alcoholism or other
substance dependence reacts emotionally (activations of the
ventral striatum) when being confronted with alcohol- or
drug-related pictures.30–32 Other studies also emphasize that
craving reactions (cue-reactivity) can be found in subjects
with behavioral addictions, such as pathological gambling33
and—most recently—even in subjects who excessively play
World of Warcraft19 or other computer games.18 These
studies converge to the view that craving reactions on
watching addiction-related stimuli are important correlates of
the addictive behavior.
The limbic and para-limbic structures mentioned (e.g.,
ventral striatum) are also involved in sexual behavior and are
connected with other brain structures that play important
roles in sexual arousal and sexual activity.34–40 Therefore, it
seems plausible that those brain regions involved in proces-
sing sexual stimuli, and sexual arousal and activity, as well as
in craving reactions in individuals with behavioral addic-
tions, are also crucially relevant for development and main-
tenance of addictive behavior in the context of cybersex.
Aims and hypotheses of the present study
The main aim of the present study was to investigate po-
tential correlates and predictors of subjective complaints in
everyday life due to excessive online sexual activities (as a
measure of a tendency toward cybersex addiction) in a lab-
oratory experimental setting. As a main potential predictor of
these subjective complaints, we concentrated on the subjec-
tive evaluation of cyberpornographic pictures, that is, sub-
jective ratings of the pictures’ arousal. We also investigated
the degree of psychological symptoms such as social anxiety,
depression, and compulsivity. Furthermore, we assessed the
usage of specific cybersex applications, as well as several fa-
cets of personality (reward sensitivity, shyness).
Given the literature on cue reactivity in substance-depen-
dent individuals and those with specific types of behavioral
BRAND ET AL.
addiction,18,19,30–33 together with the literature on comorbid
psychological symptoms in subjects with behavioral addic-
tions and disorders of impulse control,41–44 we particularly
hypothesized that a tendency toward cybersex addiction—in
terms of subjectively experienced negative consequences of
cybersex in everyday life—is predicted by subjective sexual
arousal when watching Internet pornographic material and
global severity of psychological symptoms. We also hypoth-
esized that the range of online sexual activities (number of
online sex applications used) and the time spent on Internet
sex sites additionally predict the degree of self-reported
problems in everyday life due to excessive cybersex. The
hypotheses are also summarized in Figure 1.
Materials and Methods
Participants
We examined 89 heterosexual male participants (mean age
23.98, SD ¼ 4.09 years). Mean education of the sample was
13.42 years (SD ¼ 1.71). Participants were recruited through a
local advertisement and were paid at an hourly rate for par-
ticipation (10.00 e/hour). The advertisement indicated that
heterosexual men are invited to participate in a study on In-
ternet pornography and that the subjects will be confronted
with Internet pornographic material. Previous consumption
of cybersex sites was not a necessary criterion for participa-
tion. Inclusion criteria required that individuals have no
history of neurological or psychiatric disease, as determined
by a screening. Any substance-related disorders were also
exclusion criteria. All participants gave written informed
consent prior to the investigation.
A total of 51 participants (57.3%) were in a heterosexual
partnership, 35 (39.3%) were single, and 3 (3.3%) did not re-
spond to this question. Mean age at first Internet use was
13.90 (SD ¼ 2.88) years meaning that the average duration of
Internet use was 10.08 (SD ¼ 2.88) years. Mean days per week
of Internet use for personal reasons was 6.44 (SD ¼ 1.13) and
the subjects spent on average 223.87 (SD ¼ 107.88) minutes
per day on the Internet (mean Internet use of 26.12 hours
per week). Regarding cybersex usage, all 89 subjects reported
FIG. 1. Illustration of the hypothesized predictors of cy-
bersex addiction in terms of subjectively experienced nega-
tive consequences of online sexual activities in everyday life.
CYBERSEX ADDICTION
that they had used cybersex sites at least once in their life.
Mean age at first online sexual activity was 16.33 (SD ¼ 3.56)
years. Mean days per week of cybersex use was 2.0
(SD ¼ 1.85, range ¼ 0–7) and the subjects spent on average
36.07 (SD ¼ 31.21, range ¼ 0–150) minutes per day on cyber-
sex sites (72.14 minutes per week, SD ¼ 62.44, range ¼ 0–300).
The latter scores are in accordance with that reported previ-
ously.25,45,46
Procedure
All questionnaires and the experimental paradigm were
administered to the participants in a laboratory setting. All
tasks and questionnaires were computer-based with the ex-
ception of the Symptom Checklist. The whole examination
including instructions and debriefing took approximately 75
minutes.
Instruments
Experimental paradigm. For the assessment of subjective
emotional evaluations and arousal experienced while
watching Internet pornographic stimuli, we used 40 stan-
dardized pictures that either showed a single masturbating
women or a male/female couple during sexual intercourse.
The sexual behavior was clearly shown on each picture. The
women/men shown had an estimated age between 20 and 35
years. In order to make the pictures as comparable as possible
to the real world situation, we used a standard browser
window in which we pasted the different pictures. In the
browser window, the Web site address was standardized
with a non-existing webpage (www.sexbild.de). All other
information shown (time, programs opened, etc.) was also
standardized. On each picture, only one image was shown in
the center of the browser window. The images were selected
from freely accessible Web sites containing legal content and
which were free of charge. The images did not contain any
fetish relevant content.
The subjects were asked to rate each image separately with
respect to sexual arousal (scale ranging from 1 to 7, where
1 ¼ ‘‘no sexual arousal’’ and 7 ¼ ‘‘high sexual arousal’’),
emotional valence (scale ranging from 1 to 7, where
1 ¼ ‘‘negative emotional valence’’ and 7 ¼ ‘‘positive emotional
valence’’), and representativeness for cyberpornographic
material (scale ranging from 1 to 7, where 1 ¼ ‘‘the picture is
not representative’’ and 7 ¼ ‘‘the picture is highly represen-
tative’’). The rating of the representativeness of the pictures
was included to assure that we had selected material that was
representative of the pictures that are consumed in everyday
life. The order of picture presentation was randomized. In-
ternal consistencies (Cronbach’s a) of the scales were: sexual
arousal rating (a ¼ 0.951), emotional valence rating
(a ¼ 0.962), and representativeness rating (a ¼ 0.977).
Two versions of the Internet Addiction Test. Subjective
complaints in everyday life due to excessive usage of the
Internet and potential symptoms of Internet addiction were
assessed by a German version of the Internet Addiction Test
(IAT).47,48 The original English version was translated into
German by a bilingual English/German speaker and re-
translated by a second bilingual speaker. In addition, we used
a modified version of the IAT in which the terms ‘‘online’’ or
‘‘Internet’’ in the original IAT were replaced by the terms
373
‘‘online sexual activity’’ and ‘‘Internet sex sites’’ respectively
(we termed this modified version IATsex). This IATsex was
used to assess subjective complaints in everyday life due to
online sexual activities and potential symptoms of cybersex
addiction. An example for an item of the original IAT and the
modified version (IATsex) is: ‘‘How often do you find that
you stay online longer than you intended?’’ (original IAT)
and ‘‘How often do you find that you stay on Internet sex sites
longer than you intended?’’ (IATsex). Both IAT versions used
consist of 20 items, and the scale used ranged from 1 to 5
(‘‘rarely’’ to ‘‘always’’), resulting in a potential score between
20 and 100. Internal consistencies (Cronbach’s a) of these
scales were IAT (a ¼ 0.878) and IATsex (a ¼ 0.842).
Further information concerning online sexual activi-
ties. Participants were asked to indicate how often (on a
scale of 0 to 4, where 0 ¼ ‘‘never’’ and 4 ¼ ’’always when on-
line’’) they use different types of cybersex (e.g., pornographic
pictures, videos, literature, sex via web camera, sex chat,
searching for sexual partners). They were also asked how
often (on a scale of 0 to 4, where 0 ¼ ‘‘never’’ and 4 ¼ ‘‘always
when online’’) they prefer different types of pornographic
material (e.g., one single naked or masturbating women, one
women having sex with one man, two women and one man,
two men and one women, group sex, sex between two wo-
men or between two men). Finally, several sexual practices or
fetishes (e.g., vaginal, oral, or anal penetration, striptease,
leather, fisting, mature, spanking, etc.) were listed, and sub-
jects were asked whether or not they principally have a pref-
erence toward these pornographic materials on the Internet
(answer mode yes/no; all together 18 practices/fetishes were
assessed).
Psychological–psychiatric symptoms, reward responsive-
ness, and shyness. Psychological–psychiatric symptoms
were assessed by the Symptom Check List (SCL-90-R),49
which consists of nine subscales: somatization, obsessive–
compulsiveness, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxi-
ety, anger–hostility, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation, and
psychoticism. In addition, a global severity index can be
calculated. Furthermore, we used the German short ques-
tionnaire version50 of the BIS/BAS scale51 to assess reward
responsiveness and punishment sensitivity. We also assessed
shyness and sociability with the Shyness and Sociability
Scales by Asendorpf.52
Results
The mean rating scores on the three dimensions were near
the middle of the scales’ range: sexual arousal mean ¼ 3.65
(SD ¼ 1.04), emotional valence mean ¼ 3.65 (SD ¼ 0.96), and
representativeness mean ¼ 4.88 (SD ¼ 1.16). The IAT scores
and the IATsex scores were: IAT mean ¼ 30.67 (SD ¼ 9.2,
range 20–66), IATsex mean ¼ 23.66 (SD ¼ 5.56, range 20–56).
The mean number of practices for which subjects had a
preference when using Internet pornographic websites was
5.61 (SD ¼ 2.86). The IAT and IATsex were correlated highly
(r ¼ 0.657, p < 0.001). The bivariate correlations between the
picture ratings, IATsex, and other variables are shown in
Tables 1 and 2.
In order to evaluate further the relationships between
IATsex score (as the dependent variable) and the potential
374 BRAND ET AL.

Table 1. Correlations Between Mean Picture Ratings, IATsex, Time per Day Spent on Internet Sex Sites,
and Several Variables of Internet Sex Usage (Pearson Correlations)

Sexual arousal Emotional valence Representativeness Time

Domain/variable of pictures of pictures of pictures IATsex (min/day)

Sexual arousal of pictures 0.760** 0.268* 0.249* 0.123

Emotional valence of pictures 0.235* 0.162 0.094
Representativeness of pictures 0.010 0.046
IATsex 0.203
Number of practices/fetishes1 0.381** 0.270* 0.140 0.231* 0.346**
Frequency of using Internet sex applications:2 0.254* 0.178 0.230* 0.073 0.049
Sexual pictures
Sexual videos 0.459** 0.296** 0.097 0.322** 0.180
Sexual literature 0.038 0.040 0.091 0.078 0.163
Sex per web camera 0.096 0.094 0.150 0.174 0.113
Information about sex 0.035 0.037 0.104 0.024 0.066
Sex chat 0.177 0.236* 0.206 0.185 0.066
Searching for sexual partners 0.093 0.100 0.224* 0.502** 0.100
Overall3 0.169 0.081 0.021 0.365** 0.175

*p  0.05 (correlation is significantly different from zero with a ¼ 5%, two-tailed); **p  0.01 (correlation is significantly different from zero
with alpha ¼ 1%, two-tailed). Bold value indicates significant correlation.
1
Range 0–18; 2range 0–4 (0 ¼ ‘‘never,’’ 4 ¼ ‘‘always when online’’); 3mean frequency of using the above-mentioned Internet sex applications
(range 0–4).

predictors of sexual arousal rating, global severity of psy-
chological symptoms, mean overall use of Internet sex
applications, and time spent on Internet sex sites (see hy-
potheses), we calculated a hierarchical regression analysis
(all variables centralized).53 The order of variables included
in this regression analysis represents the order of hypothe-
sized significance of the predictor variables (see hypothe-
ses). As a first step, sexual arousal rating was a significant
predictor of IATsex score (R2 ¼ 0.06, F ¼ 5.76, df1 ¼ 1,
df2 ¼ 87, p ¼ 0.018). When adding (second step) the global
severity index of psychological symptoms (SCL GSI score)
as a predictor, the changes in R2 were significant, resulting in
an overall explanation of the IATsex score’s variance of
12.7% (changes in R2 ¼ 0.06, changes in F ¼ 6.34, df1 ¼ 1,
df2 ¼ 86, p ¼ 0.014). By entering the mean usage of Internet
sex applications as an additional predictor (third step), the
changes in R2 were also significant, resulting in an overall
explanation of the IATsex score’s variance of 23.7% (changes
in R2 ¼ 0.11, changes in F ¼ 12.33, df1 ¼ 1, df2 ¼ 85, p ¼ 0.001).
Finally, entering the time in minutes/day spent on Internet
sex sites (fourth step) did not significantly contribute to ex-
planation of variance of the IATsex score (changes in
R2 ¼ 0.004, changes in F ¼ 0.49, df1 ¼ 1, df2 ¼ 84, p ¼ 0.485;
see Table 3 for further values).

Table 2. Correlations Between Mean Picture Ratings, IATsex, Time per Day Spent on Internet Sex Sites,
and Psychological–Psychiatric Symptoms, BIS/BAS, Shyness, and Sociability (Pearson Correlations)

Sexual arousal Emotional valence Representativeness Time

Domain/variable of pictures of pictures of pictures IATsex (min/day)

SCL-90-R
Somatization 0.103 0.068 0.022 0.095 0.093
Obsessive–compulsive 0.176 0.133 0.039 0.259* 0.136
Interpersonal sensitivity 0.230* 0.183 0.052 0.329** 0.188
Depression 0.212* 0.221* 0.005 0.299** 0.206
Anxiety 0.107 0.063 0.051 0.230* 0.073
Anger–hostility 0.105 0.169 0.091 0.187 0.152
Phobic anxiety 0.122 0.124 0.116 0.257* 0.186
Paranoid ideation 0.151 0.111 0.025 0.301** 0.080
Psychoticism 0.249* 0.226* 0.127 0.303** 0.259*
Global severity index 0.219* 0.219* 0.055 0.302** 0.240*
BIS/BAS
BIS 1: Anxiety/nervousness 0.023 0.027 0.210* 0.198 0.126
BIS 2: Frustration/tearfulness 0.071 0.037 0.270* 0.183 0.222*
BAS 1: Drive in view of a goal 0.048 0.008 0.180 0.178 0.051
BAS 2: Reward responsiveness 0.031 0.096 0.137 0.074 0.110
Shyness 0.146 0.099 0.253* 0.061 0.091
Sociability 0.164 0.013 0.026 0.036 0.087

*p  0.05 (correlation is significantly different from zero with a ¼ 5%, two-tailed); **p  0.01 (correlation is significantly different from zero
with a ¼ 1%, two-tailed). Bold value indicates significant correlation.
CYBERSEX ADDICTION
Table 3. Hierarchical Regression Analysis
with the IATsex Score as the Dependent Variable
b T p
Main effects ‘‘sexual arousal rating’’ 0.25 2.40 0.018
‘‘global severity index’’ 0.26 2.52 0.014
‘‘usage of Internet sex applications’’ 0.34 3.51 0.001
‘‘min/day on Internet sex sites’’ 0.07 0.70 0.485
Discussion
We found a positive relationship between subjective sexual
arousal when watching Internet pornographic pictures and
the self-reported problems in daily life due to the excessive-
ness of cybersex as measured by the IATsex. Subjective
arousal ratings, the global severity of psychological symp-
toms, and the number of sex applications used were signifi-
cant predictors of the IATsex score, while the time spent on
Internet sex sites did not significantly contribute to explana-
tion of variance in the IATsex score.
The finding that subjective sexual arousal ratings while
watching Internet pornographic pictures is related to self-re-
ported problems in daily life due to excessive use of cybersex
sites may be interpreted in the light of previous studies on
cue reactivity in individuals with substance dependency or
behavioral addictions. As outlined in the introduction, cue-
reactivity as a mechanism potentially contributing to the
maintenance of addicted behavior has been demonstrated in
several patient groups with either substance dependence or
behavioral addiction.18,19,30–33 These studies converge to the
view that craving reactions on watching addiction-related
stimuli are important correlates of the addictive behavior.
Although we did not examine brain correlates of watching
Internet pornographic pictures in our study, we found the
first experimental evidence for the potential link between
subjective reactivity on Internet pornographic stimuli and a
tendency toward cybersex addiction.
The relationship between self-reported problems in daily
life linked to cybersex (IATsex) and several psychological
symptoms is consistent with a previous study by Yang et al.43
in which the SCL-90-R was also used to measure psycho-
logical symptoms in subjects with excessive Internet use in
comparison to moderate and mild users. However, in the
study by Yang et al., no differentiation between specific types
of Internet usage (gaming, sex sites, etc.) was made. In our
sample, the global symptom severity (SCL GSI), as well as
interpersonal sensitivity, depression, paranoid thinking and
psychoticism, were correlated particularly with the IATsex
score. In contrast, time spent on cybersex sites (minutes per
day) was widely unrelated to psychological symptoms. The
actual time spent on cybersex sites was also not significantly
correlated with the IATsex score. This means that for prob-
lems in daily life (e.g., reduced control over online sexual
activities, problems with the own partner or in other inter-
personal relationships, as well as problems in academic or
work life), the time spent on cybersex sites is not predictive.
The results of our study—in particular the correlation be-
tween subjective arousal ratings of pornographic material
and the reported negative consequences of cybersex in daily
life—are in line with Young.26 She proposed that the expec-
tation of finding sexual arousal may be one of the key ele-
ments of motivation for online sexual activities.3 Our results
375
indeed emphasize that higher sexual arousal is linked to a
tendency toward being addicted to cybersex and related
problems in everyday life.
Finally, we have to mention some important limitations of
the current study. First, the sample was relatively small.
However, one has to keep in mind that subjects enrolled in
this investigation were assessed in a laboratory setting with
an individual assessment, which makes the data revealed
more valid in comparison to studies using online question-
naires because we were able to control for environmental
variables that may influence subjects’ responses on the tasks.
In addition, we screened for previous psychiatric and neu-
rologic diseases, which also contributes to the homogeneity
of the sample. Although we excluded subjects with any
substance-related disorder, we did not document current
substance use in detail (e.g., alcohol, cannabis). Future studies
may address potential correlations between a tendency to-
ward cybersex addiction and consumption of different sub-
stances. Second, we freely recruited our participants by
advertisements, producing a sample that consisted of ‘‘nor-
mal’’ healthy individuals. Accordingly, we had a non-clinical
sample, although some of the subjects reported high IATsex
scores, which potentially indicate symptom severity that
fulfills diagnostic criteria for behavioral addictions.54 Our
data need replication with a larger sample and with subjects
suffering from sexual addiction. In future studies, potential
correlates of cybersex addiction in women and also in ho-
mosexual men and women should be investigated. In our
study, only heterosexual men were included, and the por-
nographic stimuli used in the experimental design were se-
lected with and for male eyes. Further studies may use
additional pornographic pictures representative for other
samples with respect to gender and sexual orientation.
Although the limitations mentioned have to be kept in
mind, we conclude that our study revealed first reference for
the important role of subjective arousal and psychological
symptoms as potential correlates of development or mainte-
nance of excessive online sexual activity in heterosexual men.
Given the lack of empirical studies on this topic,16,17,28 our
current study contributes to filling the gap and will hopefully
inspire future research on the very important topic of cyber-
sex addiction.3
Disclosure Statement
No competing financial interests exist.
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Address correspondence to:
Matthias Brand, Ph.D.
General Psychology: Cognition
University of Duisburg-Essen
Forsthausweg 2
47057 Duisburg
Germany
E-mail: matthias.brand@uni-due.de