Psychological research is coming to appreciate the role of moving beyond stereotypical populations and including stigmatised or under-represented groups. But if the ultimate aim of psychology is to understand the mind and behaviour of an individual, all individuals need to be represented. According to research, approximately 1% of the population identifies as asexual. Asexuality may be defined as:
“A term used to describe someone who does not experience sexual attraction toward individuals of any gender” (LGBT center, 2022). Asexuality differs from celibacy in that celibacy is a choice to refrain from sexual contact even if one still maintains sexual desire. Research is now coming to appreciate the defining features of asexuality and the psychology involved. Asexuals appear to differ significantly in viewing erotic material from allosexuals. Research (Milani, 2022 cited in Harper, 2022) has revealed that the duration of attention paid to erotic imagery was the same duration paid to non-sexual imagery. The attention was divided equally between the two. Allosexual individuals tended to have their attention captured and maintained by the sexual imagery. Methodology: The ingenious way this research was carried out was by using eye-tracking equipment. The researchers also used eye-tracking as this could measure the attention given before conscious attention is invoked. There were 92 participants in this study which included 26 heterosexual men, 30 heterosexual women, 13 asexual men and 18 asexual women and eight asexual nonbinary individuals. Conclusion: Research such as this will pave the way for more insight into sexual attraction in individuals. image credits: sergiovisor_ph/Pixabay references: "Asexuality, Attraction, and Romantic Orientation" (2022) LGBT center unc-chapel hill [URL] Available at: https://lgbtq.unc.edu/resources/exploring-identities/asexuality-attraction-and-romantic-orientation/ Harper, C. 'Do Asexual Individuals Look Differently at Sexual Images?' (2022) in 'PsychologyToday' [URL] available at: https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/articles-heterodoxy/202206/do-asexual-individuals-look-differently-sexual-images