Olfactory aversion: notes on procedure, with speculations on its mechanism of effect

Sex Abuse. 2001 Oct;13(4):275-87. doi: 10.1177/107906320101300405.

Abstract

The use of a self-administered noxious agent to suppress deviant sexual arousal is the focus of this paper. A recommended procedure for the use of olfactory aversion is described. Data from two publications by the author, wherein different noxious agents had been used, are presented and discussed. Several explanations for the mechanism of effect in olfactory aversion have been offered. Two of these, one using a nausea-producing agent and one using a pain-producing agent are described. The procedure using the pain-producing agent is the simplest to implement, the least ambiguous, and offers the least cumbersome explanation for the behavioral effect observed in olfactory aversion. However, a conditioning explanation is probably too simple. Several examples of cognitive mediation in conditioning procedures are presented and discussed.

MeSH terms

  • Ammonia / therapeutic use
  • Aversive Therapy / methods*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Nausea / chemically induced*
  • Odorants
  • Pain / chemically induced*
  • Paraphilic Disorders / prevention & control
  • Paraphilic Disorders / therapy*
  • Penile Erection / drug effects
  • Recurrence
  • Sex Offenses / prevention & control
  • Smell / drug effects*

Substances

  • Ammonia