Volunteers for Studies in a Sexuality Laboratory: Are They Different from the General Population?
Research in human sexuality is essential due to its impact on people's sexual health and well-being, although it is sometimes perceived as innovative, different, or unconventional. Consequently, participating in sexuality studies might mean that only specific individuals, with certain characteristics, show interest in participating, which would result in significant methodological bias due to a lack of sample representativeness. This bias could be more pronounced in studies involving psychophysiological measures of genital response (e.g., penile erection or vaginal pulse amplitude recordings), as they are perceived as intrusive methods in people’s intimacy. Despite this evidence, few studies have addressed this potential bias.