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Previous research has largely ignored examining nipple erection in nonsexual situations. We hypothesized that both women and men experience nonsexual nipple erection under emotional and somatic (nonsexual) conditions that trigger autonomic arousal and sought to document nonsexual triggers and instances of nipple erection in various contexts. As predicted, self-reports from 181 college students indicated that individuals experience nipple erection when under stress, frightened, and anxious. Participants also reported often experiencing nipple erection concurrently with piloerection ("goose bumps"). In addition, participants reported nipple erection self-vigilance and concealment in nonsexual situations, suggesting awareness that nipple erection may communicate a target's emotional and somatic arousal. Implications and limitations to these exploratory findings are discussed.
Key words: nipple erection, nonsexual, emotional communication, anxiety, concealment, piloerection
Reflexive nipple erection occurs in both women and men (Levin & Meston, 2006; Masters & Johnson, 1966), and both sexes report that having their nipples stimulated can induce and enhance sexual arousal (Levin & Meston, 2006). However, the sensitivity and responsiveness of the nipple and of the entire breast are much greater in women compared to men, beginning at puberty (Robinson & Short, 1977). Thus, women tend to request and experience nipple stimulation from their partners during sexual arousal more than men do (Levin & Meston, 2006). As such, women's erect nipples are viewed as sexual signals cross culturally (Barber, 1985; Ford & Beach, 1951; Gallup, 1982, 1986), and the scarce research that has been conducted on nipple erection, aside from that on breast feeding, has largely been related to female sexuality.
The nonsexual conditions and triggers for nipple erection in women and men have not been extensively examined, but we can use what is known about the process by which nipples become erect during sexual arousal to understand how nipple erection may occur during nonsexual instances. Nipple erection is one of the first physiological changes during sexual arousal (Masters & Johnson, 1966) and occurs when smoothmuscle contraction causes the areolae to wrinkle and the nipples to raise (Montagna & MacPherson, 1974). Since nipple erection can be induced both tactilely and psychogenically (Ruvalcaba, 1987), and because the autonomic nervous system (ANS) mediates nipple erection, it is possible that nipple erection is a reflexive response to other, nonsexual events that activate the ANS, such...