"Research pertaining to pornography has traditionally been conducted from three perspectives. First, pornography use has been evaluated in relation to couples’ relationship satisfaction, often under the assumption that greater reliance upon erotic materials during masturbation is associated with poorer relationship outcomes. Second, pornography has been studied from a neurobehavioral perspective to determine whether individuals who report “compulsive” use exhibit neurophysiologic or epigenetic alterations that typify models of addiction. Third, content analyses of pornographic materials have been conducted to examine the extent to which exposure to beneficial/educational (e.g., providing clitoral stimulation during partnered sex), risky (e.g., condom-less sexual activity), or demeaning (e.g., lack of verbal consent during intercourse, sexual aggression, etc.) sexual scripts might increase the preponderance or social acceptability of such behaviors. Despite the insights gained from these approaches, few studies have analyzed putative direct effects of pornography use on the sexual response cycle, including arousal and orgasmic parameters, comparing masturbatory and partnered sexual activities. In stark contrast to prior research findings and public opinion, we did not find strong empirical support for the hypothesis that pornography use is consistently associated with greater sexual dysfunction or relationship dissatisfaction. In all five regression analyses related to masturbation, more frequent pornography use predicted greater ease of becoming aroused and reaching orgasm, longer latencies to orgasm, greater pleasure upon orgasm, and a higher percentage of masturbatory events leading to orgasm. Among the same parameters for partnered sexual activity, more frequent pornography use predicted greater ease becoming aroused and longer latencies, but no significant associations, either positive or negative, were observed for any of the other outcomes in the regression analyses. Overall, women’s use of pornography to enhance orgasmic response and pleasure was strongly supported by our findings, yet pornography use during masturbation appeared to have no deleterious effects on sexual functioning during partnered sex. Indeed, it was actually associated with lower arousal difficulty during partnered sex. Furthermore, no associations were observed between pornography use frequency and general relationship satisfaction or sexual relationship satisfaction with one’s primary partner in the previous 12 months. In these respects, our results highlight the potential positive effects that pornography use might have for women’s enjoyment of sex. Furthermore, to the extent that pornography use might represent greater openness to using less conventional strategies for enhancing their sexual experience, it may reflect one of a number of techniques that differentiate women who use pornography from women who do not."