Masters& Johnson Theory

In 1970, Masters& Johnson published their highly publicized and influential book, Human Sexual Inadequacy, in which they concluded that 80 percent of erectile dysfunction is due to psychological causes, especially what was termed "performance anxiety." They theorized that most men who had problems with their erections were overly concerned about sexual performance and all they had to do was calm down, relax and stop worrying. They told men to forget about fear of failure and focus their attention on the physical pleasure of sexual activity. The rest would take care of itself.

In addition to being incorrect, Masters& Johnson's theory also served to make the problem even worse, because it put the blame for ED totally on the man, making him feel as if be had a deep and debilitating psychological problem.

Masters& Johnson attributed the other 20 percent of erectile dysfunction to physical causes, including hormonal imbalances, cardiovascular disease, genial surgery and the use of certain medications.

Today, of course, extensive research has shown that the statistics are exactly the opposite; about 80 percent of ED has a physical cause and about 20 percent is psychological.