User talk:Trevor H.

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Hello Trevor. Thanks for your interesting message.

I'm also interested in how experiences shape our attitudes, but I don't believe that your theory concerning phimosis is correct. I recently conducted a large-scale survey (n > 4,200) into penile satisfaction and circumcision (foolishly, I didn't obtain ethical approval first, so I doubt I'll be able to publish my results). I didn't directly ask whether respondents were pro- or anti- circumcision, but I believe that the results have some relevance. What I found was that those circumcised due to a medical problem (usually in childhood as opposed to infancy or adulthood, or indeed to those who were uncircumcised) were actually the least satisfied. I'm no psychologist, but I would guess that this would have something to do with associating the result with the event and pain, etc., associated with the illness and consequent surgery.

Now it's certainly possible that the reaction you describe may occur rarely, and it's equally possible that my survey design may have been inadequate, but since nothing else exists in the literature I'm inclined to doubt your hypothesis.

By the way, it's best to sign comments with four tildes, like this ~~~~. This automatically adds your username and timestamp. Jakew 21:09, 26 November 2005 (UTC)