Sexual desire is often defined as a psychological or subjective state important for initiating and maintaining human sexual behavior. Originally, sexual desire was conceptualized as the initial phase of sexual response (Kaplan, 1979). However, recent approaches conceptualize sexual desire as a predisposition to respond subjectively to sexual stimuli with feelings of sexual arousal, suggesting that sexual desire is the cognitive valence of sexual arousal (Prause, Janssen, & Hetrick, 2008). Levine (1988, 2002, 2003) defined sexual desire as the sum of the forces involved in the search for, as well as in the escape from, sexual behavior. According to Levine (1988, 2002, 2003), sexual desire depends on the balance between three fundamental dimensions: biological determinants (sexual drive), psychological or idiosyncratic factors (sexual motivation), and cultural dimensions (sexual wish). Relationship dimensions, psychological adaptation, cognitive factors, and medical factors have all been related to sexual desire (Trudel et al., 2001). However, the relative contribution of these dimensions is not yet well-established. Biological factors are usually overvalued in male sexual desire, and the cultural factors that are responsible for the way sexual desire is expressed in each gender have received less investigation (Baumeister, 2004; Rosen & Leiblum, 1988). There is also a lack of knowledge regarding the way that cognitive dimensions, related to men's acculturation (e.g., sexual beliefs), interfere with male sexual desire.

Several studies have shown that cultural factors in the form of sexual beliefs, sexual thoughts, and sexual attitudes are strongly related to male sexual dysfunction (Nobre, 2006; Nobre & Pinto-Gouveia, 2000, 2006a, 2008; Nobre, Pinto-Gouveia, & Gomes, 2003; Purdon & Holdaway, 2006) and sexual risk taking (Pleck, Sonenstein, & Ku, 1993, 1994).

Men with sexual dysfunction present more dysfunctional sexual beliefs related to the concept of men's capacity for being always ready for sex and to the idea that penile erection is essential to satisfy women (Nobre, 2006; Nobre & Pinto-Gouveia, 2000, 2006a; Nobre et al., 2003). Sexually dysfunctional men also present more negative automatic thoughts concerning erection and the capability for sexual intercourse (Nobre, 2006; Nobre & Pinto-Gouveia, 2000, 2008). Thoughts related to sexual performance characterize male sexuality and are responsible for the increase in anxiety during sexual activity experienced by some men (Purdon & Holdaway, 2006). Cognitive and emotional content is also responsible for the changes in attentional focus during sexual activity, a process related to the etiology of erectile dysfunction (Barlow, 1986). In sum, the cognitions and the emotions experienced during sexual activity are in part a consequence of the social standards that focus on the importance of male sexual performance. These factors should also play a role in male sexual desire.