A number of sexologists studied the effects of masturbation before the extensive programme launched by Masters and Johnson.

One of the most thorough investigations of female response during masturbation was conducted by the American gynaecologist Dr. Robert Latou Dickinson whose findings were summarised in his "Atlas of Human Sex Anatomy" (first published in 1933). Dickinson explored theories about vulval and clitoral masturbation and was responsible for introducing, with Robie and LeMon Clarke, the electrical vibrator or massager into American gynaecological practice. Dickinson asked subjects to demonstrate their masturbatory techniques in order to correlate their methods with such factors as the degree of clitoral excitation.