Victim reactions in aggressive erotic films as a factor in violence against women.

Investigated whether the behavioral characteristics of the people in erotic films and the nature of the targets available for aggression afterward can affect subsequent aggression. In Exp I, 80 male undergraduates were angered by a male or female confederate. They were then shown a neutral film or 1 of 3 erotic films. The erotic films differed in terms of their aggressive content (2 were aggressive and 1 was not) and the reactions of the female victim in the 2 aggressive films (positive vs negative). Ss were then allowed to aggress against the confederate via electric shock. Results indicated that films had no effect on male targets, whereas both types of aggressive erotic films increased aggression toward the females. In Exp II with 80 male Ss, the effects of the above films on nonangry viewers were investigated with only female confederates. Results indicate that angered Ss were more aggressive toward the female after viewing either aggressive erotic film but that only the positive-outcome aggressive film increased aggression in nonangered Ss. The theoretical and applied aspects of aggressive and nonaggressive erotica are discussed. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Facilitating effects of erotica on aggression against women.

To examine the effects of highly erotic stimuli on aggression against females, 60 male undergraduates were angered by a male or female confederate and exposed to an erotic film, an aggressive film, or a nonfilm condition. Ss were given 2 opportunities to aggress against the confederate. Both the aggressive and the erotic films increased aggression against both targets during the 1st and 2nd aggression opportunities; however, the erotic film facilitated aggression against the female target across the 2 aggression sessions. The processes operating to cause this increase are discussed in terms of reducing restraints against aggressive behavior and the specific cue value of erotic films. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Aggressive erotica and violence against women.

Examined the effects of aggressive-erotic stimuli on male aggression toward females when 120 male undergraduates were angered or treated in a neutral manner by a male or female confederate. Ss were then shown either a neutral, erotic, or aggressive-erotic film and given an opportunity to aggress against the male or female via the delivery of electric shock. Results indicate that the aggressive-erotic film was effective in increasing aggression overall and that it produced the highest increase in aggression against the female. Even nonangered Ss showed an increase in aggression toward the female after viewing the aggressive-erotic film. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Erotica and aggression: The influence of sexual arousal, positive affect, and negative affect on aggressive behavior.

95 male college students who had never taken a psychology course were first either angered or not angered by a confederate of the experimenter and were then ostensibly given an opportunity to aggress against the confederate by means of electric shock. Prior to aggressing, Ss were shown 1 of 4 sets of stimuli chosen to effect a factorial variation in the intensity of positive sexual arousal (high, low) and negative affect (high, low) elicited by exposure to such material. In addition, 1 group of angered Ss (no-exposure control) was included who did not view any of the 4 sets of stimuli prior to being given an opportunity to aggress. Results indicate that exposure to affectively positive erotic stimuli significantly reduced retaliatory behavior by angered males to a level below that exhibited by Ss exposed to neutral stimuli and by those in the no-exposure control group. In contrast, relative to baseline controls, Ss' exposure to erotic stimuli that were reported to be disgusting and unpleasant slightly enhanced subsequent aggressive behavior. Several possible mechanisms (e.g., attentional shifts, incompatible responses, cognitive labeling) are discussed in relation to the results. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Expectancies, alcohol, and sexual arousal in women.

A total of 40 university female volunteers, all social drinkers aged 18–35 yrs, were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 expectancy conditions in which they were led to believe that the beverage they were administered contained either vodka and tonic or tonic only. For half the Ss in each expectancy condition, the beverage actually contained vodka; for the other half, tonic only. After their drinks, measures of vaginal pressure pulse obtained with a vaginal photoplethysmograph were recorded during a nonerotic control film and 2 erotic films depicting a heterosexual or a homosexual interaction. The 2 groups that received alcohol, regardless of whether they believed that their drinks contained alcohol, showed significantly reduced sexual arousal during both erotic films. No effects of expectancy or an interaction between alcohol and expectancy were obtained. Ss' subjective estimates of intoxication were significantly correlated with their self-report of sexual arousal during both erotic films. The differences between these results and previous findings using similar procedures with male social drinkers are discussed. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Passionate love and the misattribution of arousal.

Two studies provide evidence that misattribution of arousal facilitates romantic attraction. In Exp I, arousal of 54 male undergraduates was manipulated through exercise. Arousal Ss liked an attractive female confederate more and an unattractive female less than did controls. In Exp II, arousal of 66 Ss was manipulated in a positive (comedy tape) or negative (mutilation tape) way; other Ss heard a nonarousing tape (textbook excerpt). Results replicate the interaction found in Exp I: Valence of initial arousal did not affect attraction to the confederate. Salience of plausible labels for arousal is hypothesized to mediate the misattribution effect. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Subjective sexual arousal to films of masturbation.

A film of a male or female masturbating was viewed by 96 male and 102 female undergraduate volunteers. Following the film, Ss responded to 3 measures of subjective sexual arousal and to 7 measures of affective responses. Males reported the highest level of sexual arousal to the female film and the lowest level of arousal to the male film. Males who viewed the film of the male masturbating reported the most disgust, depression, guilt, and shame. Females were sexually aroused by both films. Women who masturbated more frequently reported more sexual arousal to the films than the other 3 groups. A measure of negative attitudes toward masturbation differentiated the sexual arousal and affective responses of Ss. Sex guilt (measured by the Sex Guilt subscale of the Mosher Forced-Choice Guilt Inventory) was related to negative affective responses to the films. Several interpretations of the meaning of the data are offered. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A test of reciprocal inhibition: are anxiety and sexual arousal in women mutually inhibitory?

Tested J. Wolpe's (1958) prediction that autonomic sexual and anxiety arousal states are mutually inhibitory. Using a new physiological measure of female sexual arousal (vaginal blood volume), changes in 7 sexually experienced Ss (mean age 27 yrs) were compared during erotic video stimulation following anxiety and control stimulus preexposure and during anxiety and control stimulation following erotic stimulus preexposure. Consistent with reciprocal inhibition theory, when Ss were sexually aroused by erotic preexposure, anxiety arousal inhibited sexual arousal more rapidly than did an attention control stimulus. However, contrary to reciprocal inhibition theory, Ss became more rapidly aroused sexually following anxiety preexposure than following neutral preexposure. In the case of heart rate, changes were compared during erotic and neutral stimulation following anxiety preexposure and during anxiety arousal following erotic and neutral preexposure. Consistent with the literature to date, there were no heart rate changes that could be attributed to differential preexposure. Taken together, the results do not support Wolpe's reciprocal inhibition theory but do suggest a context interpretation: The way in which sexual and anxiety arousal states interact with each other may depend on the context in which Ss perceive the stimuli that generate these respective arousal states. The clinical implications of the findings are discussed. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A method for empirically assessing volunteer selection effects: Recruitment procedures and responses to erotica.

Examined whether 58 male and 47 female undergraduates who were recruited for a study on erotica responded in a similar manner to an erotic film as 29 male and 26 female undergraduates who were recruited for research on a neutral topic, personality questionnaires. In Part 1 of the study, all Ss answered questionnaires, including the Bem Sex-Role Inventory and a sexual opinion survey, that assessed personality and demographic characteristics. In Part 2, Ss watched the erotic movie and completed a feelings scale. Findings indicate that conclusions about prior sexual experience, sexual opinions, and affective responses to the erotic film were qualified by recruitment condition. Ss who volunteered for the experiment on erotica were more sexually experienced and, for women, were significantly more erotophilic than Ss who volunteered for the research on personality questionnaires. Results suggest that volunteer selection can have an important effect on experimental results and demonstrate a method for assessing the extent of these effects. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in response to erotica? Love versus lust.

Examined gender differences in response to varying erotic themes in 2 experiments. In Exp I, 30 unmarried male and 32 unmarried female undergraduates viewed an erotic film portraying petting; this film was prefaced with instructional sets that established either a love theme (affectionate marital sex) or a lust theme (unemotional sex with a prostitute). In Exp II, 36 married couples (the majority of which had at least 1 member who was a university student) viewed either a petting erotic film or one depicting coitus; these films were prefaced with instructional sets that established either the love or lust themes or a casual-sex theme (a chance sexual encounter). Arousal, affective, and evaluative responses to these stimuli were assessed using an 11-item feelings scale, Self-report of Sexual-Physiological Relations, and the Interpersonal Judgment Scale. Results of Exp I confirm the effectiveness of the thematic manipulation and indicate that males and females were not differentially responsive to the love or lust themes along any of the response dimensions. Results of Exp II replicate this finding and indicate that both men and women were more sexually aroused by the casual-sex theme than by those involving love or lust. Apparently, romantic or affectional emphasis is not a precondition for female arousal by erotica. Methodological and conceptual issues relating to the discrepancy between the often-cited female indifference to erotica and the present findings for equal male–female arousal responses are discussed. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of sex guilt, repression, sexual "arousability," and sexual experience on female sexual arousal during erotica and fantasy.

Hypothesized that, among women who were asked to fantasize about sex, erotic preexposure would facilitate arousal during the fantasy, and arousal would be greater among those who had less sex guilt, those who were more arousable, those who were more experienced, and sensitizers. 62 female Ss (aged 18–53 yrs) were randomly assigned to view either an erotic or a nonerotic videotape. All Ss then imagined and wrote out a sexual fantasy. Sexual arousal was measured subjectively by self-report ratings and physiologically by continuous vaginal photoplethysmograph recording. Ss high in sex guilt reported less arousal but showed significantly greater physiological arousal during the erotic videotape than did Ss low in sex guilt. For the high sex-guilt Ss, the erotic videotape facilitated physiological arousal during fantasy. Ss low in sexual arousability and low in sexual experience followed a similar pattern. No significant differences were found for repression-sensitization. Results point toward a pattern of behavioral inhibition that facilitates increased response to forbidden erotica. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Instigation to aggression as a function of self-disclosure and threat to self-esteem.

Examined whether self-disclosure would make a person more vulnerable to personal threat and thus increase instigation to angry aggression. 72 female undergraduates exchanged communications with 4 female confederates showing low or high self-disclosure or a control communication. Ss then commented on the communications, the confederates giving commentaries of neutral, critical, or derogatory tone. Subsequently, Ss had the opportunity to punish the confederate with what they thought were varying degrees of shock. As predicted, after high self-disclosure, Ss used significantly greater levels of shock than Ss in the control and low-self-disclosure groups. Criticism was more clearly effective than derogation in producing aggression. Findings indicate that high self-disclosure, followed by personal threat, is a potent antecedent of angry aggression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential effects of sympathetic activation on sexual arousal in sexually dysfunctional and functional women.

The effects of sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activation, induced via acute exercise, on sexual arousal in women was studied. In 2 experimental sessions, 36 women viewed a neutral film followed by an erotic film. In 1 session, the women were exposed to 20 min of intense exercise before viewing the films. Twelve women were sexually functional, 12 experienced significant impairments in sexual desire, and 12 experienced primary or secondary anorgasmia. Acute exercise significantly increased vaginal pulse amplitude (VPA) and vaginal blood volume (VBV) responses to an erotic film among sexually functional women and those with low sexual desire. Among anorgasmic women, exercise significantly decreased VPA but had no effect on VBV responses to an erotic film. Acute exercise had no significant effect on the women's perceptions of sexual arousal. Results suggest that increased SNS arousal may affect physiological sexual responding in women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of alcohol on aggression in male social drinkers.

Assigned 96 male undergraduates to 1 of 8 groups in a 2 * 2 * 2 factorial design. To control fully for expectation effects, 48 Ss were led to believe that they would be drinking alcohol (vodka and tonic), and 48 believed they would be drinking only tonic water. Within each of these 2 groups, 24 Ss actually received alcohol, but 24 were given only tonic. Following the beverage administration, 48 Ss were provoked to aggress by exposing them to an insulting confederate, whereas control Ss experienced a neutral interaction. Aggression was assessed by the intensity and duration of shocks administered to the confederate on a modified version of A. H. Buss's aggression apparatus. The only significant determinant of aggression was the expectation factor: Ss who believed they had consumed alcohol were more aggressive than Ss who believed they had consumed a nonalcoholic beverage, regardless of the actual alcohol content of the drinks. Ss receiving alcohol, however, showed a significant increase in a reaction time measure, regardless of the expectation condition. Provocation to aggress was also a significant determinant of aggression, but it did not interact with the beverage conditions. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Females' affective responses to reading erotic literature.

The affective states of sexual arousal, guilt, anxiety, and 11 Nowlis mood factors were studied in 72 college females before and after reading either an erotic or an academically oriented literary passage, with a female E either present or absent, and as a function of the personality disposition of sex guilt. Ss who read the erotic passage showed a significant increase in sexual arousal. High sex guilt Ss significantly increased their affective state of guilt when they read the erotic passage in comparison to the Ss in all of the other cells. Anxiety increased as a function of reading the erotic passage in the presence of E. Conceptual distinctions between sexual behavior and sexual arousal, between guilt as personality disposition and as state, and between affective states of fear and guilt are discussed. (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Autonomic arousal, interpersonal climate, and orality.

Electrodermal responses in 34 male undergraduates who gave at least 4 oral-dependent Rorschach responses or no more than 2 such responses were assessed both before and after Ss had either a warm, friendly interaction or a cold, unfriendly interaction with a confederate. Following a 10-min interaction, there was a significant 3-way interaction (Period?×?Condition?×?Orality) in tonic conductance. Analysis produced one simple effect: Highly oral Ss responded differentially to warm or cold treatment by the confederate. Three groups—nonorals in either condition and orals in the cold condition—increased in physiological arousal over time. Only the highly oral Ss interacting with the warm confederate showed no such increase in arousal, presumably because the presence of a friendly other person inhibits physiological activation. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of sex guilt and sexual arousal on the retention of birth control information.

Tested the notion that high-sex-guilt individuals have difficulty retaining sex-related information. 28 male and 28 female undergraduates were assigned in equal numbers to a high and a low sex-guilt group. Within each group, 1/2 of the Ss were sexually stimulated by reading erotic passages, while 1/2 read neutral passages. All Ss then listened to a lecture on birth control and took an exam based on the lecture. Results indicate that high-sex-guilt Ss retained less lecture information than low-guilt Ss. In addition, sexually stimulated Ss displayed poorer lecture retention than nonstimulated Ss. Across all conditions, females retained more lecture information than males. Results support the hypothesis that guilt-generated anxiety raises arousal past the optimum level necessary for efficient recall performance. Females had a greater interest in learning about birth control than males. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effect of emotional arousal on subsequent sexual arousal in men.

The effect of emotional arousal on subsequent sexual arousal was assessed in 14 18–34 yr old men. Ss initially viewed either 1 of 2 emotionally arousing videotapes (depression-and-anger or anxiety-and-anger producing) or a neutral videotape (a travelogue), each of which was followed by an erotic videotape. Sexual arousal was measured physiologically with a penile strain gauge. Although there were no differences in the level of sexual arousal during the antecedent emotionally arousing or neutral videotapes, sexual arousal during the subsequent erotic videotapes was differentially affected by them. Sexual arousal following the anxiety-and-anger videotape was greater than that following either the depression-and-anger videotape or the travelogue. Prior exposure to the travelogue resulted in greater sexual arousal than did the videotape producing depression and anger. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in emotional responses to erotic literature.

Compared the effect on male and female undergraduates (n = 112) of reading an erotic passage from a novel; control Ss (n = 112) read a passage from a psychology textbook. Men reported more sexual arousal, interest, and joy in response to the erotic passage, and women reported more disgust. Differences were significant but not large. The sexes did not differ as to fear or guilt reactions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)