1. The Relationship Between Emotions and Attitudes towards Relationships After Short-Term Exposure to Sexually Explicit Material Heather Morgan Saffron Redwine Hanover College

2. Attitudes toward Sexually Explicit Materials In a study performed by Carroll et al. (2007) two thirds (67% ) of young men and one half (49%) of young women had positive attitudes toward SEMs. Women with more liberal sexual attitudes and greater sexual experience had more favorable attitudes toward SEMs (Lawrence & Herold, 1988)

3. Long-term Exposure to Sexually Explicit Materials Many risks associated with frequent exposure to erotica (Zillman, 2000) Distorted perceptions and beliefs about relationships and sexuality (Manning, 2006) Problems with jealousy, competition, trust, and cheating in relationships (Paul, 2005) Partner’s pornography use “resulted in a substantial reappraisal of their relationship” (Bridges et al., 2003)

4. Emotional Response to Sexually Explicit Materials Gender differences in emotional response to SEMs (Goodson et al., 2000) Women show more negative emotional responses to SEMs than men do (Allen et al., 2007)

5. Hypotheses Participants who have positive emotional states after viewing the sexually explicit material will have more accepting/permissive attitudes towards relationships and sex than those who have a negative emotional state after viewing the sexually explicit material. Male participants will have more positive emotional states after viewing the sexually explicit material and will have more accepting/permissive attitudes towards relationships and sex than females.

6. Participants 36 small liberal arts college students Ages 18 – 22 At least 18 years of age 56% female and 44% male

7. Procedure Informed Consent Complete demographics survey, and questionnaire on sexual attitudes and relationships Watch video clip Basic Instinct (1992) Complete emotional state questionnaire Debriefed and Thanked

8. Measure of Attitudes toward Relationships Relationship Scales Questionnaire (RSQ) Griffin & Bartholomew, 1994 Worry:  =.703 I worry about being alone. Mistrust:  =.792 I find it difficult to trust others completely. Intimacy Need:  =.563 I want emotionally close relationships.

9. Measure of Attitudes toward Sexuality Sexual Attitudes Scale (SAS) S. Hendrick & C. Hendrick, 1987 Permissive:  =.911 Casual sex is acceptable. Spiritual:  =.792 At its best, sex seems to be the merging of two souls. Physical Pleasure:  =.651 Orgasm is the greatest experience in the world.

10. Measure of Emotional State Positive Affect – Negative Affect Scale (PANAS) Watson et al., 1988 Positive Affect:  =.924 Interested, excited, attentive Negative Affect:  =.803 Distressed, irritable, guilty

11. Results Attitudes towards relationships and emotional state No significant results

12. Results Attitudes towards Sexuality and Emotional State Permissiveness and Negative Emotional State r(36) = -.384, p =.02 Spirituality and Positive Emotional State r(36) =.466, p<.01 Physical Pleasure and Positive Emotional State r(36) =.332, p =.05

13. Results Gender and Emotional State Males t(34) = 2.28, p =.03

14. Discussion Relationship exists between emotional responses and attitudes towards sexuality Males had a more positive emotional response to the SEM than females

15. Discussion Limitations and Future Direction Larger and more diverse sample Reliability of measures Pre-test to show change in emotional response Social desirability effects Ambiguity of Video Clip Variations of explicitness in SEMs Implications Ratings and other communications with potential audiences about sexual content in the media

16. Questions? Comments?