Does the horny man think women want him too? Effects of male sexual arousal on perceptions of female sexual willingness

ABSTRACT

Disputes over acquaintance rape typically center on the issue of whether the alleged victim consented to sex. Disputed sexual encounters often take place when one or both involved parties is sexually aroused, and this arousal might influence the extent to which the parties perceive sexual consent. Two studies tested the effects of men’s sexual arousal on their interpretations of the extent to which 25 hypothetical female behaviors reflected sexual willingness. Arousal was manipulated via written fantasies (Study 1) or exposure to erotic material (Study 2). Manipulated arousal and individual differences in rated arousal were each associated with greater perceptions of female sexual willingness. Manipulated arousal was significant only for single men in Study 2. Findings suggested present-state sexual arousal affects single men’s interpretations of women’s sexual willingness. Men’s sexual arousal might prominently contribute to misunderstandings in sexual communication.     

Coordinated affect with mothers and strangers: A longitudinal analysis of joint engagement between 5 and 9 months of age

The coordination of affect in joint attention was assessed in a longitudinal study of 5- to 9-month-old infants as they interacted with mothers and strangers. Results showed that the coordination of affect with joint attention looks increased reliably with age. In addition, context effects were found such that joint attention looks increased while interacting with strangers but not with mothers. The study demonstrates the emergence of joint engagement before the end of the first year, and suggests that affect may play a key role in aspects of joint attention that may be unique to humans.     

Preferences for sexual dimorphism on attractiveness levels: An eye-tracking study

Previous studies on sexual dimorphism showed feminine preferences in female faces and mixed findings in male faces by choosing which is more attractive in a pair of a masculine face and a feminine face. However, very little is known about how people make fine-grained visual assessments of such images and the attractiveness levels of faces are not received much attention. Recently a large number of androgynous stars appear in the media, which triggers a hot phenomenon of imitating them. Here we examine the influence of androgynous stars on people’s facial preferences for sexual dimorphism in male and female faces on different attractiveness levels using eye-tracking techniques. In male faces we found both male and female participants preferred masculine faces to androgynous faces in high attractiveness, but mixed results in low attractiveness. In female faces we found both male and female participants preferred feminine faces to androgynous faces in high attractiveness, but no preferences in low attractiveness. Results suggest that attractiveness levels of faces might be a factor causing inconsistency in sexual dimorphism preference for male faces and that androgynous faces are not preferred, which reveals that androgynous phenomenon might not be caused by facial attractiveness.