Revisiting Media Priming Effects of Sexual Depictions: Replication,Extension, and Consideration of Sexual Depiction Strength |
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| Authors: | Francesca R. Dillman Carpentier C. Temple Northup M. Scott Parrott |
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| Affiliation: | 1. School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA francesca@unc.edu;3. Jack J. Valenti School of Communication, University of Houston, Houston, Texas, USA;4. College of Communication and Information Sciences, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA |
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| Abstract: | Two experiments were used to examine how sexual media primes influence perceptions of an unknown target's sexual characteristics and ultimate ratings of the target's appeal. Participants were randomly assigned to one condition of a fully crossed 3 (control, weak sexual, or strong sexual media prime) × 3 (general, dating, or professional social networking profile) design. Participants were first exposed to a website that contained banner and sidebar advertisements that were either high in explicitness and emphasis on sexual intercourse, low in explicitness and emphasis on intercourse but still related to sex, or devoid of sexual cues altogether. These banner and sidebar areas constituted the prime. Participants then rated the sex-related qualities and overall appeal of a target represented by an online social media profile from Facebook.com, LiveJournal.com, BlackBookSingles.com, or LinkedIn.com. Findings supported the main hypothesis that sexual media enhance the perceived sexual characteristics attributed to the target represented in social media and that these characteristics significantly contribute to evaluating overall appeal. Both sexual media primes yielded effects that were robust across social network profiles. Results are discussed in light of literature that analyzes sexual content in media. |
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