Participants Sixteen men (ages 18-27), primarily Caucasian, were recruited from a large university and local community. They were identified based on responses to a screening measure assessing history of perpetrating sexually aggressive behavior. Procedure Participants attended one session in which they completed questionnaires pertaining to hypermasculinity and demographics (Table 1). During the session, participants were shown the 14 photos (Figure 1) in random order and asked to rate each photo on a variety of factors (e.g., How aggressive was the sexual act depicted in the photo? How much do you think the female character enjoyed the sexual act depicted in the photo?). Participants also completed a self-report questionnaire about their sexual response to each photo. Measures Hypermasculinity Inventory 3 is a 30-item questionnaire that is divided into 3 subscales: Calloused sex attitudes toward women (10 items), Violence as manly (10 items), and Danger as exciting (10 items). Film Evaluation Scale 4 is a 12-item questionnaire that measured how the participant felt while viewing each picture. Participants answered the degree to which they felt a range of sexual responses on a 5-point Likert Scale, from 0 (Very slightly or not at all), to 5 (Extremely). Sexual arousal and desire to have sex were computed. Data Analyses 1-way Repeated Measures ANOVAs with type of photo (enjoyment vs. ambiguous) as the factor and ratings of reactions to the photos as the dependent variable. Bivariate correlations between level of sexual aggression history and sexual responses to photos. Bivariate correlations between HI scores and mens ratings of photos. 1) Men with a history of perpetrating more severe sexual coercion will rate the ambiguous photos as more arousing, less aggressive, and more enjoyable for the women than would men with no history of sexual aggression. 2) Men with high hypermasculinity scores will rate ambiguous photos as more arousing, less aggressive, and more enjoyable for the women than would men with lower hypermasculinity scores. 1 Hall, G.C.N., & Hirschman, R. (1991). J Consult Clin Psychol., 5, ; 2 Parrott, D.J., & Zeichner, A. (2003). Psychol Men Masculinity, 4, 70-78; 3 Mosher, D.L., & Sirkin, M. (1984). J Res Pers., 18, Hackbert, L., & Heiman, J.R. (2002). J Womens Health Gend Based Med., 11, SEXUAL AGGRESSION HISTORY AND HYPERMASCULINE ATTITUDES AS RELATED TO MENS RESPONSES TO SEXUAL PHOTOS Yvette N. Hill, B.A. 1,2, Zoë D. Peterson, Ph.D. 2, & Julia R. Heiman, Ph.D. 1,2 Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences 1,& The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction 1,2 Indiana University; Bloomington, IN Incorrect cognitive appraisals of sexual interactions have been theorized to contribute to mens sexually aggressive behavior 1. During sexual interactions, a sexually aggressive man may ignore or misperceive cues from a woman indicating whether sex is unwanted, or on a more subtle level, signs of lack of enjoyment. In addition, negative sexual attitudes from some men may perpetuate sexual aggression against women. Even men who have not engaged in sexual aggression may hold attitudes that justify and condone sexual aggression. For example, hypermasculine attitudes have been found to predict violence against women 2. Thus, hypermasculine attitudes may be related to cognitive misappraisals of sexual interactions even in the absence of a sexually aggressive history. The study investigated whether mens history of engaging in sexual aggression rated on a scale of severity from 0 (no aggression) to 4 (use of physical force or restraint)and mens scores on the Hypermasculinity Inventory 3 are associated with how they interpret photos of heterosexual couples engaged in sexual interactions. Participants viewed two pre-tested sets of erotic picturesa set of 7 enjoyment photos depicting a woman who was clearly enjoying the sexual activity and a set of 7 ambiguous photos in which the womans facial expression was unclear. There were within-subject effects for the two sets of pictures such that the ambiguous photos were rated as more aggressive, F(1,15) = , p <.001; less consensual, F(1,15) = , p <.001; and less enjoyable for the female character, F(1,15) = , p <.001, as compared to the enjoyment photos. More severe sexual aggression was associated with more sexual arousal (r =.54, p <.05), more desire for partnered sex (r =.57, p <.05), and more desire to masturbate (r =.56, p <.05) in response to the ambiguous photos. More severe sexual aggression was associated with more desire for partnered sex (r =.55, p <.05) in response to the enjoyment photos. Subscales of the HI were associated with mens ratings of the photos (Table 2). Introduction Methods Results Discussion References Table 1. Demographics. Figure 1. Facial expressions from the two sets of erotic pictures. Table 2. Correlations Between Men's Ratings of Pictures & HI Subscales. This study examined whether a history of sexual aggression and hypermasculine attitudes are associated with how men interpret sexually explicit pictures. We found that the ambiguous photos were rated as more aggressive, less consensual, and less enjoyable for the female character as compared to the enjoyment photos, suggesting that our categorization of photos was valid. It was not found that men with a history of perpetrating sexual coercion rated the ambiguous photos as less aggressive or more enjoyable for the women. However, a history of more severe sexual aggression was associated with more subjective arousal and desire in response to the ambiguous photos (Figure 2). Bivariate correlations indicated that higher hypermasculinity scores were associated with desire to have sex, desire to masturbate, increased arousal, respect for the male, and attraction to the female in the ambiguous photos. Additionally, subscales of the Hypermasculinity Inventory were correlated with how men rated the photos. For example, callousness toward women was correlated with higher ratings that the female enjoyed the experience in the ambiguous photos. The fact that men reporting a history of more severe sexual aggression and men with higher hypermasculinity scores experienced more arousal and desire in response to the ambiguous photos suggests that these men's sexual responses were not inhibited by a woman's cues of discomfort, reluctance or at least less enjoyment to the same extent as men without an aggressive history. Similarly, the fact that hypermasculine attitudes were associated with interpreting women's ambiguous emotional reactions as enjoyment suggests that, in sexual situations, hypermasculine men may be less sensitive to women's emotional states. These results need to be interpreted with caution given that this study used a small convenience sample of men recruited from a university which was representative of a limited age range. Should future studies confirm these results, it would be important to investigate the mechanisms involved in perception of sexual cues. Example from enjoyment pictureExample from ambiguous picture Hypotheses Figure 2. Associations between sexual coercion and sexual response.