Page 323 - Media Effects Advances in Theory and Research

312 HARRIS AND SCOTT

active seekers and users of sexual material than are women, with an esti-
mated 71% of sex videos viewed by men by themselves (Gettleman, 1999).
However, this cannot be assumed to be due to greater intrinsic male inter-
est in sex; it may merely reflect the pornography industry’s extreme slant
to the traditional male perspective. Indeed, a few studies have shown
women to have more positive reactions to sexual videos written and
directed by women and for women (Mosher & Maclan, 1994; Quacken-
bush, Strassberg, & Turner, 1995), although men appear to be more likely
to seek out sexual media and be aroused by it, even after controlling for
content (Malamuth, 1996).
This is consistent with an evolutionary psychological explanation for
sex differences in sexual media consumption and effects (Buss, 1995;
Malamuth, 1996, 1999). From this perspective, males are more interested
in seeking a greater number of sexual partners, whereas females, for
whom intercourse has potentially greater consequences, are more inter-
ested in a longer-term commitment from a mate to help raise the off-
spring. These ideas are consistent with observed findings that men seek
out and use sexual media more than women and are generally more
aroused than women by them, especially media that visually represent
many different potential partners. Women, however, are less aroused than
men by typical pornography, preferring more contextually based sexual
expressions like romance novels.

The Catharsis Legend. One often hears the argument that consuming
sexually explicit material allows the expression of sexual urges and thus
decreases the rate of arousal. This invokes the construct of catharsis, the
emotional release that follows the expression of an impulse. This popular
idea comes from psychodynamic models of personality, notably Freud.
Applied to sex, the catharsis argument says that consuming sexual media
relieves sexual urges, with the magazine or video acting (perhaps in con-
junction with masturbation) as a sort of imperfect substitute for the real
behavior. Although a catharsis argument has been used to support loos-
ening restrictions on pornography (Kutchinsky, 1973) and has been
reported by sex offenders as a strategy for reducing impulses for commit-
ting an offense (Carter, Prentky, Knight, Vanderveer, & Boucher, 1987;
Langevin et al., 1988), the research support for catharsis is weak to nonex-
istent (Bushman, Baumeister, & Stack, 1999; Comstock, 1985; Final Report,
1986). As discussed earlier, viewing sexual material increases, not
decreases, sexual arousal, and, after viewing, one is thus more, not less,
motivated to engage in sexual behavior. Thus, consuming pornography as
a means to reduce and satisfy sexual urges is likely to have the opposite
effect. Nor is it going to reduce the rate of rape, which is energized by a
power motive, not a lack of sexual fulfillment (Prentky & Knight, 1991).