Page 326 - Media Effects Advances in Theory and Research

12. EFFECTS OF SEX IN THE MEDIA 315

perpetrating a similar act are thankfully not commonplace, the juxtaposi-
tion of such events when they actually happen is compelling. Very violent
and disturbing images are available, from extreme objectification like a
naked woman as a hamburger smeared with condiments or women being
tortured or even killed in a variety of ways (see Russell, 1998, for many
gruesome examples). For obvious ethical reasons, there has been virtually
no controlled scientific study of effects of viewing such extreme materials.
In a review of correlational research examining the role of pornography
in the sexual development of sex offenders, including the possible role of
pornography to incite sexual offenses, Bauserman (1996) concluded that
such links have not been demonstrated as general trends, although they
point out that sex offenders are a highly diverse group, and there may be a
subset who use violent pornography in significant ways. Allen, D’Alessio,
and Emmers-Sommer (2000) found that, although convicted sex offenders
did not consume more pornography than did nonoffender controls, they
were more aroused by it and were more likely to commit some form of sex-
ual act afterward (masturbation, consensual, or coercive sex).

Disinhibition of Known Behaviors. Aside from teaching new behav-
iors, sexual media may also disinhibit previously learned behavior. For
example, watching a video with oral sex or bondage may disinhibit the
viewer’s prior existing inhibitions against engaging in such behavior.
Watching a rape scene where a woman is portrayed as enjoying being
assaulted may disinhibit the constraint against some men’s secret urge to
commit such a crime (see discussion in Sexual Violence section). Such a
possibility is of particular concern given that between 25 and 57% of col-
lege men reported that they might rape if they were sure they would not
be caught (Check, 1985; Malamuth, 1984; Malamuth, Haber, & Feshbach,
1980). The amount of violent pornography consumed significantly pre-
dicted self-rated likelihood to rape, although there was no effect of nonvi-
olent pornography (Demare et al., 1988). We return to a detailed discus-
sion of sexual violence later.

Relation to Rape and Other Crimes. One of the main concerns about
behavioral effects of viewing sexual explicit materials is their possible rela-
tionship with rape and other so-called sex crimes. Most Western nations
have experienced a large increase both in the availability of sexually
explicit media and in the rise in reported rapes since the 1960s. The rela-
tionship between the two, however, has been difficult to clarify. There have
been many studies looking at correlations of rates of crimes like rape, exhi-
bitionism, and child molestation, relative to sexual media consumption
and changes in the availability of pornography within and across many
different countries (see Bauserman, 1996, for a review of such studies).