Effects of interactive computer erotica on men's attitudes and behavior toward women: An experimental study

Azy Barak, William A. Fisher

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine antiwomen attitudes and behaviors in men as a function of the use of interactive erotica, moderated by the men's initial affective disposition toward sexuality. A total of 100 first year university men were exposed to either (a) neutral, noninteractive (control) stimuli, (b) erotic, noninteractive stimuli, (c) erotic, moderately interactive stimuli, or (d) erotic, highly interactive stimuli on a personal computer. Prior to this manipulation, participants' levels of erotophobia-erotophilia were assessed. After exposure to the manipulation, participants' attitudes toward women, rape myth acceptance, and level of aggressive behavior in response to a female confederate's provocation were assessed. In addition, participants' keyboard activity and self-reported levels of sexual arousal were recorded and analyzed. Results showed that the erotic stimuli resulted in much interactive activity and in significant amounts of sexual arousal, but use of computer pornography by participants did not affect any of the measures of attitudes or behavior toward women in comparison with the control condition and regardless of participants' affective orientation to sexuality. Implications for theory and research on computer-mediated exposure to pornography are discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)353-369
Number of pages17
JournalComputers in Human Behavior
Volume13
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 1997
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
first authorw asa ffiliatedw ithT el-AvivU niversityI,s rael,a ndtook placea t thati nstitution. The studyw as supportedb y a grant from the Canada-IsraeFlo undationfo r Academic Exchanges.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • General Psychology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Effects of interactive computer erotica on men's attitudes and behavior toward women: An experimental study'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this