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Experimental Effects of Exposure to Pornography: The Moderating Effect of Personality and Mediating Effect of Sexual Arousal

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Abstract

Using a randomly selected community sample of 200 Danish young adult men and women in a randomized experimental design, the study investigated the effects of a personality trait (agreeableness), past pornography consumption, and experimental exposure to non-violent pornography on attitudes supporting violence against women (ASV). We found that lower levels of agreeableness and higher levels of past pornography consumption significantly predicted ASV. In addition, experimental exposure to pornography increased ASV but only among men low in agreeableness. This relationship was found to be significantly mediated by sexual arousal with sexual arousal referring to the subjective assessment of feeling sexually excited, ready for sexual activities, and/or bodily sensations associated with being sexually aroused. In underscoring the importance of individual differences, the results supported the hierarchical confluence model of sexual aggression and the media literature on affective engagement and priming effects.

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Acknowledgments

The study was supported, in part, by grants from The Health Insurance Foundation and The Augustinus Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Øster Farimagsgade 5A, Building 15.0.18, Copenhagen K, 1153, Denmark

    Gert Martin Hald

  2. Clinic of Sexology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Gert Martin Hald

  3. Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Neil N. Malamuth

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  1. Gert Martin Hald
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Correspondence to Gert Martin Hald.

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Hald, G.M., Malamuth, N.N. Experimental Effects of Exposure to Pornography: The Moderating Effect of Personality and Mediating Effect of Sexual Arousal. Arch Sex Behav 44, 99–109 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-014-0291-5

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