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When Sex Is on the Air: Impression Formation After Exposure to Sexual Music

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Abstract

The present study examines how young men and women, when primed with sexual cues in entertainment media, incorporate these cues into their first impressions of an unfamiliar target. Respondents (n = 188) were exposed to popular music either with or without sexual lyrics. Respondents in the sexual music condition recognized the sexual conveyance of that music. Respondents in the other condition rated the sexuality in their music as low. After exposure, respondents evaluated unknown targets—job applicants represented by their resumés. Sexual conveyance elevated ratings of sexual qualities attributed to the targets, suggesting sexual objectification of the targets. Sexual quality ratings then predicted evaluations of the targets’ merit, including knowledge and integrity. Although the association between sexual quality and overall merit ratings were positive for both men and women, men exhibited a significantly stronger association than women did. Findings support a postconscious automatic processing interpretation of media priming effects and corroborate prior observations that sexual media primes yield sexualized evaluations. Findings also suggest a need to measure initial affective responses to media primes, as different sexual depictions might trigger sexual thoughts with either a positive or negative connotation.

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Correspondence to Francesca R. Dillman Carpentier.

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Carpentier, F.R.D. When Sex Is on the Air: Impression Formation After Exposure to Sexual Music. Sexuality & Culture 18, 818–832 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-014-9223-8

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