Abstract
This paper reviews work on the relation between pornography and sexual aggression, covering experimental research on arousal, attitudes, and laboratory aggression, and some correlational studies. The termpornography is intended to cover the materials used in the relevant research, although not all of these would necessarily be seen as “pornographic.” The main body of the review is divided between “aggressive” and “not specifically aggressive” pornography, with some consideration in the discussion of the nature of supposedly “nonaggressive” pornography. In the case of sexually aggressive pornography, a variety of undesirable effects have been observed. Males show equal sexual arousal to pornographic rape depictions and consenting intercourse depictions under certain “disinhibiting” circumstances, such as anger or depicted victim pleasure, and these disinhibitors can also produce increased laboratory aggression against female targets by males exposed to aggressive pornography. Aggressive and, to some extent, not specifically aggressive pornography have also been found to increase the endorsement of attitude statements that are supportive of sexual aggression. The paper concludes with a discussion of ethical considerations, possible psychological bases of the effects, and the question of censorship. It is concluded that although several types of materials may produce behavioral orientation toward, and/or attitudinal support for, sexual aggression, this is a function of aggression and dominance themes rather than the explicitness of the sexual cues. These themes extend beyond explicit pornography, through extremely violent stimuli that lack explicit sexual elements, to widely consumed “normal” films and reading matter.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abel, G. G., Barlow, D. H., Blanchard, E. B., & Guild, D. (1977). The components of rapists’ sexual arousal.Archives of General Psychiatry, 34, 895–903.
Anderson, C. A. (1983). Imagination and expectation: The effect of imagining behavioral scripts on personal intentions.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 45, 293–305.
Anderson, C. A., Lepper, M. R., & Ross, L. (1980). Perseverance of social theories: The role of explanation in the persistence of discredited information.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39, 1037–1049.
Avery-Clark, C. A., & Laws, D. R. (1984). Differential erection response patterns of sexual child abusers to stimuli describing activities with children.Behavior Therapy, 15, 71–83.
Barbaree, H. E., Marshall, W. L., & Lanthier, R. D. (1979). Deviant sexual arousal in rapists.Behavior Research and Therapy, 17, 215–222.
Barbaree, H. E., Marshall, W. L., Yates, E., & Lightfoot, L. O. (1983). Alcohol intoxication and deviant sexual arousal in male social drinkers.Behavior Research and Therapy, 21, 365–373.
Baxter, D. J., Barbaree, H. E., & Marshall, W. L. (1986). Sexual responses to consenting and forced sex in a large sample of rapists and nonrapists.Behavior Research and Therapy, 24, 513–520.
Berkowitz, L. (1984). Some effects of thoughts on anti- and prosocial influence of media events: A cognitive-neoassociation analysis.Psychological Bulletin, 95, 410–427.
Bernstein, I. H., Huang, M-H., Teng, G., & Lin, T-D. (1986). Effects of attitudes toward pornography upon male judgments of female attractiveness.Perseption and Psychophysics, 39, 287–293.
Bond, S. B., & Mosher, D. L. (1986). Guided imagery of rape: Fantasy, reality, and the willing victim myth.Journal of Sex Research, 22, 162–183.
Brannigan, A. (1987). Pornography and behavior: Alternative explanations.Journal of Communication, 37, 185–189.
Briere, J., Malamuth, N., & Check, J. V. P. (1985). Sexuality and rape-supportive beliefs.International Journal of Women’s Studies, 8, 398–403.
Briere, J., & Malamuth, N. M. (1983). Self-reported likelihood of sexually aggressive behavior: Attitudinal versus sexual explanations.Journal of Research in Personality, 17, 315–323.
Brownmiller, S. (1975).Against our will: Men, women, and rape. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Burt, M. R. (1980). Cultural myths and supports for rape.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 38, 217–230.
Ceniti, J., Malamuth, N. M. (1984). Effects of repeated exposure to sexually violent or nonviolent stimuli on sexual arousal to rape and nonrape depictions.Behavior Research and Therapy, 22, 535–548.
Check, J. V. P., & Malamuth, N. M. (1985). An empirical assessment of some feminist hypotheses about rape.International Journal of Women’s Studies, 8, 414–423.
Check, J. V. P., & Malamuth, N. M. (1983). Sex role stereotyping and reactions to depictions of stranger versus acquaintance rape.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 45, 344–356.
Check, J. V. P., & Malamuth, N. M. (1984). Can there be positive effects of participation in pornography experments?Journal of Sex Research, 20, 14–31.
Christensen, F. (1986). Sexual callousness re-examined.Journal of Communication, 36, 174–184.
Costin, F. (1985). Beliefs about rape and women’s social roles.Archives of Sexual Behavior, 14, 319–325.
Costin, F., & Schwarz, N. (1987). Beliefs about rape and women’s social roles: A four-nation study.Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 2, 46–56.
Cowan, G. (1992). Feminist attitudes toward pornography control.Psychology and Women’s Quarterly, 16, 165–177.
Cowan, G., Lee, C., Levey, D., & Snyder, D. (1988). Dominance and inequality in X-rated videocassettes.Psychology of Women Quarterly, 12, 299–311.
Demaré, D., Briere, J., & Lips, H. M. (1988). Violent self-reported likelihood of sexual aggression.Journal of Research in Personality, 22, 140–153.
Donnerstein, E. (1980). Aggressive erotica and violence against women.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39, 269–277.
Donnerstein, E., & Berkowitz, L. (1981). Victim reactions in aggressive erotic films as a factor in violence against women.Journal of personality and Social Psychology, 41, 710–724.
Donnerstein, E., & Linz, D. (1986). Mass media sexual violence and male viewers: Current theory and research.American Behavioral Scientist, 29, 601–618.
Eccles, A., Marshall, W. L. & Barbaree, H. E. (1988). The vulnerability of erectile measures to repeated assessments.Behavior Research and Therapy, 26, 179–183.
Feild, H. S. (1978). Attitudes toward rape: A comparative analysis of police, rapists, crisis counselors, and citizens.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 36, 156–179.
Freund, K., Watson, R., & Rienzo, D. (1988). Signs of feigning in the phallometric test.Behavior Research and Therapy, 26, 105–112.
Garcia, L. T. (1986). Exposure to pornography and attitudes about women and rape: A correlational study.Journal of Sex Research, 22, 378–385.
George, W. H., & Marlatt, G. A. (1986). The effects of alcohol and anger on interest in violence, erotica, and deviance.Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 95, 150–158.
Gregory, W. L., Burroughs, W. J., & Ainslie, F. M. (1985). Self-relevant scenarios as an indirect means of attitude change.Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 11, 435–444.
Gregory, W. L., Cialdini, R. B., & Carpenter, K. M. (1982). Self-relevant scenarios as mediators of likelihood estimates and compliance: Does imagining make it so?Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 43, 89–99.
Hall, E. R., Howard, J. A., & Boezio, S. L. (1986). Tolerance of rape: A sexist or antisocial attitude?Psychology of Women Quarterly, 10, 101–118.
Hall, G. C. N. (1989). Self-reported hostility as a function of offence characteristics and response style in a sexual offender population.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 57, 306–308.
Hall, G. C. N. (1990). Validity of physiological measures of pedophilic sexual arousal in a sexual offender population: A reply to Quinsey and Laws.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 58, 889–891.
Hall, G. C. N., Proctor, W. C., & Nelson, G. M. (1988). Validity of physiological measures of pedophilic sexual arousal in a sexual offender population.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 56, 118–122.
Jaffee, D., & Straus, M. A. (1987). Sexual climate and reported rape: A state-level analysis.Archives of Sexual Behavior, 16, 107–123.
Jeffords, C. R. (1984). The impact of sex-role and religious attitudes upon forced marital intercourse norms,Sex Roles, 11, 543–552.
Jenkins, M. J., & Dambrot, F. H. (1987). The attribution of date rape: Observer’s attitudes and sexual experiences and the dating situation.Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 17, 875–895.
Kenrick, D. T., Gutierres, S. E., & Goldberg, L. L. (1989). Influence of popular erotica on judgments of strangers and mates.Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 25, 159–167.
Koop, C. E. (1987). Report of the Surgeon General’s Workshop on Pornography and Public Health.American Psychologist, 42, 944–945.
Koss, M. P., Diero, T. E., Seibel, C. A., & Cox, S. L. (1988). Stranger and acquaintance rape: Are there differences in the victim’s experience?Psychology of Women Quarterly, 12, 1–24.
Koss, M. P., Gidycz, C. A., & Wisniewski, N. (1987). The scope of rape: Incidence and prevalence of sexual aggression and victimization in a national sample of higher education students.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 55, 162–170.
Koss, M. P., Leonard, K. E., Beezley, D. A., & Oros, C. J. (1985). Nonstranger sexual aggression: A discriminant analysis of the psychological characteristics of undetected offenders.Sex Roles, 12, 981–992.
Lepper, M. R., Ross, L., & Lau, R. R. (1986). Persistence of inaccurate beliefs about the self: Perseverance effects in the classroom.Journal of Personality and social Psychology, 50, 482–491.
Levi, A. S., & Pryor, J. B. (1987). Use of the availability heuristic in probability estimates of future events: The effects of imagining outcomes versus imagining reasons.Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 40, 219–234.
Linz, D., Donnerstein, E., & Penrod, S. (1984). The effects of multiple exposures to filmed violence against women.Journal of Communication, 34, 130–147.
Linz, D., Donnerstein, E., & Penrod, S. (1987). The findings and recommendations of the Attorney General’s Commission on Pornography: Do the psychological “facts” fit the political fury?American Psychologist, 42, 946–953.
Linz, D., Penrod, S., & Donnerstein, E. (1986). Issues bearing on the legal regulation of violent and sexually violent media.Journal of Social Issues.42(3), 171–193.
Linz, D., Donnerstein, E., & Penrod, S. (1988). Effects of long-term exposure to violent and sexually degrading depictions of women.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 55, 758–768.
Lottes, I., Weinberg, M., & Weller, I. (1993). Reactions to pornography on a college campus: For or against?Sex Roles, 29, 69–89.
Malamuth, N. M. (1983). Factors associated with rape as predictors of laboratory aggression against women.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 45, 432–442.
Malamuth, N. M. (1988). Predicting laboratory aggression against female and male targets: Implications for sexual aggression.Journal of Research in Personality, 22, 474–495.
Malamuth, N. M. (1989a). The attraction to sexual aggression scale: Part two.Journal of Sex Research, 26, 324–354.
Malamuth, N. M. (1989b). Distinguishing between the Surgeon General’s personal views and the consensus reached at his workshop on pornography.American Psychologist, 44, 580.
Malamuth, N. M., & Briere, J. (1986). Sexual violence in the media: Indirect effects on aggression against women.Journal of Social Issues, 42(3), 75–92.
Malamuth, N. M., & Ceniti, J. (1986). Repeated exposure to violent and nonviolent pornography: Likelihood of raping ratings and laboratory aggression against women.Aggressive Behavior, 12, 129–137.
Malamuth, N. M., & Check, J. V. P. (1980a). Sexual arousal to rape and consenting depictions: The importance of the woman’s arousal.Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 89, 763–766.
Malamuth, N. M., & Check, J. V. P., (1980b). Penile tumescence and perceptual responses to rape as a function of victim’s perceived reactions.Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 10, 528–547.
Malamuth, N. M., & Check, J. V. P. (1981). The effects of mass media exposure on acceptance of violence against women: A field experiment.Journal of Research in Personality, 15, 436–446.
Malamuth, N. M., & Check, J. V. P. (1983). Sexual arousal to rape depictions: Individual differences.Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 92, 55–67.
Malamuth, N. M., & Check, J. V. P. (1984). Debriefing effectiveness following exposure to pornographic rape depictions.Journal of Sex Research, 20, 1–13.
Malamuth, N. M., & Check, J. V. P. (1985). The effects of aggressive pornography on beliefs in rape myth: Individual differences.Journal of Research in Personality, 19, 299–320.
Malamuth, N. M., Check, J. V. P., & Briere, J. (1986). Sexual arousal in response to aggression: Ideological, aggressive and sexual correlates.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 330–340.
Malamuth, N. M., Feshbach, S., & Heim, M. (1980). Ethical issues and exposure to rape stimuli: A reply to Sherif.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 38, 413–415.
Malamuth, N. M., Haber, S., & Feshbach, S. (1980). Testing hypotheses regarding rape: Exposure to sexual violence, sex differences, and the “normality” of rapists.Journal of Research in Personality, 14, 121–137.
Malamuth, N. M., Heim, M., & Feshbach, S. (1980). Sexual responsiveness of college students to rape depictions: Inhibitory and disinhibitory effects.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 38, 399–408.
Mayerson, S. E., & Taylor, D. A. (1987). The effects of rape myth pornography on women’s attitudes and the mediating role of sex role stereotyping.Sex Roles, 7, 321–338.
McKenzie-Mohr, D., & Zanna, M. P. (1990). Treating women as sexual objects: Look to the (gender schematic) male who has viewed pornography.Personality and Socail Psychology Bulletin, 16, 296–308.
Mosher, D. L., & Anderson, R. D. (1986). Macho personality, sexual aggression, and reactions to guided imagery of realistic rape.Journal of Research in Personality, 20, 77–94.
Mosher, D. L., & Sirkin, M. (1984). Measuring a macho personality constellation.Journal of Research in Personality, 18, 150–163.
Muehlenhard, C. L., & Falcon, P. L. (1990). Men’s heterosocial skill and attitudes toward women as predictions of verbal sexual coercion and forceful rape.Sex Roles, 23, 241–259.
Muehlenhard, C.L., & Linton, M.A. (1987). Date rape and sexual aggression in dating situations: Incidence and risk factors.Journal of Counseling Psychology, 34, 186–196.
Mueller, C. W., & Donnerstein, E. (1981). Film-facilitated arousal and prosocial behavior.Journal of Experimental and Social Psychology, 17, 31–41.
Murphy, W. D., Coleman, E. M., & Haynes, M. R. (1986). Factors related to coercive sexual behaviour in a nonclinical sample of males.Violence & Victims, 1, 255–278.
Murphy, W. D., Krisak, J., Stalgaitis, S., & Anderson, K. (1984). The use of penile tumescence measures with incarcerated rapists: Further validity issues.Archives of Sexual Behavior, 13, 545–554.
Page, S. (1989). Misrepresentation of pornography research: Psychology’s role.American Psychologist, 44, 578–580.
Page, S. (1991). Reply to Mould and Duncan on pornography research: Some important issues for psychology.American Psychologist, 46, 652–653.
Peterson, S. A. & Franzese, B. (1987). Correlates of college men’s sexual abuse of women.Journal of College Student Personnel, 28, 223–228.
Petty, G. M. Jr., & Dawson, B. (1989). Sexual aggression in normal men: Incidence, beliefs, and personality characteristics.Personality and Individual Differences, 1, 355–362.
Pryor, J. B. (1987). Sexual harassment proclivities in men.Sex Roles, 17, 269–290.
Quinsey, V. L., Chaplin, T. C., & Upfold, D. (1984). Sexual arousal to nonsexual violence and sadomasochistic themes among rapists and non sex offenders.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 52, 651–657.
Quinsey, V. L, & Laws, D. R. (1990). Validity of physiological measures of pedophilic sexual arousal in a sexual offender population: A critique of Hall, Proctor, and Nelson.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 58, 886–888.
Ramirez, J., Bryant, J. & Zillman, D. (1982). Effects of erotica on retaliatory behavior as a function of level of prior provocation.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 43, 971–978.
Rapaport, K., & Burkhart, B. (1984). Personality and attitudinal characteristics of sexually coercive college males.Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 93, 216–221.
Riger, S., & Gordon, M. T., (1981). The fear of rape: A study in social control.Journal of Social Issues, 37(4), 71–92.
Rodgerson, G., & Semple, L. (1990). Who watches the watchwoman? Feminists against censorship.Feminist Review, 36, 19–28.
Ross, L., Lepper, M. R., & Hubbard, D. M. (1975). Perseverance in self perception and social perception: Biased attributional processes in the debriefing paradigm.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 32, 880–892.
Schwarz, N. & Brand, J. F. (1983). Effects of salience of rape on sex role attitudes, trust, and self-esteem in non-raped women.European Journal of Social Psychology, 13, 71–76.
Scott, J. E., & Cuvelier, S. J. (1993). Violence and sexual violence in pornography: Is it really increasing?Archives of Sexual Behavior, 22, 357–371.
Segal, L. (1990). Pornography and violence: What the ‘experts’ really say.Feminist Review, 36, 29–41.
Sherif, C. W. (1980). Comment on ethical issues in Malamuth, Heim, & Feshbach’s “Sexual responsiveness of college students to rape depictions: Inhibitory and disinhibitory effects.”Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 38, 409–412.
Sherman, S. J., Cialdini, R. B., Schwartzman, D. F., & Reynolds, K. D. (1985). Imaging can heighten or lower the perceived likelihood of contracting a disease: The mediating effect of ease of imagery.Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 11, 118–127.
Silbert, M. H., & Pines, A. M. (1984). Pornography and sexual abuse of women.Sex Roles, 10, 857–868.
Smeaton, G., & Byrne, D. (1987). The effects of R rated violence and erotica, individual differences, and victim characteristics on acquaintance rape proclivity.Journal of Research in Personality, 21, 171–184.
Smith, M. D., & Hand, C. (1987). The pornography/aggression linkage: Results from a field study.Deviant Behavior, 8, 389–399.
Tieger, T. (1981). Self-rated likelihood of raping and the social perception of rape.Journal of Research in Personality, 15, 147–158.
Vivar, M. A. (1982). The new anti-female violent pornography: Is moral condemnation the only justifiable response?Law and Psychology Review, 7, 53–70.
Warr, M. (1985). Fear of rape among urban women.Social Problems, 32, 238–250.
Wyer, R. S., Jr., Bodenhausen, G. V., & Gorman, T. F. (1985). Cognitive mediators of reactions to rape.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 48, 324–338.
Yates, E., Barbaree, H. E., & Marshall, W. L. (1984). Anger and deviant sexual arousal.Behavior Therapy, 15, 287–294.
Zillman, D., & Bryant, J. (1982). Pornography, sexual callousness, and the trivialization of rape.Journal of Communication, 32, 10–21.
Zillman, D., & Bryant, J. (1986a). Sexual callousness reexamined: A response.Journal of Communication, 36, 184–188.
Zillman, D., & Bryant, J. (1986b). Shifting preferences in pornography consumption.Communication Research, 13, 560–578.
Zillman, D., & Bryant, J. (1987). ‘Pornography and behavior: Alternative explanations”: Reply.Journal of Communication, 37, 189–192.
Zillman, D., & Bryant, J. (1988). Pornography’s impact on sexual satisfaction.Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 18, 438–453.
Zillman, D., Bryant, J., Comisky, P. W., & Medoff, N. J. (1981). Excitation and hedonic valence in the effect of erotica on motivated and intermale aggression.European Journal of Social Psychology, 11, 233–252.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Pollard, P. Pornography and sexual aggression. Current Psychology 14, 200–221 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02686908
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02686908