Abstract
Reproduction in mammals includes two general categories of behaviors: mating and parenting. Historically and cross-culturally, men invest more than women in mating; women invest more than men in parenting. Sex differences in attention and attitude toward mating and parenting stimuli have rarely been assessed together despite theoretical interest. To evaluate these differences simultaneously in a naturalistic setting, 582 study participants (459 women, 123 men) were presented with sexual and infant images, online in the privacy of their home, at three time periods spanning several weeks for a more reliable result. Attention was measured by covertly recording viewing time of images using Qualtrics software, and attitude was measured via self-report after each viewing session. Men reported a more positive attitude than women toward the sexual images; women reported a more positive attitude than men toward the infant images. Women viewed the infant images marginally longer than did men, and the infant-to-sexual viewing ratio was larger for women. The sexual-to-infant viewing ratio was larger for men than for women. Unexpectedly, both genders viewed the sexual images longer than the infant images, with no significant gender difference in the sexual image viewing time. The results suggest that women and men may give equal attention to visual sexual stimuli despite self-reported sex differences in interest. The possibly underestimated valence of visual sexual stimuli for women is discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Data Availability
The data generated during this study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Code Availability
Not applicable.
References
Anderson, M., Vogels, E. A., & Turner, E. (2020, 6 February). The virtues and downsides of online dating. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/02/PI_2020.02.06_online-dating_REPORT.pdf
Arteche, A. X., Vivian, F. A., Dalpiaz, B. P. Y., & Salvador-Silva, R. (2016). Effects of sex and parental status on the assessment of infant faces. Psychology & Neuroscience, 9(2), 176–187. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0101552
Backx, R., Skirrow, C., Dente, P., Barnett, J. H., & Cormack, F. K. (2020). Comparing Web-based and lab-based cognitive assessment using the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery: A within-subjects counterbalanced study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(8), e16792. https://doi.org/10.2196/16792
Baumeister, R. F. (2000). Gender differences in erotic plasticity: The female sex drive as socially flexible and responsive. Psychological Bulletin, 126(3), 347–374. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.126.3.347
Baumeister, R. F., Catanese, K. R., & Vohs, K. D. (2001). Is there a gender difference in strength of sex drive? Theoretical views, conceptual distinctions, and a review of relevant evidence. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 5(3), 242–273. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327957PSPR0503_5
Benjamin, D. J., Berger, J. O., Johannesson, M., Nosek, B. A., Wagenmakers, E.-J., Berk, R., Bollen, K. A., Brembs, B., Brown, L., Camerer, C., Cesarini, D., Chambers, C. D., Clyde, M., Cook, T. D., De Boeck, P., Dienes, Z., Dreber, A., Easwaran, K., Efferson, C., & Johnson, V. E. (2018). Redefine statistical significance. Nature Human Behaviour, 2(1), 6–10. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-017-0189-z
Bjorklund, D. F., & Shackelford, T. K. (1999). Differences in parental investment contribute to important differences between men and women. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 8(3), 86–89. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8721.00020
Brown, N. R., & Sinclair, R. C. (1999). Estimating number of lifetime sexual partners: Men and women do it differently. Journal of Sex Research, 36(3), 292–297. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499909551999
Bruch, E. E., & Newman, M. (2019). Structure of online dating markets in U.S. cities. Sociological Science, 6(9), 219–234. https://doi.org/10.15195/v6.a9
Buss, D. M., & Schmitt, D. P. (2019). Mate preferences and their behavioral manifestations. Annual Review of Psychology, 70, 77–110. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-010418-103408
Cárdenas, R. A., Harris, L. J., & Becker, M. W. (2013). Sex differences in visual attention toward infant faces. Evolution and Human Behavior, 34(4), 280–287. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2013.04.001
Carvalheira, A. A., & Costa, P. A. (2015). The impact of relational factors on sexual satisfaction among heterosexual and homosexual men. Sexual and Relationship Therapy, 30(3), 314–324. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681994.2015.1041372
Charles, N. E., Alexander, G. M., & Saenz, J. (2013). Motivational value and salience of images of infants. Evolution and Human Behavior, 34(5), 373–381. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2013.06.005
Clutton-Brock, T. (2007). Sexual selection in males and females. Science, 318(5858), 1882–1885. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1133311
Craig, L., & Mullan, K. (2011). How mothers and fathers share childcare: A cross-national time-use comparison. American Sociological Review, 76(6), 834–861. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122411427673
Crawford, M., & Popp, D. (2003). Sexual double standards: A review and methodological critique of two decades of research. Journal of Sex Research, 40(1), 13–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224490309552163
Dawson, S. J., & Chivers, M. L. (2014). Gender differences and similarities in sexual desire. Current Sexual Health Reports, 6, 211–219. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11930-014-0027-5
Dawson, S. J., & Chivers, M. L. (2016). Gender-specificity of initial and controlled visual attention to sexual stimuli in androphilic women and gynephilic men. PLoS ONE, 11(4), e0152785. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0152785
Dawson, S. J., & Chivers, M. L. (2018). The effect of static versus dynamic stimuli on visual processing of sexual cues in androphilic women and gynephilic men. Royal Society Open Science, 5(6), 172286. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.172286
Dawson, S. J., & Chivers, M. L. (2019). The effect of task demands on gender-specificity of visual attention biases in androphilic women and gynephilic men. Personality and Individual Differences, 146, 120–126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2019.04.006
Dawson, S. J., Lalumière, M. L., Allen, S. W., Vasey, P. L., & Suschinsky, K. D. (2013). Can habituation of sexual responses be elicited in men and women when attention is maintained? Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science/Revue Canadienne des Sciences du Comportement, 45(3), 274–285. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032848
Dewitte, M. (2016). Gender differences in implicit processing of sexual stimuli. European Journal of Personality, 30(2), 107–124. https://doi.org/10.1002/per.2031
Ding, F., Cheng, G., Jia, Y., Zhang, W., Lin, N., Zhang, D., & Mo, W. (2020). The role of sex and femininity in preferences for unfamiliar infants among Chinese adults. PLoS ONE, 15(11), e0242203. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0242203
Ellison, P. T., & Gray, P. B. (Eds.). (2009). Endocrinology of social relationships. Harvard University Press.
England, P., & Bearak, J. M. (2014). The sexual double standard and gender differences in attitudes toward casual sex among U.S. university students. Demographic Research, 30, 1327–1338. https://doi.org/10.4054/DemRes.2014.30.46
Faul, F., Erdfelder, E., Buchner, A., & Lang, A.-G. (2009). Statistical power analyses using G*Power 3.1: Tests for correlation and regression analyses. Behavior Research Methods, 41, 1149–1160. https://doi.org/10.3758/BRM.41.4.1149
Ganna, A., Verweij, K. J., Nivard, M. G., Maier, R., Wedow, R., Busch, A. S., Abdellaoui, A., Guo, S., Sathirapongsasuti, J. F., Lichtenstein, P., Lundström, S., Långström, N., Auton, A., Harris, K. M., Beecham, G. W., Martin, E. R., Sanders, A. R., Perry, J. R., Neale, B. M., & Zietsch, B. P. (2019). Large-scale GWAS reveals insights into the genetic architecture of same-sex sexual behavior. Science, 365(6456), eaat7693. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aat7693
Geary, D. C. (2000). Evolution and proximate expression of human paternal investment. Psychological Bulletin, 126(1), 55–77. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.126.1.55
Germine, L. T., Nakayama, K., Duchaine, B., Chabris, C. F., Chatterjee, G., & Wilmer, J. B. (2012). Is the Web as good as the lab? Comparable performance from Web and lab in cognitive/perceptual experiments. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 19, 847–857. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-012-0296-9
Gracia, P., & Esping-Andersen, G. (2015). Fathers’ child care time and mothers’ paid work: A cross-national study of Denmark, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Family Science, 6(1), 270–281. https://doi.org/10.1080/19424620.2015.1082336
Hall, C., Hogue, T., & Guo, K. (2011). Differential gaze behavior towards sexually preferred and non-preferred human figures. Journal of Sex Research, 48(5), 461–469. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2010.521899
Hen, M., Karsh, N., Langer, E., & Shechter, R. (2020). Gender differences in implicit exposure to cyber-pornography. Journal of Social Psychology, 160(5), 613–623. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.2020.1719963
Hilbig, B. E. (2016). Reaction time effects in lab- versus Web-based research: Experimental evidence. Behavior Research Methods, 48(4), 1718–1724. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-015-0678-9
Jackson, S. E., Yang, L., Veronese, N., Koyanagi, A., López Sánchez, G. F., Grabovac, I., Soysal, P., & Smith, L. (2019). Sociodemographic and behavioural correlates of lifetime number of sexual partners: Findings from the english longitudinal study of ageing. BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health, 45(2), 138–146. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjsrh-2018-200230
Johnstone, R. A., Reynolds, J. D., & Deutsch, J. C. (1996). Mutual mate choice and sex differences in choosiness. Evolution, 50(4), 1382–1391. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.1996.tb03912.x
Kinsey, A. C., Pomeroy, W. B., & Martin, C. E. (1948). Sexual behavior in the human male. Saunders.
Kruger, D. J. (2017). Brief self-report scales assessing life history dimensions of mating and parenting effort. Evolutionary Psychology, 15(1), 1474704916673840. https://doi.org/10.1177/1474704916673840
Li, D., & Zheng, L. (2017). Relationship quality predicts online sexual activities among Chinese heterosexual men and women in committed relationships. Computers in Human Behavior, 70, 244–250. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.12.075
Lykins, A. D., Meana, M., & Strauss, G. P. (2008). Sex differences in visual attention to erotic and non-erotic stimuli. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 37, 219–228. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-007-9208-x
Maestripieri, D., & Pelka, S. (2002). Sex differences in interest in infants across the lifespan. Human Nature, 13(3), 327–344. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-002-1018-1
Marino, M., Melodia, F., Pivetta, E., Mansueto, G., Palmieri, S., Caselli, G., Canale, N., Vieno, A., Conti, F., & Spada, M. M. (2023). Desire thinking and craving as predictors of problematic Internet pornography use in women and men. Addictive Behaviors, 136, 107469. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2022.107469
Marlowe, F. (2000). Paternal investment and the human mating system. Behavioural Processes, 51(1–3), 45–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0376-6357(00)00118-2
Mitchell, K. R., Mercer, C. H., Prah, P., Clifton, S., Tanton, C., Wellings, K., & Copas, A. (2019). Why do men report more opposite-sex sexual partners than women? Analysis of the gender discrepancy in a British national probability survey. Journal of Sex Research, 56(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2018.1481193
Murdock, G. P., & White, D. R. (1969). Standard cross-cultural sample. Ethnology, 8(4), 329–369. https://doi.org/10.2307/3772907
O’Kane, K. M. K., Milani, S., Chivers, M. L., & Dawson, S. J. (2023). Gynephilic men’s and androphilic women’s visual attention patterns: The effects of gender and sexual activity cues. Journal of Sex Research, 60, 880–889. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2022.2033675
Parker, K., & Wang, W. (2013, 14 March). Modern parenthood: Roles of moms and dads converge as they balance work and family. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2013/03/FINAL_modern_parenthood_03-2013.pdf
Pedersen, W. C., Miller, L. C., Putcha-Bhagavatula, A. D., & Yang, Y. (2002). Evolved sex differences in the number of partners desired? The long and the short of it. Psychological Science, 13(2), 157–161. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9280.00428
Petersen, J. L., & Hyde, J. S. (2011). Gender differences in sexual attitudes and behaviors: A review of meta-analytic results and large datasets. Journal of Sex Research, 48(2–3), 149–165. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2011.551851
Pool, E., Brosch, T., Delplanque, S., & Sander, D. (2016). Attentional bias for positive emotional stimuli: A meta-analytic investigation. Psychological Bulletin, 142(1), 79–106. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000026
Puts, D. A. (2010). Beauty and the beast: Mechanisms of sexual selection in humans. Evolution and Human Behavior, 31(3), 157–175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2010.02.005
Rieger, G., Cash, B. M., Merrill, S. M., Jones-Rounds, J., Dharmavaram, S. M., & Savin-Williams, R. C. (2015). Sexual arousal: The correspondence of eyes and genitals. Biological Psychology, 104, 56–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2014.11.009
Rupp, H. A., & Wallen, K. (2007). Sex differences in viewing sexual stimuli: An eye-tracking study in men and women. Hormones and Behavior, 51(4), 524–533. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2007.01.008
Rupp, H. A., & Wallen, K. (2008). Sex differences in response to visual sexual stimuli: A review. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 37(2), 206–218. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-007-9217-9
Sanders, T. (2008). Paying for pleasure: Men who buy sex (1st ed.). Willan. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781843925569
Schacht, R., & Kramer, K. L. (2019). Are we monogamous? A review of the evolution of pair-bonding in humans and its contemporary variation cross-culturally. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 7, 230. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2019.00230
Schmitt, D. P. (2003). Universal sex differences in the desire for sexual variety: Tests from 52 nations, 6 continents, and 13 islands. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85(1), 85–104. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.85.1.85
Sennwald, V., Pool, E., Brosch, T., Delplanque, S., Bianchi-Demicheli, F., & Sander, D. (2016). Emotional attention for erotic stimuli: Cognitive and brain mechanisms. Journal of Comparative Neurology, 524(8), 1668–1675. https://doi.org/10.1002/cne.23859
Shrout, P. E., & Lane, S. P. (2012). Reliability. In H. Cooper, P. M. Camic, D. L. Long, A. T. Panter, D. Rindskopf, & K. J. Sher (Eds.), APA handbook of research methods in psychology, Vol. 1. Foundations, planning, measures, and psychometrics (pp. 643–660). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/13619-034
Thompson, A. E., Harvey, C. A., Haus, K. R., & Karst, A. (2020). An investigation of the implicit endorsement of the sexual double standard among U.S. young adults. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 1454. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01454
Trivers, R. (1972). Parental investment and sexual selection. In B. Campbell (Ed.), Sexual selection and the descent of Man (pp. 136–179). Aldine de Gruyter.
Tsujimura, A., Miyagawa, Y., Takada, S., Matsuoka, Y., Takao, T., Hirai, T., Matsushita, M., Nonomura, N., & Okuyama, A. (2009). Sex differences in visual attention to sexually explicit videos: A preliminary study. Journal of Sexual Medicine, 6(4), 1011–1017. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1743-6109.2008.01031.x
van Anders, S. M., & Gray, P. B. (2007). Hormones and human partnering. Annual Review of Sex Research, 18, 60–93. https://doi.org/10.1080/10532528.2007.10559847
Vandepitte, J., Lyerla, R., Dallabetta, G., Crabbé, F., Alary, M., & Buvé, A. (2006). Estimates of the number of female sex workers in different regions of the world. Sexually Transmitted Infections, 82(Suppl 3), iii18–iii25. https://doi.org/10.1136/sti.2006.020081
Wallen, K., & Rupp, H. A. (2010). Women’s interest in visual sexual stimuli varies with menstrual cycle phase at first exposure and predicts later interest. Hormones and Behavior, 57(2), 263–268. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2009.12.005
Watts, T. M., Holmes, L., Raines, J., Orbell, S., & Rieger, G. (2018). Sexual arousal patterns of identical twins with discordant sexual orientations. Scientific Reports, 8(1), 14970. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-33188-2
Funding
No funding was received for conducting this study.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
ETS designed the study with feedback from SMY, and both authors contributed to material preparation and data collection. Data analysis was performed by ETS. The first draft of the manuscript was written by ETS, and SMY provided feedback. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflicts of interest
The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial conflicts of interest to disclose.
Ethical Approval
All study procedures were approved by the National University Institutional Review Board (approved protocol number IRB-FY17-18-76) on March 7, 2018. The study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki.
Consent to Participate
Informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to participation in this study.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Steiner, E.T., Young, S.M. Sex Differences in Attention and Attitude Toward Infant and Sexual Images. Arch Sex Behav 52, 3291–3299 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-023-02676-6
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-023-02676-6