Male and female college students were shown one of two slides featuring a female model wearing either sexy or nonsexy clothes. The subjects were then asked to answer a set of questions based upon the supposition that the model might be either robbed or raped. Responses indicated that the model wearing sexually oriented clothes was seen as more likely to be either robbed or raped, more likely to provoke such an attack, and more likely to be responsible for the attack if she were to be assaulted. Furthermore, the model's assailant was held to be less accountable if the model was assaulted while wearing sexy clothes than while wearing sexually conservative clothes. The results are discussed with respect to attribution theory and the literature concerning crimes against women, particularly rape.

Men and women college students recorded their impressions of a model dressed either conservatively or in clothing judged to be sexually provocative, and also attempted to estimate the impressions of a typical member of the opposite sex. The results indicated a generally negative bias toward women wearing provocative clothing. The most striking finding was that females greatly overestimated the extent of male rape motivation.There is ample evidence that men and women tend to differ with respect to attitudes concerning love and sex. For example, Hendrick and Hendrick (1986), found that men were more likely to accept statements concerning ludus (i.e., concerning game-playing love), while women were more inclined to personally endorse statements in the areas of storge (friendship love), pragma (practical love), and mania (possessive, dependent love). No differences were found between the sexes regarding eros (passionate love) and agape (all-giving, selfless love). Abbey (1982) reports that males tend to misinterpret the social behavior of females as indicating sexual interest even when no such message is intended. In this study, a male and female participated in a 5-min conversation while observed by a concealed male and female. The results indicated that college-age male actors and observers rated the female actor as more promiscuous and seductive than she was rated by female actors and observers. Males also reported greater sexual attraction to the opposite-sex partner than did females, and were more likely to perceive sexual interest on the part of other males. The present investigation was designed to assess the accuracy with which men and women can estimate opinions of the opposite sex with respect to sexual-social issues as a function of variation in female clothing style. MEmODForty-four men and 81 women in introductory psychology classes were shown one of two slides. One slide featured a college-age caucasian female wearing slacks and a blouse that were judged to be somewhat conservative. The other slide featured the same model in a revealing dress that might be considered sexy or provocative. A previous study (Edmonds & Cahoon, 1986) had confirmed the assessments of the two clothing styles as sexy and nonsexy and had revealed no differences in ratings of the clothing sty les with the model's face obscured or with the photograph unaltered. The slides were therefore cropped at neck level in order to minimize cues related to facial expression. The same model was shown in both slides, and the two poses were similar. The subjects were asked to complete a questionnaire indicating their impressions of the female and also to estimate the opinions of a typical member of the opposite sex.Requests for reprints may be sent to Delwin D. Cahoon, Department of Psychology, Augusta College, Augusta, Georgia 30910. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONThe results were analyzed by means of an analysis of variance classified by sex of rater, style of garment, and own opinion versus estimated opposite-sex opinion. A summary of this analysis ...

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