Sexual scripts, that is, the mental representations of sexual behavior, are highly influenced by mating strategies and sexual experience. The relationship between these factors and sexual scripts is, however, poorly understood. Therefore, we assessed how long-term (e.g., "sex in a relationship") and short-term (e.g., "one-night stand") strategies, as well as experience with highly scripted sexual practices (BDSM: bondage-discipline, dominance-submission, sadism-masochism), influence verbalized sexual script composition and detailedness. To this end, 204 heterosexual men and women generated both a "sex in a relationship" and a "one-night stand" script. Regarding mating strategies, both men and women generated shorter "sex in a relationship" scripts than "one-night stand" scripts, due to a shorter approach (flirting) phase. In addition, in the "sex in a relationship" script, women generated longer foreplay phases than men. Regarding sexual experience, in the "sex in a relationship" script, individuals with high-BDSM experience generated longer foreplay phases than individuals with middle- or low-BDSM experience. This pattern was reversed in the "one-night stand" script. These results provide empirical support for interactions between mating strategies and individual experience with regard to the mental representations of sexual activity and gender behavior. Understanding this relationship may enable us to better predict sexual encounters and may help to prevent conflicting or abusive situations.
Hardly any subjects enjoy greater – public or private – interest than the art of flirtation and seduction. However, interpersonal approach behavior not only paves the way for sexual interaction and reproduction, but it simultaneously integrates non-sexual psychobiological and cultural standards regarding consensus and social norms. In the present paper, we use script theory, a concept that extends across psychological and cultural science, to assess behavioral options during interpersonal approaches. Specifically, we argue that approaches follow scripted event sequences that entail ambivalence as an essential communicative element. On the one hand, ambivalence may facilitate interpersonal approaches by maintaining and provoking situational uncertainty, so that the outcome of an action – even after several approaches and dates – remains ambiguous. On the other hand, ambivalence may increase the risk for sexual aggression or abuse, depending on the individual’s abilities, the circumstances, and the intentions of the interacting partners. Recognizing latent sequences of sexually aggressive behavior, in terms of their rigid structure and behavioral options, may thus enable individuals to use resources efficiently, avoid danger, and extricate themselves from assault situations. We conclude that interdisciplinary script knowledge about ambivalence as a core component of the seduction script may be helpful for counteracting subtly aggressive intentions and preventing sexual abuse. We discuss this with regard to the nature-nurture debate as well as phylogenetic and ontogenetic aspects of interpersonal approach behavior and its medial implementation.
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