A Preliminary Study of the Effect of Imaginary Sexual Stimulation on the Perceived Covariation Between Freedom and Responsibility

Abstract

The authors evaluated subjective estimates of the relationship between freedom and responsibility under predictions made in accordance with cognitive-experiential self-theory (CEST; V. Denes-Raj & S. Epstein, 1994; S. Epstein, A. Lipson, C. Holstein, & E. Huh, 1992; S. Epstein, R. Pacini, V. Denes-Raj, & H. Meier, 1996; L. A. Kirkpatrick & S. Epstein, 1992). Half of the participants viewed sexually stimulating primes before making judgments. The other participants viewed neutral stimuli before making judgments. Two dependent measures were used: A set of alternate-forms propositions measured perceived relationships between the variables, and response latencies were used to evaluate the hypothesis that persons operating experientially would make judgments faster than persons operating rationally. Results indicated a significant effect for the priming condition with respect to the within-subject dependent variable. In accordance with predictions, further analysis indicated that positive contingency items were endorsed less often by primed participants, and negative contingency items were endorsed more often by primed participants. Results are in line with predictions afforded by the CEST model. Implications are discussed.

Effects of Suboptimally Presented Erotic Pictures on Moral Judgments: A Cross-Cultural Comparison

“…Indeed, it is important to notice that, when depicting erotic scenes, normative values for both valence and arousal of IAPS pictures differ significantly between men and women. In particular, erotic pictures are rated as more pleasant and more arousing in men than in women ( S1 Text , see also [ 31 – 34 ]). However, given that we did not find that participants’ sex modulated the effect of erotic primes on moral judgments, our results suggest that the effects of erotic primes were not sensitive to sex differences in the valence and arousal values of erotic pictures.…”

“…Interestingly, erotic stimuli may activate the experiential system, prompting participants to perceive freedom and responsibility as negatively correlated [ 31 ]. This activation seems, however, to be limited to men [ 32 ].…”