Can Men and Women Differentiate Between Friendly and Sexually Interested Behavior?

Shotland, R. Lance; Craig, Jane M.

doi:10.2307/2786985

Cited by 152 publications

(121 citation statements)

References 18 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

106

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Research suggests that, compared to women, men are more likely to consider mixed-sex interactions in terms of a mating game. For example, men are more likely to look for sexual interest in the behavior of opposite-sex others, and generally tend to overestimate the sexual interest of women (Abbey, 1982;Shotland & Craig, 1988). Such research findings strongly suggest that mixed-sex interactions activate mating goals especially in men (cf.…”

Section: Accepted Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 74%

Interacting with women can impair men’s cognitive functioning

Karremans

Verwijmeren

Pronk

et al. 2009

Journal of Experimental Social Psychology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Accepted Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 74%

Interacting with women can impair men’s cognitive functioning

Karremans

Verwijmeren

Pronk

et al. 2009

Journal of Experimental Social Psychology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Men who have sex at an early age and who have many partners are more likely to commit sexual assault than are other men (Abbey et al, 1998;Kanin, 1985;Koss et al, 1985;Malamuth et al, 1995). This finding has been explained in terms of both individual differences in sexual interest and motivation, and increased (Kanin, 1985;Malamuth, Sockloskie, Koss, & Tanaka, 1991).In addition, men frequently misperceive women's friendly behavior as a sign of sexual interest (Abbey & Harnish, 1995;Shotland & Craig, 1988). Although sexual misperceptions are usually resolved fairly quickly, in extreme cases they may contribute to sexual assault (Abbey et al, 1998;Muehlenhard & Linton, 1987).…”

mentioning

confidence: 91%

“…In addition, men frequently misperceive women's friendly behavior as a sign of sexual interest (Abbey & Harnish, 1995;Shotland & Craig, 1988). Although sexual misperceptions are usually resolved fairly quickly, in extreme cases they may contribute to sexual assault (Abbey et al, 1998;Muehlenhard & Linton, 1987).…”

Section: Past Sexual and Misperception Experiencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Attitudinal, Experiential, and Situational Predictors of Sexual Assault Perpetration

Abbey

McAuslan

Zawacki

et al. 2001

J Interpers Violence

245

281

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Past research demonstrates that sexual assault perpetration is caused by multiple factors including attitudes, early experiences, and situational factors. In this study, 343 college men described either a sexual assault they had committed or their worst date. Discriminant function analysis indicated that attitudes about gender roles and alcohol, number of consensual sex partners, how well the man knew the woman, how isolated the setting was, alcohol consumption during the event, the man's misperception of the woman's cues during the event, and prior consensual sexual activity between the man and the woman discriminated between sexual assaults and worst dates. Additionally, tactics used to obtain sex, self attributions, the perceived seriousness of the assault, and the extent to which it disrupted relationships with others significantly discriminated between men who committed forced sexual contact, sexual coercion, and rape. These results demonstrate the importance of considering both individual characteristics and situational factors in theories and prevention activities.Sexual assault is a complex phenomenon, caused by multiple factors both across and within perpetrators. Depending on the definitions and measures used, studies of college men have found that 25% to 57% acknowledged committing sexual assault, with 7% to 15% describing an act that met standard legal definitions of rape (Abbey, McAuslan, & Ross, 1998;Koss, Gidycz, & Wisniewski, 1987;Muehlenhard & Linton, 1987). The study described in this article had three goals. The first goal was to distinguish between college men who had and had not committed sexual assault using a number of attitudinal, experiential, and situational variables. The second goal was to determine if men who had committed different types of sexual assault varied in their attributions and outcomes. The third goal was to highlight different ways in which alcohol contributed to sexual assault, HHS Public Access Author Manuscript Author ManuscriptAuthor ManuscriptAuthor Manuscript including attitudes about alcohol that facilitate sexual assault, past experiences with alcohol in sexual situations, and alcohol consumption during the assault. Although sexual assault research has addressed each of these goals (Koss, Leonard, Beezley, & Oros, 1985;Malamuth, Linz, Heavey, Barnes, & Acker, 1995;Muehlenhard & Linton, 1987), previous studies have not simultaneously examined them with a large group of perpetrators. The relevant literature is summarized below and then the study's hypotheses are described. Attitudes About Gender Roles and AlcoholOne explanation for why sexual assault is so common focuses on societally sanctioned gender role beliefs that justify forced sex. Since the 1970s, feminist writers have described how traditional attitudes about women, dating, and sexual behavior contribute to sexual assault. In Western culture, sex is frequently described in terms of conquest and as a "battle between the sexes" in which eager men seduce reluctant women (Brownmiller, 1975;Clark, Sha...

show abstract

“…These methods have included judging sexual interest or intent in face-toface interactions of opposite-sex stranger dyads (Abbey, 1982;Harnish, Abbey, & DeBono, 1990;Saal, Johnson, & Weber, 1989;Shea, 1993), videotaped interactions and/or photos (Abbey, Cozzarelli, McLaughlin, & Harnish, 1987;Abbey & Melby, 1986;Edmondson & Conger, 1995;Saal et al, 1989;Shotland & Craig, 1988), vignettes (Abbey & Harnish, 1995;DeSouza, Pierce, Zanelli, & Hutz, 1992;Haselton & Buss, 2000;Kowalski, 1993), naturalistic personal experiences (Haselton, 2003;Koenig, Kirkpatrick, & Ketelaar, 2007), and experiments (Maner et al, 2005).…”

Section: Biases In Mating and Romantic Relationshipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adaptive Rationality: An Evolutionary Perspective on Cognitive Bias

et al. 2009

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A casual look at the literature in social cognition reveals a vast collection of biases, errors, violations of rational choice, and failures to maximize utility. One is tempted to draw the conclusion that the human mind is woefully muddled. We present a three-category evolutionary taxonomy of evidence of biases: biases are (a) heuristics, (b) error management effects, or (c) experimental artifacts. We conclude that much of the research on cognitive biases can be profitably reframed and understood in evolutionary terms. An adaptationist perspective suggests that the mind is remarkably well designed for important problems of survival and reproduction, and not fundamentally irrational. Our analysis is not an apologia intended to place the rational mind on a pedestal for admiration. rather, it promises practical outcomes including a clearer view of the architecture of systems for judgment and decision making, and exposure of clashes between adaptations designed for the ancestral past and the demands of the present.

show abstract

Can Men and Women Differentiate Between Friendly and Sexually Interested Behavior?

Cited by 152 publications

References 18 publications

Interacting with women can impair men’s cognitive functioning

Interacting with women can impair men’s cognitive functioning

Attitudinal, Experiential, and Situational Predictors of Sexual Assault Perpetration

Adaptive Rationality: An Evolutionary Perspective on Cognitive Bias

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About