Living the sexual script: College students' views of influence in sexual encounters

LaPlante, Marcia N.; McCormick, Naomi B.; Brannigan, Gary G.

doi:10.1080/00224498009551090

Cited by 109 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 18 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Previous research has also found that reported sexual risk taking behaviors have been found to be higher for men than for women (e.g., Laumann, Gagnon, Michael, & Michaels, 1994;Oliver & Hyde, 1993;Poppen, 1995;Seal & Agostinelli, 1996;Vollrath, Knoch, & Cassano, 1999), although more recent studies have not found significant differences between the sexes (e.g., Browning, Kessler, Hatfield, & Choo, 1999;Fisher, 2007;Paul, McManus, & Hayes, 2000;Pedersen, Miller, Putcha-Bhagavatula, & Yang, 2002). Sex differences in sexual risk taking have been explained by a number of theories, including adherence to traditional gender roles and gender scripts (Eagly, 1987;Herek, 1986;LaPlante, McCormick, & Brannigan, 1980), personality differences (e.g., Zuckerman, 2007;Zuckerman & Kuhlman, 2000), evolutionary theory (Buss, 1998;Wilson & Daly, 1993), and even social exchange theory (Baumeister & Vohs, 2004). Researchers, however, have pointed out the statistical improbability of such large sex differences, especially in sex partners, and suggested that the effects may be due to social desirability and adherence to gender roles in reporting (Brown & Sinclair, 1999;Fisher, 2007;Maticka-Tyndale, Herold, & Mewhinney, 1998).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Measurement of Sexual Risk Taking Among College Students

2008

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Current measures of sexual risk taking are either too narrowly focused to be used with college students or do not have adequate psychometric properties. The goal of the current study was to develop a broad and psychometrically sound measure of sexual risk taking. A total of 613 undergraduate students (302 men, 311 women) at a mid-sized Midwestern university in the U.S. were surveyed to develop and gather reliability and validity information on a new measure of sexual risk, the Sexual Risk Survey (SRS). The measure was found to be multifactorial with five factors. The measure was found to have good internal consistency and test-retest reliability. The SRS also demonstrated evidence of convergent and concurrent validity by its relationships with reported number of sexual partners and history of infidelity as well as measures of sensation seeking, sexual desire, substance use, sexual excitation and inhibition, and sexual health consequences. Social desirability was not found to be related to sexual risk taking scores and threat of sexual disclosure was only weakly related. An investigation of sex differences revealed that men reported greater intentions to engage in sexual risk behaviors and greater overall sexual risk taking behavior compared to women. The SRS provides researchers with a valid and comprehensive measure of sexual risk taking that can be used to clarify inconsistent findings in the literature and to assess outcome in programs designed to prevent and reduce sexual risk behaviors among college students.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Measurement of Sexual Risk Taking Among College Students

2008

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This belief appears to be perpetuated despite North America's increasing openness towards sexual expression (LaPlante et al 1980) and a "mainstream Western culture" of sexual liberality that has been found to attenuate the influence of ethnicity and religiosity on the attitudes of both Americans and Canadians, as reflected in the attitudes of undergraduate students in both countries (Leiblum et al 2003). It is speculated that the perpetuation of traditional gender-based sexual scripts by North American media, which is largely shared across the American-Canadian border, may contribute to this phenomenon by portraying men's and women's prescribed sexual behaviours and linking script-conforming and script non-conforming behaviour to different outcomes, which in turn influences personal beliefs and attitudes (Marks and Fraley 2006).…”

Section: The Sexual Double Standardmentioning

confidence: 92%

A Tale of Two Standards: An Examination of Young Adults’ Endorsement of Gendered and Ageist Sexual Double Standards

Lai

Hynie

2010

Sex Roles

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Current North American sexual standards allow women to be sexual within committed relationships but may still restrict women's sexuality to a greater extent than men's. We investigated whether these gender double standards interact with an age double standard that describes the elderly as less sexual than the young, to create particularly limiting sexual standards for older women. 305 Canadian undergraduates completed a 2 (target age) × 2 (target gender) × 2 (participant gender) withinsubjects study measuring perceptions of younger (own age) and older (over 65 years old) men's and women's interest in traditional sex (e.g., cuddling, intercourse with main partner) and experimental sex (e.g., extra-relationship sex, viewing erotic materials). ANCOVAs controlling for ageist and sexist beliefs revealed the ageist double standard; the elderly were perceived to be less interested in sex overall than the young. There was also a sexual double standard; women were perceived to be more interested in traditional sex than men, and men more interested in experimental sex than women. For traditional sex, women perceived younger targets as more interested than the older targets, and women targets as more interested than men. For experimental sex, a three-way interaction showed the interplay between the sexual and ageist double standards. Elderly female targets were perceived as least interested, and young male targets as most interested. Results reinforce that the current sexual standards distinguish between sex for intimacy and sex for other reasons (e.g., pleasure) and that the standards are particularly restrictive for older women.

show abstract

“…In dating, the man is typically described as the initiator of the date, the planner, and the economic provider while the woman is seen as the emotional facilitator (Levinger, 1982). Additionally, expectations regarding sexual interaction on a date include the notions that men are expected to initiate sexual interactions in contrast to women who are expected to limit sexual interactions (Korman & Leslie, 1982;LaPlante, 1980;McCormick, 1987). Most psychological research interested in dating has focused on the topic of if and how these roles play out in the dating process.…”

mentioning

confidence: 98%

The dating game: Similarities and differences in dating scripts among college students

Bartoli

Clark

2006

Sex Cult

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Prior studies found that men's and women's dating expectations include many similar activities. Here, two studies are reported focusing on activities included in scripts for a "typical date" using first a more qualitative method and then a more quantitative method. Results were highly consistent across method, showing many similarities across the three dating scenes presented (initiation/meeting, date activities, and date outcomes/conclusions). Consistent with the traditional view of dating, greater expectations for sexual activities on a date were found for men while expectations for limiting of sexual activities were found to be the responsibility of women. These findings were further explored to focus on the effects of prior sexual experience, college experience, and membership in a Greek social organization in Study 2. Clear differences are found with sexual experience and Greek membership across the three dating scenes. It is especially notable that membership in Greek organizations for men created dating scripts that were discrepant with both those of younger men as well as younger and older women regardless of Greek status. Understanding these differences in expectations becomes critical when older men date younger women, an event fairly typical in colleges and universities. Simon and Gagnon (1986) proposed that in society there are cultural scenarios that guide "collective life." One type of scripted

show abstract

Living the sexual script: College students' views of influence in sexual encounters

Cited by 109 publications

References 18 publications

Measurement of Sexual Risk Taking Among College Students

Measurement of Sexual Risk Taking Among College Students

A Tale of Two Standards: An Examination of Young Adults’ Endorsement of Gendered and Ageist Sexual Double Standards

The dating game: Similarities and differences in dating scripts among college students

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About