Pornography and the Male Sexual Script: An Analysis of Consumption and Sexual Relations
AUTHOR(S)
PUBLISHED
2016 in Archives of Sexual Behavior
KEY FINDINGS
- Researchers found through this study that the more men consume pornography, the more they tend to rely on pornography to become aroused in real-life sexual encounters and the less they tend to enjoy intimate sexual behaviors with a partner.
ABSTRACT
Pornography has become a primary source of sexual education. At the same time, mainstream commercial pornography has coalesced around a relatively homogenous script involving violence and female degradation. Yet, little work has been done exploring the associations between pornography and dyadic sexual encounters: What role does pornography play inside real-world sexual encounters between a man and a woman? Cognitive script theory argues media scripts create a readily accessible heuristic model for decision-making. The more... READ FULL ABSTRACT
EXCERPTS
- "Our research indicates that men who view high rates of pornography are more likely to rely on pornography to become and remain sexually excited and, when engaged in dyadic sexual behaviors, are more likely to integrate pornography in sexual activities. In addition, men with high rates of pornography use expressed diminished enjoyment in the enactment of sexually intimate behaviors compared to men with lower rates of pornography use."
- "Even controlling for age, men who consume pornography more frequently are more likely to report sexual concerns and increasingly rely on the pornographic script for pleasure. This suggests that the pornographic script remains a force in men’s heuristic processing, no matter their age or experience."
