Chapter 4 Sexual Content in Soap Operas - Leicester Research ...

Sex and Sexuality: A Content Analysis of Soap Operas
In another study, Howard, Reifler, and Liptzin, (1971) investigated the
dissipation of sexual arousal in men (college students) who were given access and
exposed to pornographic materials (films, photographs and reading) on 15 days or
sessions over a three-week period, and those who were not given any such materials
under controlled conditions. In this experiment participants were free to choose from
the pornographic and non-erotic materials in the first 10 sessions, while in the
following three sessions the original pornographic materials were replaced by new
ones, and in the last two sessions the non-erotic materials were entirely removed.
Each of the fifteen sessions lasted 90 minutes, during which participants recorded
their activities regularly. Participants were also shown a pornographic film prior to
and after the extended exposure treatment. Further, after eight weeks from the
experiment, participants were once again shown a pornographic film. A number of
measurements of sexual arousal and attitudinal and self-reporting measurements
were taken during and after the experiment.
The findings revealed that participants were initially interested in erotic films;
however, their interest faded quickly with the repeated exposure. Also, after the
unrestricted exposure to pornographic materials, participants evaluated their reaction
to explicit materials as boredom, and even the introduction of novel materials failed
to revive the participants‘ levels of interest observed initially. Furthermore, the
findings showed that exposure to a pornographic film after the longitudinal
experiment produced diminished reactions of sexual excitement. These findings
clearly suggested that massive and continued exposure to erotic materials led to
some degree of habituation of sexual and autonomic arousal.
In an attempt to study men‘s behavioural responses to sexually motivated
violence and stimuli, Centi and Mulamuth (1984) examined the patterns of sexual
arousal (in young males) induced by exposure to portrayals of sexually-motivated
violence. The experiment involved 69 adult males who, based on their penile
tumescence when exposed to portrayals of rape and consensual sex in a pre-
exposure session, were classified into three categories: (1) force-oriented:
participants had exhibited relatively high levels of sexual arousal to portrayals of
rape and forced sex, (2) non-force-oriented: participants had shown little arousal to
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