PSYCHOLOGY MASTER'S THESIS ABSTRACT

Alison Lenton

MA-Research
May 1997

Schemas and Thresholds: A Look at the Processes Theorized to Underlie Misperceptions of Sexual Intent

    Men, more than women, impute sexual intent to the friendly behavior of others.  One untested explanation is that men and women have different sexual schemas, such that men may have lower thresholds for labeling seduction.  The present study examined this theory.  Subjects viewed a list which included neutral, emotional, sexually ambiguous and sexually blatant words.  Subjects then saw word pairs and indicated which had been presented previously.  Males were expected to recognize sexually connotative words faster/more accurately.  Women were more accurate in recognizing sexually ambiguous words, while men were more accurate in recognizing sexually blatant words.  Subjects read and responded to scenarios depicting an ambiguously seductive man interacting with either a friendly woman or a flirtatious woman.  Males were expected to rate the content of both as more seductive.  Men and women rated the scenarios similarly.  No relationship was found between “schema type” and the ratings.  What underlies misperceptions of sexual intent remains unclear.

.

Psychology Department * CSULB * 1250 Bellflower Blvd. * Long Beach, CA  90840-0901 * 562-985-5001