Effects of Sexual Guilt Upon Affective Responses to Subliminal Sexual Stimuli
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W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 1979 Effects of sexual guilt upon affective responses to subliminal sexual stimuli Michael Barton Magri College of William & Mary - School of Education Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the Clinical Psychology Commons Recommended Citation Magri, Michael Barton, "Effects of sexual guilt upon affective responses to subliminal sexual stimuli" (1979). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539618535. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.25774/w4-k3ws-ec23 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 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ANN ARBOR, Ml /18106 18 BEDFORD ROW, LONDON WC1 R 4EJ, ENGLAND 7918773 MAGRI, MICHAEL BARTON EFFECTS CF SEXUAL GUILT UPON AFFECTIVE RESPONSES TO SUBLIMINAL SEXUAL STIM ULI. THE COLLEGE OF WILLIAM AND MARY IN VIR G IN IA , ED.D.» 1S79 University Micrdrilms International 300 N ZEEB ROAD, ANN ARBOR, Ml 48106 EFFECTS OF SEXUAL GUILT UPON AFFECTIVE RESPONSES TO SUBLIMINAL SEXUAL STIMULI A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the School of Education College of William and Mary in Virginia In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree Doctor of Education by Michael B. Magri May, 1979 APPROVAL SHEET We the undersigned do certify that we have read this dissertation and that in our individual opinions it is acceptable in both scope and quality as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Education. Accepted May 1979 by Charles 0. Matthews, Ph.D. Kevin E. Geo TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION .................................. 2 Statement of the P r o b l e m ...................... 3 Need for the S t u d y ............................ 5 Definition of T e r m s ............................ 9 Limitations.................................... 11 H y p o t h e s e s .................................... 13 Ethical Consideration .......................... 14 O v e r v i e w ...................................... 15 Chapter 2. SURVEY OF THE L I T E R A T U R E ...................... 16 Conceptualization and Measurement of Sexual Guilt .................................. 16 Sex-Related Behavior Differences .............. 25 Effects of Sexually Explicit Material ........ 30 Differential Perceptual Processes .............. 37 Overview of Subliminal Perception .............. 44 Summary........................................ 48 Chapter 3. METHODOLOGY........... 52 S u b j e c t s ...................................... 52 Instruments.................................... 53 Mosher Forced-Choice Guilt Inventory ........ 53 14-Item Adjective Check L i s t ................ 54 Visual Stimuli .......................... 55 i Page Galvanic Skin Response Monitor .............. 56 Tachistoscope .............................. 56 Procedure...................................... 56 Presentation of the S t i m u l i ................ 59 Post-treatment Affective Measurement ........ 59 Methods of Data A n a l y s i s ...................... 60 Statistical Procedures ...................... 61 Chapter 4. ANALYSIS OF RESULTS............................ 63 Physiological Responses to Subliminal Sexual Stimulation ............................ 63 Differences by Sexual Guilt in Affective Arousal to Subliminal Sexual Stimulation .... 64 Table 1 .................................... 65 Table 2 .................................... 66 Differences by Sexual Guilt in Affective Guilt to Subliminal Sexual Stimulation ........ 68 Affective Arousal Differences as Influenced by Subliminal Treatment ........................ 68 Table 3 .................................... 69 Table 4 .................................... 70 Affective Guilt Differences as Influenced by Subliminal Treatment........................ 71 Interaction Effects Between Sexual Guilt and Subliminal Stimulation .................... 71 Summary................................. 72 Chapter 5. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS........................ 74 Summary....................... 74 Conclusions................................. 79 ii Page Recommendation for Future Research „ .......... 82 A p p e n d i x ........... 83 R e f e r e n c e s ............................... 107 iii Effects of Sexual Guilt Upon Affective Respons To Subliminal Sexual Stimuli Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION Research in the field of human sexuality is a relatively recent development. Although there is a vast amount of scientific knowledge about human reproduction, information about the nonre- productive aspects of human sexual behavior is woefully lacking. Until recently, human sexuality was mainly studied through infer ences from animal behavior and by observations of primitive cultures. The pioneering work of Kinsey and his associates (1948, 1953) along with Masters and Johnson (1966, 1970), shifting the focus of sexual research to the typical human male and female, brought the subject of sexual research to the public's awareness. In his introduction to Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (Kinsey, Pomeroy, Sc Martin, 1948), Alan Gregg Noted: Certainly no aspect of human biology in our current civilization stands in more need of scientific knowledge and courageous humility than that of sex. The history of medicine proves that insofar as man seeks to know himself and face his whole nature, he has become free from bewildered fear, despondent shame, or arrant hypocrisy. As long as sex is dealt with in the current confusion of ignorance and sophistication, denial and indulgence, 2 suppression and stimulation, punishment and exploi tation, secrecy and display, it will be associated with a duplicity and indecency that lead neither to intellectual honesty nor human dignity (p. vii). Research in the area of human sexual behavior gained added momentum when the Commission on Obscenity and Pornography was established by President Johnson in 1968. With the social acceptability of sexual research provided by governmental sanction, sexual behavior has begun to be explored within the framework of current scientific methodology with an emphasis not only on the description of sexual behavior but also on its antecedents and predictors. Besides its intrinsic interests, it seems obvious that most findings relating to sex have direct and immediate applicability to a ubiquitous aspect of the lives of all of us. Statement of the Problem Within the past few decades, a great deal of research has been conducted concerning the changing sexual patterns in our society. The major emphasis of research, however, has been primarily descrip tive. From the initial works of Kinsey et al. (1948) to the present polls conducted in contemporary magazines, a great deal of information has been accumulated about the lifestyle and sexual behaviors of the typical American male and female. Consequently, quite a bit is known about what people are doing but very little information has been gathered about why people act as they do in sex-related situations. 4 Sexuality involves strong emotions and feelings. One of these feelings is guilt. Considered as a sort of voice of the conscience, guilt feelings develop as a result of violating one's code of proper behavior. Guilt assumes increasing importance considering the current generation's emphasis on the new morality. Today young people are sometimes caught in a bind. On the one hand, they espouse, intellec tually, the acceptance