Pornography and Sexual Aggression

Pornography and Sexual Aggression is an analysis of the various facets of pornography and sexual aggression and possible linkages between them. This 11-chapter work focuses on the causes of male aggression against women that may or may not occur within a sexual context, as well as on possible causes of sexual aggression that are not directly related to pornography. After a historical perspective on pornography research, this book goes on presenting the findings of a series of experimental studies that primarily focuses on the effects of violent or aggressive pornography fantasies, attitudes, beliefs, and aggressive behavior. The role of such factors as individual differences in aggressive inclinations, emotional states, and situational inhibitions in mediating the impact of aggressive pornography is also examined. These topics are followed by discussions of the ability of a theoretical model based on physiological arousal and emotional reactions, as well as the various individual difference variables that may affect reactions to pornography. Other chapters review the correlational data both within the United States and other areas of the world, along with some psychological and communicative factors that may cause sexual aggression. The concluding chapters describe the implications for legal change of some of the research, particularly on violent pornography. This book will prove useful to psychologists, psychiatrists, and behaviorists.