15
Media and Sexuality
Paul J. Wright
This chapter provides a review of scientiﬁc research on media eﬀects and sexuality, with
a particular focus on studies from the past two decades. Scholars interested in the eﬀects of
sexual media have primarily been communication scientists studying the role of media messages
in sexual socialization processes and outcomes. Their examinations of mainstream entertainment
media, social media, and sexually explicit media designed to arouse the consumer (aka
“pornography”) are reviewed herein. Due to space constraints, topics receiving the most attention
from scholars and the public are prioritized; citations are illustrative rather than
exhaustive.
Theory
Media sex eﬀects research, for many years, tended to be either based on theories not originally
developed with sexual media in mind, or variable analytic and not tied to any particular theory
(Ward, 2003). This changed with the development of the sexual script acquisition, activation,
application model (3AM) of sexual media socialization (P. J. Wright, 2011). First articulated in
the context of mainstream media eﬀects on youth sexual behavior, the model has since been
applied to a wider array of sexual media, age groups, and outcomes.
The 3AM is a critical synthesis and integration of a variety of mass communication, information
processing, and behavioral theories, as well as conceptual and empirical work not tied to
any particular named theory. It posits a multipart sequence for socialization eﬀects due to
sexual media exposure, a variety of pathways through which eﬀects can result, and a large
number of moderating factors at each step of the model. This complexity makes a brief encapsulation
diﬃcult, but the following paragraphs summarize its essence.
The 3AM speciﬁes both mediating mechanisms and moderating factors that operate simultaneously.
At the level of mediation, the model proposes that the socializing eﬀects of sexual
media are carried through the acquisition, activation, and application of sexual scripts. Sexual
scripts are symbolically imparted guidelines for sexual behavior; they answer questions about
who should be engaging in what types of sexual activities with whom, when, how, under what
circumstances, and to what consequence. Accordingly, the sexual scripts people possess have
227
228 • Paul J. Wright
a direct impact on their sexual beliefs and attitudes, which can ultimately impact their sexual
behavior. The model asserts that exposure to sexual media can result in the learning of novel
sexual scripts (acquisition), the priming of already acquired sexual scripts (activation), and the
utilization of sexual scripts to guide one’s own activities or judgments about other people’s
activities (application). The model further proposes that scripting eﬀects can be speciﬁc or
abstract. A speciﬁc scripting eﬀect occurs when the observation of a particular behavior aﬀects
the viewer’s beliefs or attitudes about that speciﬁc behavior. An abstract scripting eﬀect occurs
when the viewer deduces the general principle or belief guiding the modeled behavior and then
references this information to guide beliefs and attitudes about diﬀerent, but conceptually
related, behaviors. In this way, the model predicts that viewing speciﬁc sexual behaviors can
lead to modiﬁed cognitions of not only those behaviors but also of behaviors not depicted.
At the level of moderation, the model proposes that a number of factors either increase or
decrease the likelihood that sexual scripts observed in media will be acquired, activated, and
applied. These include content factors such as model attractiveness, behavioral rewards and punishments,
and depiction prevalence; audience factors such as existing sexual scripts, personal
motivations, psychological involvement, identiﬁcation, perceptions of norms and risk, evaluations
of functionality and realism, moral views, and eﬃcacy; and situational factors such as
script-situation correspondence, time pressure, and sexual arousal. Additionally, accessibility
moderators are speciﬁed for the stage of sexual script activation (e.g., recency, frequency, and
duration of exposure, message vividness).
The model has evolved to recognize that several of the variables originally speciﬁed as moderators
can also operate as mediators, depending on the person and situation. For instance,
although diﬀerences in existing sexual attitudes and normative perceptions can result in divergent
reactions to the same sexual depictions (moderation), it is also possible that certain depiction
elements can lead to shifts in speciﬁc sexual attitudes and norms that ultimately inﬂuence
other sexual cognitions or particular sexual behaviors (mediation) (P. J. Wright, 2018b;
P. J. Wright, Tokunaga, & Kraus, 2016a). The sections that follow demarcate studies of moderation
and mediation, and emphasize variables theorized as important by the 3AM.
Mainstream Media
After many years of calls with few responses, studies investigating the eﬀects of sexual depictions
in mainstream media have now become common, cross-disciplinary, and cross-global. Following
the ﬁndings of content-analytic studies, researchers have hypothesized eﬀects on variables related
to a more permissive approach to sex, more diverse and frequent sexual experiences, sex associated
with increased sexual risk, increased perceptions that others are sexually experienced or
engage in permissive or risky sex, sexually aggressive cognitions and behaviors, and a more gendered
view of heterosexual sex. For certain types of mainstream media, researchers have also
hypothesized positive eﬀects on perceptions of and attitudes toward gay men and lesbian women.
Numerous cross-sectional surveys have explored mainstream media use and various cognitive
and behavioral outcomes. For example, greater mainstream media consumption has been associated
with more positive (or permissive) attitudes toward sex outside of marriage, one night stands, sex in
public, casual oral sex, having ongoing sexual relationships with more than one person simultaneously,
and sex as an exchange of favors (e.g., Chia, 2006). In terms of social perceptions, mainstream
media use has been correlated with higher estimates of others’ frequency of sexual
intercourse, sex with multiple partners, sex in public places, extramarital sex, and teenage pregnancy
Media and Sexuality • 229
(e.g., Woo & Dominick, 2001). With regard to gender and heterosexuality, more media use has
been associated with the belief that men are sex driven, women are sexual objects, and dating is
a battle between the sexes (e.g., Ferris, Smith, Greenberg, & Smith, 2007). Finally, a few studies have
found direct or indirect correlations with more acceptance of same-sex sex, willingness to interact
with gay men, and positive attitudes toward homosexuality (e.g., McLaughlin & Rodriguez, 2017).
At the level of sexual experience, greater mainstream media use has been correlated with
(among other behaviors) intercourse initiation, intercourse frequency, one night stands, and
multiple sexual partnerships (e.g., Ybarra, Strasburger, & Mitchell, 2014). In terms of sexual
risk, intention to have sex while intoxicated, reduced perceptions of pregnancy risk, lower
intentions to avoid sex if protection is unavailable, and unrealistically optimistic beliefs about
life after an unintended pregnancy have all been correlated with greater mainstream media use
(e.g., Martins & Jensen, 2014). Finally, with regard to sexual aggression, media use is associated
with rape myth acceptance, tolerance of the use of force to have sex, heightened perceptions
that rape accusations may be false, reduced intentions to seek and adhere to sexual consent,
and attempted or completed rape (e.g., Kahlor & Eastin, 2011).
Although rarer, longitudinal surveys have assessed changes in attitudes and actions over
time, as well as selective exposure as a confounding, alternative explanation for observed eﬀects.
For example, Vandenbosch and Eggermont (2015) found that, among Belgian adolescents, girls’
and boys’ magazine use over six months predicted valuing their body more for appearance (e.g.,
sex appeal, physical attractiveness) than for competence factors (e.g., physical coordination,
stamina). Aubrey and Smith (2016) found that television and magazine use predicted more
positive and permissive attitudes toward “hooking up” (i.e., casual, uncommitted sex) among
U.S. college males eight months later; similarly, music video exposure over the course of a year
predicted belief in rape myths among Dutch female adolescents (van Oosten, Peter, & Valkenburg,
2015). Further, a year’s worth of television and movie use among Flemish youth was associated
with a reduced fear of contracting AIDS (Lemal & Van Den Bulck, 2009). Moreover,
Brown et al. (2006) found that mainstream media use among white adolescents in the U.S. predicted
intercourse initiation two years later.
Corroborating experimental studies have also been conducted. With regard to gender, exposure
to images of sexualized women led British women to report an increased valuation of their
body in terms of appearance (e.g., sex appeal, physical attractiveness) rather than competence
factors (e.g., strength, physical ﬁtness) (Halliwell, Malson, & Tischner, 2011). Galdi, Maass, and
Cadinu (2014) reported that exposure to sexual television segments led to an increased favorability
toward nonrelational sex in Italian men; similarly, Romero-Sanchez, Toro-Garcia, Horvath,
and Megias (2017) found that experimental exposure to magazine covers with sexualized
women led to an increase in self-reported rape proclivity among certain Spanish men. On
a more positive note, experimental exposure to sympathetic cinematic depictions of lesbian
women and gay men led to a stronger belief among Chinese college students that sexual orientation
is innate and more positive attitudes toward expressions of same-sex sex (Zhang & Min,
2013). Also, in terms of sexual risk, Finnerty-Myers (2011) reported that exposure to television
programming depicting negative consequences of unintended pregnancy led to more positive
attitudes toward condoms and intentions to avoid risky sex among certain U.S. college students.
Associations between the use of mainstream media with particular sexual themes and related
sexual outcomes have not always been found, however, suggesting that some eﬀects are indirect
or contingent on moderating factors. That contingency factors attenuate main eﬀects has long
been understood. It is only more recently, however, that scholars have realized that the lack of
230 • Paul J. Wright
a direct association between two variables does not preclude the possibility that one may indirectly
aﬀect the other through an intermediary (i.e., mediating) variable.
A variety of potential mediators between exposure to mainstream media sex and sexual cognitions
and behaviors have now been studied. Of particular interest are those that are both theoretically
predicted and have been studied in multiple samples. One potential mediator that
meets these criteria is self-eﬃcacy. Seeing media models successfully enact sexual behaviors may
increase viewers’ conﬁdence that they can do the same. Early evidence suggests that self-eﬃcacy
is indeed a mediating factor. In their longitudinal study of U.S. adolescents, Martino, Collins,
Kanouse, Elliott, and Berry (2005) found that baseline television exposure predicted heightened
sexual self-eﬃcacy (e.g., the ability to talk about sex with a potential partner), which in turn
prospectively predicted a higher probability of having initiated intercourse. In their experimental
study of U.S. college students, Moyer‐Gusé, Chung, and Jain (2011) found that exposure to
a soap opera featuring a sexual health discussion led to an increased likelihood of participants
engaging in discussions of sexual health two weeks later, in part due to an increase in sexual
discussion self-eﬃcacy.
Another mediator is normative perceptions. Recurrent depictions of particular sexual viewpoints
and practices may inﬂuence viewers’ normative perceptions and result in corresponding
adjustments to their sexual judgments or behaviors. As one example, Gottfried, Vaala, Bleakley,
Hennessy, and Jordan (2013) found in their two-wave panel study of U.S. adolescents that
sitcom viewing at an earlier wave predicted intercourse initiation at a later wave, in part
through the perception that peers are engaging in sexual intercourse. As another example, Chia
(2006) surveyed emerging adults in the U.S. and found evidence suggesting that more frequent
television viewing was associated with more personally permissive sexual attitudes via heightened
perceptions that peers’ sexually permissive attitudes were aﬀected by television viewing.
Understanding of the role of normative perceptions should be considered preliminary, however,
as measures and samples have diﬀered, as has the consistency of results.
Perception of risk is another mediator of mainstream media sex eﬀects. Observing positive
consequences and no (or infrequent) negative consequences could reduce viewers’ inhibitions
and encourage parallel sexual behavior. Fisher et al. (2009) surveyed adolescents in the U.S. and
found that television viewing was associated with various indicators of risk perceptions about
sexual intercourse, including lower expectations of negative consequences (e.g., STIs, pregnancy)
and higher expectations of positive consequences (e.g., fun, enjoyment). Sitcom viewing speciﬁcally
has been shown to predict intercourse initiation over time, in part through risk perceptions
(e.g., lower perceptions of harm and higher perceptions of beneﬁt) (Gottfried et al., 2013). Also,
viewing a television program that sanitized unintended pregnancy through humor led males to
reduced perceptions of the negative consequences of unprotected sex, which in turn predicted
stronger intentions to engage in unprotected sex (Moyer-Gusé, Mahood, & Brookes, 2011).
Additional potential mediators are beginning to be investigated, such as aﬀective engagement,
counter-arguing, and psychological reactance. Another—sensation seeking—is of particular
interest because this variable has typically been conceptualized as a stable trait that could
only confound associations between media consumption and sexual behavior. Instead, in their
multi-year, multi-wave panel study of U.S. youth, O’Hara and colleagues (2012) found that earlier
movie consumption led to later increases in sensation seeking, which in turn led to earlier
sexual debut and higher levels of risky sexual behavior. Findings such as these suggest that variables
that have traditionally been modeled only as “controls” may need to be re-envisioned as
potential mediators or moderators.
Media and Sexuality • 231
Similar to the increasing focus on mediation (mechanism), an increasing number of studies
are focusing on moderation (contingency). The key question in this regard is why some viewers
are more, while others are less, aﬀected when exposed to the same sexual depictions. Given the
emphasis on youth in research on mainstream media sex eﬀects, it is not surprising that parental
factors have been the focus of many studies. However, studies tend to examine patterns of
parental behavior surrounding media with youth sexual outcomes, rather than studying how
parental behaviors may moderate the eﬀects of youths’ actual media use. But a few studies have
explored whether associations between media use and youth sexuality vary across diﬀering types
of parental behaviors using formal moderation analysis. A central focus has been on parental
media intervention strategies, such as setting restrictions on the use of media or discussing
media that has been viewed. For example, in their longitudinal study of adolescents in the U.S.,
Ashby, Arcari, and Edmonson (2006) found that the combination of frequent television viewing
and no parental content restrictions resulted in the highest rates of sexual initiation. In contrast,
the lowest initiation rates were found among youth who viewed television less frequently and
had content restrictions placed on their use.
Parental media intervention has not always emerged as a relevant or consistent moderator,
however. It may be that parental behaviors more core to the formation of sexual scripts, such
as engaging in direct and candid discussions about sex, are more important buﬀers than behaviors
speciﬁc to media alone. For example, P. J. Wright, Randall, and Arroyo (2013) found that
U.S. collegiate women’s viewing of teen mom reality television predicted a higher likelihood of
pregnancy-risk behavior when their fathers did not communicate with them about sex while
growing up, but a lower likelihood of pregnancy-risk behavior when their fathers communicated
often with them about sex while growing up. Other research suggests that parental sexual
values may also moderate media eﬀects (Starr & Ferguson, 2012).
Additionally, perceptions of media realism have been a theoretically important focus of
research. In an early experiment, Taylor (2005) found that the eﬀects of exposure to sexual television
depictions on U.S. college students’ permissive sexual attitudes were generally limited to students
who perceived such depictions as realistic. In a more recent survey of U.S. adolescents,
Martins and Jensen (2014) found that associations between teen mom reality television viewing
and unrealistically optimistic perceptions about the lifestyles and ﬁnances of teen moms were
strongest among those who perceived the genre of reality television as realistic. In an experiment
conducted with collegiate men in Spain, Romero-Sanchez et al. (2017) found that the eﬀects of
exposure to sexualized images of women from men’s lifestyle magazines on self-reported rape
proclivity were only present when participants perceived men’s magazines as realistic sources of
learning about sex and gender. Results such as these leave little doubt that realism perceptions are
a moderating factor under certain conditions. But the absence of moderation either for some outcomes
(Taylor, 2005) or for some contexts (Ferris et al., 2007) indicates that additional research
and conceptualization are needed.
Another theoretically important variable that has received some attention is perceived similarity
with media characters. Most studies, though, have not tested perceived similarity as
a boundary condition on the eﬀects of exposure. Instead, they have correlated measures of perceived
similarity directly with the outcomes of interest in their particular studies. The experimental
study with college students in the U.S. conducted by Moyer-Gusé et al. (2011) points
a bit more directly to the moderating importance of perceived similarity. In the exposure condition
(a soap opera featuring sexual health discussion), identiﬁcation with the characters predicted
an increased intention to engage in sexual health discussions. But a recent experimental
232 • Paul J. Wright
study with adolescent girls in the U.S. provides the most direct evidence. Behm-Morawitz,
Aubrey, Pennell, and Kim (2017) found that exposure to teen mom reality television was only
associated with more positive attitudes toward becoming a teen mom when perceived similarity
was high. However, perceived similarity did not moderate exposure eﬀects for other outcomes,
such as belief in myths about teen pregnancy. Like the research to date on perceived realism,
this inconsistency, as well as the overall paucity of studies that have directly tested for moderation,
indicates a need for additional research and theoretical nuance.
Other potential moderators have been studied (e.g., previous sexual experience, age, media
multitasking, recency of exposure, whether depictions are visual or verbal), but two are especially
important to note because of how frequently they have been investigated. The ﬁrst is
gender (primarily studied as male/female). No clear pattern can be deduced from these studies.
Sometimes gender is a null moderator, other times associations are stronger for men, still other
times associations are stronger for women (Collins et al., 2004). The second is ethnicity. Some
studies have found interactions between ethnicity and exposure on youths’ sexual risk behavior,
such that particular groups show no eﬀect (Brown et al., 2006). But when those groups are isolated
and studied on their own, exposure is associated with sexual outcomes in expected ways
(Ward, Hansbrough, & Walker, 2005). It is not argued here that gender and ethnicity should
not in and of themselves be tested as moderators. However, the variability of results to date, as
well as a lack of a convincing rationale for the variability, suggests that understanding may be
furthered better by individual diﬀerence assessments that are more psychographic in nature.
Social Media
Scholars have also begun to examine the nature and impact of sex found in social media,
such as Facebook and Instagram. This body of research is in its infancy compared to the
study of sex in mainstream entertainment media, but certain commonalities can already be
identiﬁed.
First, studies tend to focus on adolescents and emerging adults. Second, cross-sectional and
longitudinal survey research, as well as experimental ﬁndings, suggest that posting and viewing
sexual posts may increase the likelihood of certain risky sexual beliefs and behaviors (e.g., van
Oosten, Peter, & Boot, 2015; C. L. Wright & Rubin, 2017).
The primary focal point of the research to date is sexual objectiﬁcation. Findings suggest that
social media activity is associated with girls’ and young adult women’s self-sexualization,
objectiﬁed body-consciousness, and decreased sexual assertiveness (e.g., Manago, Ward, Lemm,
Reed, & Seabrook, 2015). The more girls and women use social media, the more they may compare
themselves to others who self-sexualize, and the more they may feel like they too should
self-sexualize (Fardouly, Diedrichs, Vartanian, & Halliwell, 2015). However, no convincing evidence
exists that posting sexualized photos on social media is the result of or increases oﬄine
sexual agency (Ramsey & Horan, 2018).
Sexually Explicit Media
Unlike the study of mainstream media sex eﬀects, investigations into the impacts of pornography
have been conducted for many decades. The traditional emphasis on sexual aggression
and satisfaction has been expanded to include many additional points of analysis, several of
which correspond thematically to the sociosexual domains of interest to mainstream media sex
Media and Sexuality • 233
researchers. Speciﬁcally, similar to mainstream media sex scholars and following the results of
content analytic studies, pornography researchers have hypothesized that exposure to sexually
explicit media increases the likelihood of sexual attitudes and behaviors that are more unrestricted,
risky, and gendered, but also more tolerant, particularly of lesbian women and gay
men. Aggression and sexual satisfaction have continued to be important areas of inquiry.
Although still relatively rare, meta-analyses of the pornography literature have been much
more common than meta-analyses of the mainstream media sex literature. It is not surprising
that most pornography meta-analyses have focused on sexual aggression, given the longevity of
the research area and its obvious social and public health importance. Early meta-analyses
found that pornography exposure could increase the likelihood of nonsexual aggression and
rape myth acceptance (e.g., Hald, Malamuth, & Yuen, 2010). More recently, P. J. Wright, Tokunaga,
and Kraus (2016b) found in both cross-sectional and longitudinal survey studies that
pornography consumption was associated with committing actual acts of sexual aggression.
Results were similar in the U.S. and internationally and did not vary by gender. Although both
associations were signiﬁcant, the eﬀect size for verbal sexual aggression was stronger than for
physical sexual aggression, and the general pattern of results suggested that more violent content
may have an exacerbating eﬀect.
It has been hypothesized that reduced interpersonal (relational and sexual) and intrapersonal
(self and body) satisfaction may be caused by viewing pornography, due to upward comparisons
between one’s own and one’s partners’ sexual appeal, acumen, and availability in comparison to
the idealized actors and hypersexual scripts in pornography. Recent meta-analysis results suggested
that pornography consumers are more likely to ﬁnd fault with their partners than themselves
(P. J. Wright, Tokunaga, Kraus, & Klann, 2017). Pornography use was unrelated to
intrapersonal satisfaction. Conversely, pornography use was associated with lower interpersonal
satisfaction in cross-sectional surveys, longitudinal surveys, and experiments. Analyses by
gender, though, suggested that detrimental interpersonal satisfaction eﬀects may be more likely
for men than women.
Only one meta-analysis has been conducted on the (relatively) newer topics of interest.
Tokunaga, Wright, and Roskos (2018) meta-analyzed the literature on pornography and impersonal
sex, one of the most commonly studied areas of unrestricted sexuality. This study found
that pornography consumption predicted a more impersonal approach to sex among adolescents
and adults, women and men, and across the various countries with inclusive data. Both
experimental and correlational data, including from cross-sectional and longitudinal surveys,
yielded similar ﬁndings. Importantly, mediation analysis ﬁt the hypothesis that pornography
consumption predicts increased impersonal sexual behavior through more impersonal sexual
attitudes, while confounding analysis did not support the hypothesis that the association
between pornography consumption and impersonal sexual behavior is spurious and due to preexisting
impersonal sexual attitudes.
The sexual risk behavior that has received the most attention is condom use. Some studies
have focused on general population samples, whereas others have speciﬁcally focused on gay
men. General population studies have yielded mixed results, with some samples ﬁnding the
anticipated association between pornography consumption and condomless sex and other samples
resulting in null associations. Two recent studies of heterosexual individuals—one conducted
in Germany (P. J. Wright, Sun, & Steﬀen, 2018a) and the other in England
(P. J. Wright, Sun, & Steﬀen, 2018b)—may help to reconcile these ﬁndings. They suggest ﬁrstly
that due to condomless-sex ﬂoor eﬀects among monogamously committed couples, associations
234 • Paul J. Wright
may primarily be found among individuals not in monogamous relationships. They suggest secondly
that while frequency of consumption is important, it is the combination of consuming
pornography and perceiving it as a source of sexual information that is most likely to result in
condomless sex. Because of the higher incidence of condom use in gay pornography, associations
between pornography consumption and condomless sex may only be present among gay
men who speciﬁcally prefer to view pornography depicting men having sex without condoms
(Rosser et al., 2013).
The gendered outcome that has been studied most frequently is the sexual objectiﬁcation of
women. Associations between pornography consumption and perceiving women as sexual
objects have been found across methods and several countries. In a cross-sectional survey study
of Japanese college students, Omori and colleagues (2011) found that both online and oﬄine
pornography consumption were associated with stronger perceptions of women as sexual
objects. In a longitudinal survey study of Dutch adolescents, Peter and Valkenburg (2009)
found that earlier online pornography consumption predicted later notions of women as sexual
objects for both boys and girls. In an experimental study with emerging adult males in the U.S.,
P. J. Wright and Tokunaga (2015) found that exposure to nude centerfolds increased objectiﬁed
cognitions about women both immediately after exposure and approximately 48 hours later.
Finally, a series of longitudinal studies with adults of varying ages in the U.S. have queried the
supposition that pornography’s unrestricted approach to sex may increase acceptance of sexual
relationships that were traditionally stigmatized, such as same-sex relationships. Taken together,
their results suggest that viewing pornography increases the likelihood of a liberalization in attitudes
toward nontraditional sexual roles and relationships, which in turn predict more support for
a variety of rights for gay individuals (P. J. Wright & Bae, 2013; P. J. Wright & Randall, 2014;
P. J. Wright, Tokunaga, & Bae, 2014). Findings such as these make clear that the same person
might identify one socializing eﬀect of pornography as antisocial (e.g., sexual aggression) but
another eﬀect as prosocial (e.g., more positive attitudes toward gay individuals). Scientiﬁc understanding
of and social discussions surrounding pornography’s impact can only progress when
nuances and complexities such as these are accepted and considered.
After many years of neglecting the question of process (at least analytically), pornography
eﬀect studies have started to engage in formal mediation analyses. Studies to date have primarily
focused on mechanisms that may link consumption to engagement in sexual behaviors similar
to those in pornography.
Sexual expectations have been the focus of several longitudinal studies. Gwinn, Lambert,
Fincham, and Maner (2013) observed that the large number of sexually eager and attractive
actors in pornography may lead consumers to the expectation that they too deserve alternatives
to their current partner. Consistent with this premise, they found in a sample of U.S. college
students in exclusive relationships that earlier pornography consumption predicted later extrarelational
sexual behavior through heightened expectations of relational alternatives. D’Abreu and
Krahé (2014) noted that several known risk factors for male sexual aggression have been
observed in pornography (e.g., sex between strangers, that people say “no” when they really
mean “yes” to sex). They theorized that pornography consumption may lead to the expectation
that these are common attributes of sexual situations, which in turn may increase men’s likelihood
of sexual aggression. Consistent with this hypothesis, they found in a sample of male college
students in Brazil that the association between earlier pornography consumption and later
sexual aggression was mediated in part by expectations of participating in sexual situations with
these risk factors present.
Media and Sexuality • 235
Sexual attitudes have also been studied as a mediator between pornography consumption
and sexual behavior. Pornography producers generally cast the behaviors they select as pleasurable
and without negative consequence. Such portrayals may produce or reinforce more positive
attitudes toward those behaviors among consumers, leading to an increased likelihood of
engaging in those behaviors if given the opportunity. A single-sample longitudinal study conducted
with U.S. college students provided some initial evidence that associations between pornography
consumption and sexual behavior may be mediated in part by sexual attitudes
(Braithwaite, Aaron, Dowdle, Spjut, & Fincham, 2015). A more recent study was conducted by
P. J. Wright (2018b). This multiple-sample, multiple-decade analysis of adults of varying ages
across the U.S. found that associations between both pornographic movie and website consumption
and premarital and extramarital sexual behavior were mediated by premarital and extramarital
sexual attitudes, respectively.
Pornography researchers are also beginning to study the mechanistic role of perceived peer
norms and eﬃcacy in the pornography consumption–sexual behavior relationship. Since candid
discussions with others about their actual sexual behavior can be awkward, consumers may use
pornography to come to conclusions about what is sexually normative. Furthermore, observing
pornographic actors eﬃcaciously enact various sexual behaviors may encourage consumers that
they can follow suit. As a norms example, P. J. Wright et al. (2016a) found in a study of mostly
heterosexual U.S. college students that the association between pornography consumption and
engaging in condomless sex in the prior year was mediated by lower estimates of peers’
condom use. As an eﬃcacy example, Traeen et al. (2014) found in a study of gay men in the
U.S. that the association between viewing pornography that did picture condoms and reduced
STI-risk behavior was mediated by condom use self-eﬃcacy.
An additional mediating variable that is essential to consider in the context of pornography
is sexual arousal. Arousal may mediate cognitive eﬀects for three reasons. First, higher arousal
should reduce the motivation and ability to engage in an eﬀortful and deliberate search for the
most applicable sexual script, increasing the likelihood that the most accessible script will be
applied (P. J. Wright, 2011). Second, if arousal was present when the script was encoded, later
arousal should increase the likelihood the script will be reactivated (Hald & Malamuth, 2015;
P. J. Wright, 2011). Third, in order to reclaim cognitive balance during or after being aroused
by a particular pornographic depiction, the consumer may adjust their attitudes to be more
accepting of the type of sex depicted (Peter & Valkenburg, 2009). Consistent with these ideas,
experimental studies conducted in Denmark and the U.S. have found that the eﬀect of pornography
on cognitions supportive of violence against women is mediated by sexual arousal (e.g.,
Hald & Malamuth, 2015).
In terms of potential moderators of pornography eﬀects, most often the focus has been on
possible diﬀerences across various demographic categories. Interestingly, results for gender and
ethnicity mirror in many respects those from mainstream media studies. Gender interactions
are sometimes null (P. J. Wright et al., 2016a) and sometimes signiﬁcant (P. J. Wright et al.,
2016b) and the variability across studies is not easily explained. In studies involving diﬀerent
ethnic groups, pornography consumption has been associated with the outcome under study for
some groups but not others (P. J. Wright & Bae, 2013). Yet, when the null group is studied in
isolation, evidence of eﬀects are found (Wingood et al., 2001). Therefore, although it is acknowledged
that identifying demographic contingency is important and can shed light on probable
theoretical mechanisms, the remainder of this section will focus on psychographic rather than
demographic moderators.
236 • Paul J. Wright
Findings from several studies suggest that consumers who have more conﬁdence in the veracity
and utility of media generally, and pornographic media speciﬁcally, are more likely to be
impacted. In national survey data of U.S. women across a range of ages, associations between
internet pornography consumption and extramarital sex attitudes (P. J. Wright, 2013) and multiple
sexual partnerships (P. J. Wright & Arroyo, 2013) were stronger when conﬁdence in media
institutions was higher. In a three-wave panel survey of Dutch adolescents, over-time increases
in pornography consumption were accompanied by increases in sexual permissiveness only
among youth who perceived pornography as more realistic at baseline (Baams et al., 2015). In
a survey study of heterosexual German adults, the correlation between higher pornography consumption
and less frequent condom use was largest among those who most strongly perceived
pornography as a source of information about sex (P. J. Wright et al., 2018a).
In contrast, survey ﬁndings suggest that U.S. adults whose existing sexual scripts, values, and
moral orientations are more incompatible with pornography’s presentation of sex will be less
impacted. Cross-sectionally, studies have found that associations between pornography consumption
and variables such as multiple sexual partnerships and more unrestricted sexual attitudes
are weaker when consumers are more politically conservative, religious, and oriented
toward moral absolutes (P. J. Wright, 2018c; P. J. Wright et al., 2014). Likewise, longitudinal
panel surveys have found that positive associations between earlier pornography consumption
and later more sexually unrestricted attitudes are less likely when consumers are more
politically conservative and more oriented toward moral uniformity (P. J. Wright, 2013;
P. J. Wright & Bae, 2015).
Evidence also exists that education in general and education about pornography speciﬁcally
may decrease the likelihood that consumers incorporate information from pornography into
their own sexual scripts. In cross-sectional and longitudinal data gathered from adult U.S. men
and women, Wright and colleagues (P. J. Wright, 2013; P. J. Wright & Randall, 2014) found
that associations between pornography use and various sexual attitudes were weaker among participants
with more years of education. In two-wave panel survey data gathered from Dutch
adolescents and young adults, the association between pornography use and perceiving women
as sexual objects was strongest among those who had not received sexuality education on
pornography (Vandenbosch & van Oosten, 2017). These ﬁndings are consistent with early work
on the role of educational brieﬁngs designed to mitigate harmful eﬀects of laboratory exposure
to violent pornography (Allen, D’Alessio, Emmers, & Gebhardt, 1996). The results of this
meta-analysis indicated that antisocial attitudinal eﬀects from viewing violent pornography
could be reduced through either pre- or post-exposure communications noting that pornography
is nothing more than ﬁctional fantasy.
Several studies have focused on identifying moderators in the context of sexual aggression
speciﬁcally. Tests guided by Malamuth’s conﬂuence model of sexual aggression (Malamuth,
Linz, Heavey, Barnes, & Acker, 1995) have yielded the most informative results. Across separate
samples of adults in the U.S., pornography consumption has been shown to most strongly predict
sexually aggressive attitudes and behaviors when men are both impersonal in their
approach to sex and adhere to a style of masculinity that is hostile toward women (Malamuth,
2018). These ﬁndings are consistent with the general theoretical premise that eﬀects are less
likely when consumers’ existing scripts are incompatible with how pornography presents sexual
roles and relationships.
The previous discussion does not represent an exhaustive list of moderators tested to date.
Many other moderators have been explored in at least one study: age of ﬁrst exposure to
Media and Sexuality • 237
pornography, intoxication during sex, history of drug use, life satisfaction, sexual sensation
seeking, character liking, relationship status, frequency of exposure, country of study, imagery
explicitness, views on personal freedom, and perceived life dullness, to name a few. It is recommended
that the analysis of moderators continue, with the stipulation that the ﬁeld will be
moved forward the most quickly when the moderators selected can be linked to an established
theoretical model (P. J. Wright, 2018c).
A ﬁnal issue that deserves mention is problematically compulsive or “addictive” use of pornography.
Debate of this issue has largely taken place among clinically oriented psychologists and
neuroscientists, not media and communication scholars. Key points of debate have included
whether the accessibility, aﬀordability, and anonymity of internet pornography (in comparison to
oﬄine pornography) increases the likelihood of dysregulated use, if there are reliable and sequential
stages of internet pornography addiction, whether an underlying etiology and eﬀective treatment
modality can be identiﬁed, if the physiological responses of problematic pornography
consumers to pornographic depictions are similar to or diﬀerent from the responses of other classes
of addicts to their particular addictive stimuli, and the extent to which moral incongruence
between holding negative attitudes toward pornography but using it anyway may lead to the selfperception
of being addicted (Grubbs, Perry, Wilt, & Reid, 2018; P. J. Wright, 2018a).
Conclusions
This chapter reviewed scientiﬁc research on the eﬀects of mainstream, pornographic, and social
media sex, with a primary emphasis on sexual socialization. The following “big picture” conclusions
can be drawn from this review.
First, enough experimental and longitudinal work has been produced to conclude that sexual
media causally inﬂuence the sexuality of some consumers. Second, while most research focuses
on eﬀects typically deemed problematic, an increasing number of studies are considering eﬀects
that would generally be considered prosocial. Third, eﬀects are often indirect and contingent on
a variety of factors. Fourth, there is now empirical evidence of similarity in at least some of the
mechanisms and contingencies across mainstream, social, and pornographic media. Fifth,
although the magnitude of media sexual socialization eﬀect sizes is typically modest, they align
with the magnitude of eﬀect sizes in the social sciences more generally. Sixth, in ecological studies
that consider a number of predictor variables, the magnitude of the media sex eﬀect is typically
within the range of other more accepted social inﬂuences. Seventh, although some
diﬀerences have been found, the literature at present suggests that the eﬀects of sexual media
are more similar than disparate across cultures.
The chapter’s primary future research suggestion is that media sex scholars call on identiﬁable
theory to guide their projects. If researchers do not overtly specify, derive predictions from,
and test distinct theoretical models in a sequential, programmatic manner, the accumulation of
knowledge will be disorganized and delayed. Additional, ﬁner-grained future research suggestions—not
ordered by importance—are as follows. First, the eﬀects of sex in mainstream and
social media on older adults is in need of investigation. Second, additional studies that examine
a variety of mediums and genres within mediums within the same sample are needed. Third,
further studies that use the same instrumentation across countries and directly compare the
results would be of value. Fourth, research that has taken variables that have typically been
looked at as potential confounds (e.g., religiosity, political orientation, sensation seeking) and
attempted to model them as predictors, mediators, or moderators should continue. Too often,
238 • Paul J. Wright
variables are modeled as confounds that are likely part of the eﬀects dynamic. This decreases
the explanatory power of the model and increases the chance of Type II errors. Fifth, additional
work is needed that clariﬁes when the same variable may function as a mediator or
a moderator (e.g., perceived realism, sexual attitudes).
Media and sexuality research has ﬁnally captured the cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural
attention it clearly warrants. It is the hope of this chapter that even more researchers will take
up the important and interesting questions that are still in need of address.
Author’s Note
The author would like to thank the following for their suggestions of pertinent studies: Jennifer
Stevens Aubrey, Mona Clay, Elizabeth Daniels, Ed Donnerstein, Steven Eggermont, Josh
Grubbs, Amy Nathanson, Annemarie van Oosten, Victor Strasburger, Laura Vandenbosch, Laurens
Vangeel, and Monique Ward.
References
Allen, M., D’Alessio, D., Emmers, T. M., & Gebhardt, L. (1996). The role of educational brieﬁngs
in mitigating eﬀects of experimental exposure to violent sexually explicit material. Journal of
Sex Research, 33, 135–141. doi:10.1080/00224499609551825
Ashby, S. L., Arcari, C. M., & Edmonson, M. B. (2006). Television viewing and risk of sexual initiation
by young adolescents. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 160, 375–380.
doi:10.1001/archpedi.160.4.375
Aubrey, J. S., & Smith, S. E. (2016). The impact of exposure to sexually oriented media on the
endorsement of hookup culture. Mass Communication and Society, 19, 74–101. doi:10.1080/
15205436.2015.1070875
Baams, L., Overbeek, G., Dubas, J. S., Doornwaard, S. M., Rommes, E., & Van Aken, M. A. (2015).
Perceived realism moderates the relation between sexualized media consumption and permissive
sexual attitudes in Dutch adolescents. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 44, 743–754.
doi:10.1007/s10508-014-0443-7
Behm-Morawitz, E., Aubrey, J. S., Pennell, H., & Kim, K. B. (2017). Examining the eﬀects of
MTV’s 16 and pregnant on adolescent girls’ sexual health. Health Communication. Advance
online publication. doi:10.1080/10410236.2017.1399506
Braithwaite, S. R., Aaron, S. C., Dowdle, K. K., Spjut, K., & Fincham, F. D. (2015). Does pornography
consumption increase participation in friends with beneﬁts relationships? Sexuality &
Culture, 19, 513–532. doi:10.1007/s12119-015-9275-4
Brown, J. D., L’Engle, K. L., Pardun, C. J., Guo, G., Kenneavy, K., & Jackson, C. (2006). Sexy media
matter: Exposure to sexual content in music, movies, television, and magazines predicts black
and white adolescents’ sexual behavior. Pediatrics, 117, 1018–1027. doi:10.1542/peds.2005-1406
Chia, S. C. (2006). How peers mediate media inﬂuence on adolescents’ sexual attitudes and sexual
behavior. Journal of Communication, 56, 585–606. doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2006.00302.x
Collins, R. L., Elliott, M. N., Berry, S. H., Kanouse, D. E., Kunkel, D., Hunter, S. B., & Miu, A.
(2004). Watching sex on television predicts adolescent initiation of sexual behavior. Pediatrics,
114, 280–289. doi:10.1542/peds.2003-1065-L
D’Abreu, L., & Krahé, B. (2014). Predicting sexual aggression in male college students in Brazil.
Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 15, 152–162. doi:10.1037/a0032789
Fardouly, J., Diedrichs, P. C., Vartanian, L. R., & Halliwell, E. (2015). The mediating role of
appearance comparisons in the relationship between media usage and self-objectiﬁcation in
young women. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 39, 447–457. doi:10.1177/0361684315581841
Media and Sexuality • 239
Ferris, A. L., Smith, S. W., Greenberg, B. S., & Smith, S. L. (2007). The content of reality dating
shows and viewer perceptions of dating. Journal of Communication, 57, 490–510. doi:10.1111/
j.1460-2466.2007.00354.x
Finnerty-Myers, K. (2011). Understanding the dynamics behind the relationship between exposure
to negative consequences of risky sex on entertainment television and emerging adults’
safe-sex attitudes and intentions. Mass Communication and Society, 14, 743–764. doi:10.1080/
15205436.2010.540057
Fisher, D. A., Hill, D. L., Grube, J. W., Bersamin, M. M., Walker, S., & Gruber, E. L. (2009). Televised
sexual content and parental mediation: Inﬂuences on adolescent sexuality. Media Psychology,
12, 121–147. doi:10.1080/15213260902849901
Galdi, S., Maass, A., & Cadinu, M. (2014). Objectifying media: Their eﬀect on gender role norms
and sexual harassment of women. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 38, 398–413. doi:10.1177/
0361684313515185
Gottfried, J. A., Vaala, S. E., Bleakley, A., Hennessy, M., & Jordan, A. (2013). Does the eﬀect of
exposure to TV sex on adolescent sexual behavior vary by genre? Communication Research, 40,
73–95. doi:10.1177/0093650211415399
Grubbs, J. B., Perry, S. L., Wilt, J. A., & Reid, R. C. (2018). Pornography problems due to moral
incongruence. Archives of Sexual Behavior. Advance online publication. doi:10.1007/s10508-
018-1291-7
Gwinn, A. M., Lambert, N. M., Fincham, F. D., & Maner, J. K. (2013). Pornography, relationship
alternatives, and intimate extradyadic behavior. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 4,
699–704. doi:10.1177/1948550613480821
Hald, G. M., & Malamuth, N. N. (2015). Experimental eﬀects of exposure to pornography: The
moderating eﬀect of personality and mediating eﬀect of sexual arousal. Archives of Sexual
Behavior, 44, 99–109. doi:10.1007/s10508-014-0291-5
Hald, G. M., Malamuth, N. N., & Yuen, C. (2010). Pornography and attitudes supporting violence
against women. Aggressive Behavior, 36, 14–20. doi:10.1002/ab.20328
Halliwell, E., Malson, H., & Tischner, I. (2011). Are contemporary media images which seem to
display women as sexually empowered actually harmful to women? Psychology of Women
Quarterly, 35, 38–45. doi:10.1177/0361684310385217
Kahlor, L., & Eastin, M. S. (2011). Television’s role in the culture of violence toward women:
A study of television viewing and the cultivation of rape myth acceptance in the United States.
Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 55, 215–231. doi:10.1080/08838151.2011.566085
Lemal, M., & Van Den Bulck, J. (2009). Exposure to semi-explicit sexual television content is
related to adolescents’ reduced fear of AIDS. The European Journal of Contraception & Reproductive
Health Care, 14, 406–409. doi:10.3109/13625180903281317
Malamuth, N. (2018). “Adding fuel to the ﬁre”? Does exposure to non-consenting adult or to
child pornography increase risk of sexual aggression? Aggression and Violent Behavior, 41, 74–
89. doi:10.1016/j.avb.2018.02.013
Malamuth, N. M., Linz, D., Heavey, C. L., Barnes, G., & Acker, M. (1995). Using the conﬂuence
model of sexual aggression to predict men’s conﬂict with women. Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology, 69, 353–369. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.69.2.353
Manago, A. M., Ward, L. M., Lemm, K. M., Reed, L., & Seabrook, R. (2015). Facebook involvement,
objectiﬁed body consciousness, body shame, and sexual assertiveness in college women
and men. Sex Roles, 72, 1–14. doi:10.1007/s11199-014-0441-1
Martino, S. C., Collins, R. L., Kanouse, D. E., Elliott, M., & Berry, S. H. (2005). Social cognitive
processes mediating the relationship between exposure to television’s sexual content and adolescents’
sexual behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89, 914–924.
doi:10.1037/0022-3514.89.6.914
240 • Paul J. Wright
Martins, N., & Jensen, R. E. (2014). The relationship between “teen mom” reality programming
and teenagers’ beliefs about teen parenthood. Mass Communication and Society, 17, 830–852.
doi:10.1080/15205436.2013.851701
McLaughlin, B., & Rodriguez, N. S. (2017). Identifying with a stereotype: The divergent eﬀects of
exposure to homosexual television characters. Journal of Homosexuality, 64, 1196–1213.
doi:10.1080/00918369.2016.1242335
Moyer‐Gusé, E., Chung, A. H., & Jain, P. (2011). Identiﬁcation with characters and discussion of
taboo topics after exposure to an entertainment narrative about sexual health. Journal of Communication,
61, 387–406. doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2011.01551.x
Moyer-Gusé, E., Mahood, C., & Brookes, S. (2011). Entertainment-education in the context of
humor: Eﬀects on safer sex intentions and risk perceptions. Health Communication, 26, 765–
774. doi:10.1080/10410236.2011.566832
O’Hara, R. E., Gibbons, F. X., Gerrard, M., Li, Z., & Sargent, J. D. (2012). Greater exposure to
sexual content in popular movies predicts earlier sexual debut and increased sexual risk taking.
Psychological Science, 23, 984–993. doi:10.1177/0956797611435529
Omori, K., Zhang, Y. B., Allen, M., Ota, H., & Imamura, M. (2011). Japanese college students’
media exposure to sexually explicit materials, perceptions of women, and sexually permissive
attitudes. Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, 40, 93–110. doi:10.1080/
17475759.2011.581031
Peter, J., & Valkenburg, P. M. (2009). Adolescents’ exposure to sexually explicit internet material
and notions of women as sex objects: Assessing causality and underlying processes. Journal of
Communication, 59, 407–433. doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2009.01422.x
Ramsey, L. R., & Horan, A. L. (2018). Picture this: Women’s self-sexualization in photos on social
media. Personality and Individual Diﬀerences, 133, 85–90. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2017.06.022
Romero-Sanchez, M., Toro-Garcia, V., Horvath, M. A., & Megias, J. L. (2017). More than
a magazine: Exploring the links between lads’ mags, rape myth acceptance, and rape proclivity.
Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 32, 515–534. doi:10.1177/0886260515586366
Rosser, B. S., Smolenski, D. J., Erickson, D., Iantaﬃ, A., Brady, S. S., Grey, J. A., & Wilkerson, J. M.
(2013). The eﬀects of gay sexually explicit media on the HIV risk behavior of men who have sex
with men. AIDS and Behavior, 17, 1488–1498. doi:10.1007/s10461-013-0454-8
Starr, C. R., & Ferguson, G. M. (2012). Sexy dolls, sexy grade-schoolers? Media and maternal
inﬂuences on young girls’ self-sexualization. Sex Roles, 67, 463–476. doi:10.1007/s11199-012-
0183-x
Taylor, L. D. (2005). Eﬀects of visual and verbal sexual television content and perceived realism
on attitudes and beliefs. Journal of Sex Research, 42, 130–137. doi:10.1080/00224490509552266
Tokunaga, R. S., Wright, P. J., & Roskos, J. E. (2018). Pornography and impersonal sex. Manuscript
under review.
Traeen, B., Hald, G. M., Noor, S. W., Iantaﬃ, A., Grey, J., & Rosser, B. S. (2014). The relationship
between use of sexually explicit media and sexual risk behavior in men who have sex with men.
International Journal of Sexual Health, 26, 13–24. doi:10.1080/19317611.2013.823900
van Oosten, J. M., Peter, J., & Boot, I. (2015). Exploring associations between exposure to sexy
online self-presentations and adolescents’ sexual attitudes and behavior. Journal of Youth and
Adolescence, 44, 1078–1091. doi:10.1007/s10964-014-0194-8
van Oosten, J. M., Peter, J., & Valkenburg, P. M. (2015). The inﬂuence of sexual music videos on
adolescents’ misogynistic beliefs: The role of video content, gender, and aﬀective engagement.
Communication Research, 42, 986–1008. doi:10.1177/0093650214565893
Vandenbosch, L., & Eggermont, S. (2015). The role of mass media in adolescents’ sexual behaviors:
Exploring the explanatory value of the three-step self-objectiﬁcation process. Archives of
Sexual Behavior, 44, 729–742. doi:10.1007/s10508-014-0292-4
Media and Sexuality • 241
Vandenbosch, L., & van Oosten, J. M. (2017). The relationship between online pornography and
the sexual objectiﬁcation of women: The attenuating role of porn literacy education. Journal of
Communication, 67, 1015–1036. doi:10.1111/jcom.12341
Ward, L. M. (2003). Understanding the role of entertainment media in the sexual socialization of
American youth: A review of empirical research. Developmental Review, 23, 347–388.
doi:10.1016/S0273-2297(03)00013-3
Ward, L. M., Hansbrough, E., & Walker, E. (2005). Contributions of music video exposure to
black adolescents’ gender and sexual schemas. Journal of Adolescent Research, 20, 143–166.
doi:10.1177/0743558404271135
Wingood, G. M., DiClemente, R. J., Harrington, K., Davies, S., Hook, E. W., & Oh, M. K. (2001).
Exposure to X-rated movies and adolescents’ sexual and contraceptive-related attitudes and
behaviors. Pediatrics, 107, 1116–1119. doi:10.1542/peds.107.5.1116
Woo, H. J., & Dominick, J. R. (2001). Daytime television talk shows and the cultivation eﬀect
among US and international students. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 45, 598–
614. doi:10.1207/s15506878jobem4504_4
Wright, C. L., & Rubin, M. (2017). “Get lucky!”: Sexual content in music lyrics, videos and social
media and sexual cognitions and risk among emerging adults in the USA and Australia. Sex
Education, 17, 41–56. doi:10.1080/14681811.2016.1242402
Wright, P. J. (2011). Mass media eﬀects on youth sexual behavior: Assessing the claim for
causality. Annals of the International Communication Association, 35, 343–386. doi:10.1080/
23808985.2011.11679121
Wright, P. J. (2013). Internet pornography exposure and women’s attitude towards extramarital
sex: An exploratory study. Communication Studies, 64, 315–336. doi:10.1080/10510974.2012.
755643
Wright, P. J. (2018a). Dysregulated pornography use and the possibility of a unipathway approach.
Archives of Sexual Behavior. Advance online publication. doi:10.1007/s10508-018-1277-5
Wright, P. J. (2018b). Pornography and sexual behavior: Do sexual attitudes mediate or confound?
Communication Research. Advance online publication. doi:10.1177/0093650218796363
Wright, P. J. (2018c). Sex education, public opinion, and pornography: A conditional process
analysis. Journal of Health Communication, 23, 495–502. doi:10.1080/10810730.2018.1472316
Wright, P. J., & Arroyo, A. (2013). Internet pornography and US women’s sexual behavior: Results
from a national sample. Mass Communication and Society, 16, 617–638. doi:10.1080/
15205436.2012.754045
Wright, P. J., & Bae, S. (2013). Pornography consumption and attitudes toward homosexuality:
A national longitudinal study. Human Communication Research, 39, 492–513. doi:10.1111/
hcre.12009
Wright, P. J., & Bae, S. (2015). U.S. adults’ pornography consumption and attitudes toward adolescents’
access to birth control. International Journal of Sexual Health, 27, 69–82. doi:10.1080/
19317611.2014.944294
Wright, P. J., & Randall, A. K. (2014). Pornography consumption, education, and support for
same-sex marriage among adult U.S. males. Communication Research, 41, 665–689. doi:10.1177/
0093650212471558
Wright, P. J., Randall, A. K., & Arroyo, A. (2013). Father–Daughter communication about sex
moderates the association between exposure to MTV’s 16 and pregnant/teen mom and female
students’ pregnancy-risk behavior. Sexuality & Culture, 17, 50–66. doi:10.1007/s12119-012-
9137-2
Wright, P. J., Sun, C., & Steﬀen, N. (2018a). Pornography consumption, perceptions of pornography
as sexual information, and condom use. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy. Advance
online publication. doi:10.1080/0092623X.2018.1462278
242 • Paul J. Wright
Wright, P. J., Sun, C., & Steﬀen, N. (2018b). Relational monogamy, condomless sex, and perceptions
of pornography as sexual information in an England sample. Sexual Health. Advance
online publication. doi:10.1071/SH18050
Wright, P. J., & Tokunaga, R. S. (2015). Activating the centerfold syndrome: Recency of exposure,
sexual explicitness, past exposure to objectifying media. Communication Research, 42, 864–897.
doi:10.1177/0093650213509668
Wright, P. J., Tokunaga, R. S., & Bae, S. (2014). Pornography consumption and US adults’ attitudes
toward gay individuals’ civil liberties, moral judgments of homosexuality, and support for samesex
marriage. Communication Monographs, 81, 79–107. doi:10.1080/03637751.2013.871048
Wright, P. J., Tokunaga, R. S., & Kraus, A. (2016a). Consumption of pornography, perceived peer
norms, and condomless sex. Health Communication, 31, 954–963. doi:10.1080/
10410236.2015.1022936
Wright, P. J., Tokunaga, R. S., & Kraus, A. (2016b). A meta-analysis of pornography consumption
and actual acts of sexual aggression in general population studies. Journal of Communication,
66, 183–205. doi:10.1111/jcom.12201
Wright, P. J., Tokunaga, R. S., Kraus, A., & Klann, E. (2017). Pornography consumption and satisfaction:
A meta-analysis. Human Communication Research, 43, 315–343. doi:10.1111/
hcre.12108
Ybarra, M. L., Strasburger, V. C., & Mitchell, K. J. (2014). Sexual media exposure, sexual behavior,
and sexual violence victimization in adolescence. Clinical Pediatrics, 53, 1239–1247.
doi:10.1177/0009922814538700
Zhang, L., & Min, Y. (2013). Eﬀects of entertainment media framing on support for gay rights in
China: Mechanisms of attribution and value framing. Asian Journal of Communication, 23,
248–267. doi:10.1080/01292986.2012.739187