Sex Differences in Voyeuristic and Exhibitionistic Interests: Exploring the Mediating Roles of Sociosexuality and Sexual Compulsivity from an Evolutionary Perspective

Understanding Social Judgments of and Proclivities to Commit Upskirting

Against a backdrop of legislative change that sees the taking of private sexual images underneath the clothing of a non-consenting other being made a criminal offence - upskirting - there is a need to understand the public's judgments of and motivations to perpetrate said behavior. In this study (N = 490), we investigated whether judgments of upskirting differed as a function of the sex of the person who was upskirted (male, female) and their perceived attractiveness (attractive, unattractive), as well as how variation in voyeuristic interest, belief in a just world, and dark personality traits predicted judgments of and proclivity to engage in upskirting. We consistently observed more lenient judgments of upskirting behavior when the person who was upskirted was attractive and male, with such judgements predicted by older age across all conditions. Moreover, proclivity to engage in upskirting was predicted by past voyeuristic behaviors, higher psychopathic personality, and being male and of older age. We discuss our findings in the context of needing to qualitatively understand the rationale underpinning these judgments, combating barriers to disclose victimization, and practitioner implications.

Dark Tetrad personality traits, paraphilic interests, and the role of impulsivity: an EEG-study using a Go/No-Go paradigm

Maladaptive personality traits, such as 'dark personalities' are found to result in a diverse set of negative outcomes, including paraphilic interests and associated (illegal) behaviors. It is however unclear how these are exactly related, and if related, if then only those individuals higher on dark personality traits and higher impulsivity engage in paraphilic behaviors. In the current study, 50 participants were recruited to investigate the relationship between Dark Tetrad personality traits (i.e., narcissism, psychopathy, Machiavellianism and everyday sadism), paraphilic interests (arousal and behavior) and the moderating role of impulsivity. Personality and paraphilic interests were investigated through self-report questionnaires. Impulsivity was measured both through self-reported dysfunctional impulsivity and the P3 event related potential using electroencephalography during the Go/No-Go task (i.e. response inhibition). The results showed that there was a positive association between psychopathy, sadism and paraphilic interests. Whereas everyday sadism was associated with paraphilic (self-reported) arousal, psychopathy was associated with paraphilic behavior. Although P3 amplitude was not associated with paraphilic interests, self-reported dysfunctional impulsivity was associated with paraphilic behavior specifically. However, there was no moderating role of dysfunctional impulsivity and response inhibition (P3) in the relationship between psychopathy and paraphilic behavior. Findings indicate that the relation between specific dark personalities and paraphilic interests may be more complex than initially thought. Nevertheless, risk assessment and intervention approaches for paraphilia and related behavior both may benefit from incorporating Dark Tetrad and impulsivity measurements.

Polygamous Interest in a Mononormative Nation: The Roles of Sex and Sociosexuality in Polygamous Interest in a Heterosexual Sample from the UK

Polygamy is a form of "one-sided" consensually non-monogamous relationship where one person has multiple committed partners, each of whom is only involved with that one person. It was likely a reoccurring feature of ancestral mating that posed adaptive problems for our ancestors. Yet polygamy, and multi-partnering more generally, is understudied in Western cultures, raising questions about the existence of polygamous interest and whether this is calibrated adaptively to personal conditions. In two studies, we examined polygamous interest in two heterosexual online samples from the UK. In Study 1 (N = 393), modest interest was found for polygamous relationships overall. Men were six times more open to polygyny than women, but there was little sex difference in openness to polyandry. Further analysis revealed that all forms of multi-partnering were undesirable relative to singlehood and monogamy; however, consensual multi-partner relationships were less undesirable than non-consensual ones. Sex differences were largest for polygyny and arrangements where men had agreed access to a casual partner alongside a committed one, yet these were two of the most acceptable forms of multi-partnering when men and women's responses were combined. Sociosexuality positively predicted interest in most forms of multi-partnering. Study 2 (N = 735) focused on polygyny and added status-linked traits as predictors. The results of Study 1 were broadly replicated, though the status-linked traits did not predict polygynous interest specifically. Instead, sociosexuality and male intrasexual competitiveness uniquely predicted general interest in multi-partner relationships. Overall, interest in polygamy appears to emerge despite social discouragement and sex differences in interest track the relative costs and benefits associated with it. However, there is no strong evidence that polygamous interest is uniquely calibrated to personal conditions when compared to other forms of multi-partnering.

Psychological and Developmental Correlates of Paraphilic and Normophilic Sexual Interests

The classification of sexual fantasies and behaviors (here referred to as 'sexual interests') has historically been divided into 'paraphilic' and 'normophilic'. However, studies on paraphilic interests are often limited to clinical or forensic samples and normophilic interests are rarely assessed in tandem. Previous research has found mixed results for psychological and other correlates of sexual interests, potentially due to inconsistency in operationalism and measurement of fantasies and behaviors. The aim of the current study was to quantify correlates of sexual interests via the Sexual Fantasies and Behaviors Inventory, containing factors related to general fantasies/behaviors, normophilia, power dynamics, sadomasochism, and courtship paraphilias, using a large (N = 4280) non-clinical sample. Psychological, developmental, sexual, and demographic correlates were investigated via bivariate correlations, mean difference testing, and multiple regression. Sexual interest domains were largely unrelated to psychopathology and developmental factors. Sociosexuality and more accepting attitudes towards sadomasochism was generally related to more arousal to/engagement in normophilic and paraphilic domains. More autism spectrum disorder traits were related to decreased normophilic interests. Psychopathic traits, sexual sensation seeking, and sexual compulsivity were related to paraphilia dimensions, especially courtship paraphilias and domination/sadism; the former was also associated with negative attitudes about establishing consent. Men, non-monogamous, and non-heterosexual participants indicated greater sexual fantasies and behaviors compared to women (except in the case of submission and masochism), monogamous, and heterosexual participants, respectively.

Reliability and Validity of the Colombian Version of the Revised Sociosexual Orientation Inventory

Sociosexuality refers to an individual's disposition to have casual sex without establishing affective bonds and has been widely studied worldwide using the Revised Sociosexual Orientation Inventory (SOI-R; Penke & Asendorpf, 2008). Despite its many validations in different cultural contexts, no psychometric analyses of this instrument have been conducted in Spanish-speaking Latin American countries. To address this gap in the literature, we examined the psychometric properties of the SOI-R in Colombia. In a cross-sectional study with a large sample of participants (N = 812; 64% women), we conducted exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to identify different factor structures and determine which had the best fit for our sample and examined the reliability of the scale. Results showed that a three-factor structure, with sociosexual behaviors, attitudes, and desire as first-order factors, and global sociosexuality as a second-order factor, had the best fit indexes. Each factor presented good reliability indexes. Replicating already established gender differences, we also found that men scored higher on each factor when compared to women. These findings show that the SOI-R is a reliable and valid instrument to assess sociosexuality in countries where sociosexuality research is underrepresented.

The effects of sex and outcome expectancies on perceptions of sexual harassment

Using an outcome expectancy framework, this research sought to understand sex differences in the underlying beliefs that influence harassment perception. One hundred and ninety-six participants (52% women) read a series of vignettes depicting common examples of digital male-on-female sexual harassment. They were asked to what extent they thought each scenario constituted sexual harassment, and how likely the perpetrator would experience positive and negative outcomes. Consistent with predictions, women were more likely to consider the behaviours as harassment than men were. Both sexes harassment perceptions had significant relationships with their outcome expectancies, but we also found evidence of a sex specific moderation; the link between men's negative outcome expectancies was moderated by their positive ones. The results suggest that perceptions of harassment may have sexually asymmetrical underpinnings. Measuring the interplay between positive and negative outcome expectancies in relation to sexual harassment perception is a novel approach, that may have implications for the development of anti-sexual harassment interventions. Implications for theory and future research directions are discussed.