NCJ Number
118360
Date Published
1989
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This study compared women's and men's interpretations of who initiated a date, where a couple went, and who paid in hypothetical dating scenarios, so as to identify discrepancies in the sexual meanings the women and men attributed to these behaviors.
Abstract
Participants were 272 female and 268 male introductory psychology students. The dating-scenarios questionnaire presented 11 brief scenarios describing hypothetical persons under various dating circumstances. Participants were queried on the sexual intentions of the woman in each scenario and whether under certain circumstances the man would be justified in forcing sex on the woman. No matter who initiated the date, who paid, or where the couple went, men were always more likely than women to interpret the behavior as a sign that the women wanted sex. This discrepancy could cause some men to feel "led on" if they thought that a woman was acting as if she wanted sex more than she actually did. Some men regarded being "led on" as justification for rape. The situations rated as most indicative that the woman wanted sex -- when the woman asked the man out, went to his apartment, or let him pay the dating expenses -- were the same situations in which rape was rated as most justifiable if the woman resisted sexual advances. 4 figures, 32 references.