NCJ Number
125776
Date Published
1990
Length
17 pages
Annotation
A critique of two major studies on the relationship between exposure to violent pornography and aggressive sexual behavior concludes that methodological, analytical, and conceptual flaws render suspect all but the most tentative conclusions of these studies.
Abstract
One of the studies reviewed was Malamuth's and Check's 1980 attempt to replicate and extend previous research by examining the physiological and self-report responses of male subjects to erotic stimuli varied as to the content of sexual violence. The second study, conducted by Donnerstein and Berkowitz (1981), consisted of two experiments that investigated whether the behavior exhibited by the women characters in erotic films differentially affects subsequent aggression against male or female targets by angered subjects and what sorts of differential effects could be elicited by varying anger and film content in subjects' aggression against female targets. This critique concludes that the authors often imply stronger relationships among variables than are warranted; the language frequently used leads the reader to conclude that the experimental effects are greater than they actually are; and data are misinterpreted, often as a function of inadequate or inappropriate statistics. Most importantly, there is a lack of validation for pivotal constructs and implausible extrapolation from the experimental data to real-world phenomena. The researchers of the two studies reply to the critique, followed by a rebuttal from this chapter's author. 38 references.