Delwin D. Cahoon

Attitudes concerning crimes related to clothing worn by female victims

Male and female college students were shown one of two slides featuring a female model wearing either sexy or nonsexy clothes. The subjects were then asked to answer a set of questions based upon the supposition that the model might be either robbed or raped. Responses indicated that the model wearing sexually oriented clothes was seen as more likely to be either robbed or raped, more likely to provoke such an attack, and more likely to be responsible for the attack if she were to be assaulted. Furthermore, the model’s assailant was held to be less accountable if the model was assaulted while wearing sexy clothes than while wearing sexually conservative clothes. The results are discussed with respect to attribution theory and the literature concerning crimes against women, particularly rape.

The watched pot still won’t boil: Expectancy as a variable in estimating the passage of time

The proverbial watched-pot phenomenon was literally produced by exposing two groups of subjects to a pot of water on a hot plate. The experimental subjects were requested to signal when the water began to boil; the control group was given no such instructions. All subjects were then asked to estimate the length of a 240-sec interval; the experimental group gave significantly longer time estimates than did the control group. The results are interpreted as supporting an expectancy interpretation of the watched-pot effect.

Male-female estimates of opposite-sex first impressions concerning females’ clothing styles

Men and women college students recorded their impressions of a model dressed either conservatively or in clothing judged to be sexually provocative, and also attempted to estimate the impressions of a typical member of the opposite sex. The results indicated a generally negative bias toward women wearing provocative clothing. The most striking finding was that females greatly overestimated the extent of male rape motivation.

The estimation of time as a function of positive, neutral, or negative expectancies

Positive, neutral, and negative expectancy conditions were varied to determine their effects on time perception. Subjects were led to believe that their participation would result in a “pleasant,” an “unpleasant,” or a subjectively neutral experience. Intervals of 60 and 240 sec were estimated under each expectancy condition. The results indicated that the positive expectancy group tended to overestimate the actual interval (time passed relatively slowly), whereas the neutral and negative expectancy groups tended to underestimate the actual interval. The results are related to theories of time perception.

Female clothes preference related to male sexual interest

Male and female college students rated 40 pictures of women’s apparel in terms of the extent to which men would be sexually aroused by women wearing the various styles of clothes. These ratings correlated.85, indicating that females are very knowledgeable concerning the sexual impact of clothing styles upon men. A second phase of the study demonstrated that women who perceive themselves as being sexually attractive have a marked preference for those clothes judged to be most sexually exciting for men. The results are discussed with respect to possible social implications and the degree of female awareness concerning sexual cue control.

Predictions of opposite-sex attitudes concerning gender-related social issues

Men and women college students indicated the extent of their agreement with statements concerning sex-role stereotyping, adversarial sexual beliefs, sexual conservatism, acceptance of interpersonal violence, and rape-myth acceptance, and they also predicted the opinion of a typical member of the opposite sex. In all comparisons, the opinions of the men and the women were not significantly different. Although the men were very accurate in predicting the women’s opinions, the women consistently predicted that the men were more negatively biased than the actual opinions expressed by the men would indicate.

Guns/no guns and the expression of social hostility

Forty-eight male college students were exposed either to weapons or to no weapons following positive, neutral, or negative personal evaluation. The dependent measure was aggressiveness as reflected by a specifically constructed Behavior Control Inventory (BCI). The presence or absence of weapons was unrelated to aggressive responding. The results are discussed with respect to the experimental literature and in terms of social policy recommendations related to the weapons effect.

The weapons effect: Fact or artifact?

Ninety-six male college students were exposed to handguns or no handguns following positive, neutral, or negative personal evaluation. The weapons were explained either as items of defense (“home defense weapons”) or as items of aggression (“guns used in crimes of violent assault”). The dependent measure was hostility or aggression as measured by the Behavior Control Inventory (BCI). The presence or absence of handguns presented as either defensive or offensive weapons was not related to the expression of hostility or aggression. The conclusion is drawn that the weapons effect is a weak variable requiring further research to delineate the conditions of its occurrence.

Male-female estimates of feminine assertiveness related to females’ clothing styles

Men and women college students rated the perceived assertiveness of a female model dressed either in conservative clothing or in clothing judged to be sexually provocative in both sexual and nonsexual social situations. No differences related to clothing style were found, and all of the students rated the model as being more assertive in sexual interactions than in nonsexual interactions. The female students rated the model as more assertive relative to the rating she was given by the male students. The results are discussed with respect to gender differences concerning culturally defined femininity.