Definiteness and Effectiveness of Women's Responses to Unwanted Sexual Advances: A Laboratory Investigation

Abstract

This study investigated factors that might mediate the occurrence of male sexual aggression in dating relationships. In Experiment 1, 33 female undergraduates role-played their refusal of unwanted sexual advances in dating situations that varied in the level of the woman's romantic interest in her date and in the intimacy level of the sexual activities. The results indicated that the definiteness of the nonverbal component of the women's responses did not vary across scenes. However, the women were found to be less verbally definite in situations in which they were romantically interested in their dates and in the low-intimacy situations. In Experiment 2, 58 male college students rated selected women's responses differing in verbal definiteness for their effectiveness in stopping unwanted sexual advances. Responses that were more verbally definite were rated as more effective at stopping the unwanted advances, regardless of the level of intimacy. Men rated the responses as more effective in stopping their own unwanted advances than in stopping most men's unwanted advances. It was concluded that women may decrease the likelihood of being victims of sexual aggression by being more verbally definite in refusing unwanted sexual advances. However, other factors may also influence whether sexual aggression occurs.