Identification of cues and control of sexual arousal by rapists

Abstract

The experiments in this article pertain to factors relevant to rape. The first experiment examined the ability of four groups to discriminate between appropriate and inappropriate sexual cues. Rapists detected such cues as well as did either Normals or Non-rapist Inmates, in all but the most assaultive rape tape. Normal subjects who had consumed alcohol prior to testing, detected inappropriate cues earlier in the tapes than did all other subjects. The second experiment addressed the ability of subjects to inhibit sexual arousal when instructed to do so. Rapists and Non-rapists were shown to be equally capable of inhibiting arousal in response to both mutually-consenting and rape cues. These findings negate theories suggesting that rapists differ from other men in that they are unable to exert control over their arousal, and that they have difficulty in identifying inappropriate cues to arousal.