An affair to remember: The role of sexual scripts in perceptions of sexual intent

This research investigates a proximal mechanism by which judgments of sexual intent are made: scripts. In a pilot study, scripts organized around sexual intent were elicited, with coding identifying the features of scripts relevant to casual and committed relationship encounters. Male participants and those interested in casual sexual relationships were more likely to generate the casual (vs. committed) script, thus demonstrating the scripts initial validity. In the critical study, the casual and committed scripts were activated for participants via stories. Participants later showed false memory for script-relevant information. Further, participants who were less able to discriminate between real vs. imagined script details imputed greater sexual intent to the targets. These results provide clear evidence for the use of behavioral scripts in judgments of sexual intent. Over the past 20 years, a great deal of research has investigated judgments of sexual intent, with the majority of this work endeavoring to explain why it is that men (on average) attribute greater sexual intent to others than do women (Abbey, 1982; Abbey & Harnish, 1995; Abbey&Melby, 1986; DeSouza, Pierce, Zanelli, &Hutz, 1992;Haselton&Buss, 2000; Kowalski, 1992,1993;Muehlenhard,Koralewski,Andrews, & Burdick, 1986; Saal, Johnson, & Weber, 1989; Sarles & DeSouza, 1999; Shea, 1993; Shotland & Craig, 1988). Although this research has been interesting, we currently know very little about the cognitive process by which this judgment is made. Given that misperceptions of sexual intent have been linked to such deleterious outcomes as sexual harassment, sexual coercion, and rape (Abbey, 1991; Muehlenhard, 1988; Saal et al., 1989; Shea; Shotland, 1989), it is crucial that the proximal mechanisms underlying this judgment are understood. A clear picture of how individuals may come to overperceive sexual intent may lead to the development of educational programs to reduce the likelihood of such overperception and thus its harmful consequences. The goal of the present research is therefore to identify the cognitive underpinnings of judgments of sexual intent. Our program of research is the only one of which we are aware that attempts to identify proximal variables that play a role in judgments of sexual intent. In Lenton, Bryan, Hastie, and Fischer (2005), we found that egocentric projection, in part, underlies sexual intent judgments. More specifically, this research shows that one s own sexual motivation (motivation for multiple casual sexual relationships vs. motivation for a monogamous sexual relationship) predicts judgments of sexual intent, such that persons currently interested in casual sexual relationships are more likely to impute sexual intent to the behavior of others than are persons currently interested in having a committed sexual relationship. Thus, judgments of sexual intent are subject to egocentric biases. While this research provides a novel and The authors would like to thank Bernadette Park and anonymous reviewers for their insightful and helpful comments on an earlier draft of this paper. Correspondence should be addressed to Alison P. Lenton, University of Edinburgh, Department of Psychology, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, Scotland, UK, e-mail: a.lenton@ ed.ac.uk. Personal Relationships, 12 (2005), 483–498. Printed in the United States of America. Copyright 2005 IARR. 1350-4126=05