Influence of Sexually Degrading Music on Men’s Perceptions of Women’s Dating-Relevant Cues

This study examined the influence of manipulated and naturalistic exposure to sexually degrading music on young men’s perceptions of women’s dating-relevant affective cues. Three hundred ninety-seven undergraduate heterosexual men completed an affect-identification task in which they judged whether women communicated sexual interest, friendliness, sadness, or rejection. Either sexually degrading popular music, non-sexually degrading popular music, or no music played on headphones. Participants completed questionnaires assessing music-listening habits and rape-supportive attitudes. Manipulated exposure to degrading music did not affect men’s sensitivities to or biases for women’s cues. In contrast, men who reported greater naturalistic exposure to rap and hip-hop music and who endorsed more rape-supportive attitudes were more likely to perceive women’s positive affect as sexual interest, if the women were provocatively dressed. On balance, these findings are largely inconsistent with theoretical expectations regarding the deleterious effects of sexually degrading music on attitudes and concurrent social perception. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.