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Journal
of
Personality
and
Social
Psychology
1974,
Vol.
30, No. 4,
510-517
SOME EVIDENCE
FOR
HEIGHTENED
SEXUAL
ATTRACTION UNDER CONDITIONS
OF
HIGH
ANXIETY1
DONALD
G.
DUTTON
2
AND
ARTHUR
P.
ARON
University
of
British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
Male passersby were contacted either
on a
fear-arousing suspension bridge
or a
non-fear-arousing bridge
by an
attractive
female
interviewer
who
asked
them
to fill out
questionnaires containing Thematic Apperception Test pictures.
Sexual
content
of
stories written
by
subjects
on the
fear-arousing bridge
and
tendency
of
these subjects
to
attempt postexperimental contact with
the
inter-
viewer
were both significantly greater.
No
significant
differences
between
bridges were obtained
on
either measure
for
subjects contacted
by a
male
interviewer.
A
third study manipulated anticipated shock
to
male subjects
and an
attractive female confederate independently. Anticipation
of own
shock
but not
anticipation
of
shock
to
confederate
increased sexual imagery scores
on
the
Thematic Apperception
Test
and
attraction
to the
confederate. Some
theoretical implications
of
these
findings are
discussed.
There
is a
substantial body
of
indirect evi-
dence suggesting
that
sexual attractions occur
with increased frequency during states
of
strong emotion.
For
example, heterosexual
love
has
been observed
to be
associated both
with
hate
(James,
1910; Suttie,
193S)
and
with
pain (Ellis, 1936).
A
connection
be-
tween "aggression"
and
sexual attraction
is
supported
by
Tinbergen's
(1954)
observa-
tions
of
intermixed courting
and
aggression
behaviors
in
various animal species,
and a
series
of
experiments conducted
by
Barclay
have indicated
the
existence
of a
similar phe-
nomenon
in
human behavior.
In one
study,
Barclay
and
Haber (196S) arranged
for
stu-
dents
in one
class
to be
angered
by
having
their professor viciously berate them
for
hav-
ing
done poorly
on a
recent test; another
class served
as a
control. Subsequently, both
groups
were tested
for
aggressive feelings
and
for
sexual arousal.
A
manipulation check
was
successful,
and the
angered group manifested
signfiicantly
more sexual arousal than
did
controls
(p <
.01)
as
measured
by
explicit
sexual content
in
stories written
in
response
1
This
research
was
supported
by
University
of
British
Columbia Research Committee Grant
26
9840
to the first
author
and
National Research Council
Postdoctoral Fellowship 1560
to the
second author.
2
Requests
for
reprints should
be
sent
to
Donald
G.
Dutton, Department
of
Psychology, University
of
British Columbia, Vancouver
8,
British Columbia,
Canada,
to
Thematic Apperception
Test
(TAT)-like
stimuli. Similar results were obtained
in two
further
studies (Barclay, 1969, 1970)
in
which
fraternity
and
sorority members were
angered
by the
experimenter.
The
1970 study
employed
a
female experimenter, which dem-
onstrated that
the
aggression-sexual arousal
link
was not
specific
to
male aggression;
the
1969
study provided additional support
for
the
hypothesis
by
using
a
physiological mea-
sure
of
sexual arousal (acid phosphatase con-
tent
in
urine
samples).
Barclay
has
explained
his findings in
terms
of
a
special aggression-sexuality link
and has
cited
as
support
for his
position Freud's
(1938)
argument
that
prehistoric
man had to
physically dominate
his
potential mates
and
also
a
study
by
Clark
(1952)
in
which
in-
creased sexual arousal produced
by
viewing
slides
of
nudes yielded increased aggression
in
TAT
responses. Aron
(1970),
on the
other
hand, argued
that
an
aggression-sexuality
link
exists,
but it is
only
a
special case
of a
more
general relationship between emotional
arousal
of all
kinds
and
sexual attraction.
To
demonstrate
this
point,
he
designed
a
study
in
which instead
of
anger, residual emotion
from
intense
role playing
was the
independent
variable.
In
this experiment, each
of 40
male
subjects
role played with
the
same
attrac-
tive female confederate
in
either
a
highly
emotional
or a
minimally emotional
situation.
510
SEXUAL
ATTRACTION
UNDER CONDITIONS
OF
HIGH
ANXIETY
511
Subjects enacting
highly
emotional roles
In-
cluded significantly more sexual imagery
in
stories written
in
response
to
TAT-like
stimuli
(p
<
.01)
and
indicated significantly more
desire
to
kiss
the
confederate
(p <
.05) than
did
subjects
in the
control condition.
One
possible explanation
is
suggested
by
Schach-
ters'
theory
of
emotion
(Schachter,
1964;
Schachter
&
Singer,
1962).
He
argued that
environmental cues
are
used,
in
certain cir-
cumstances,
to
provide emotional labels
for
unexplained
or
ambiguous states
of
arousal.
However,
it is
notable that much
of the
above-cited research indicates
that
a
sexual
attraction-strong
emotion link
may
occur
even
when
the
emotions
are
unambiguous.
Accordingly, taking into account both
the
Schachter position
and findings
from
sexual
attraction research
in
general,
Aron
(1970)
hypothesized
that
strong emotions
are re-
labeled
as
sexual attraction whenever
an ac-
ceptable object
is
present,
and
emotion-pro-
ducing circumstances
do not
require
the
full
attention
of the
individual.
The
present series
of
experiments
is de-
signed
to
test
the
notion that
an
attractive
female
is
seen
as
more
attractive
by
males
who
encounter
her
while they experience
a
strong emotion
(fear)
than
by
males
not
experiencing
a
strong emotion. Experiment
1
is an
attempt
to
verify
this proposed emo-
tion-sexual
attraction link
in a
natural set-
ting. Experiments
2 and 3 are field and
lab-
oratory studies which attempt
to
clarify
the
results
of
Experiment
1.
EXPERIMENT
1
Method
Subjects
Subjects were males visiting either
of two
bridge
sites
who fit the
following
criteria:
(a)
between
18
and 3$
years
old and
(b)
unaccompanied
by a
female
companion. Only
one
member
of any
group
of
potential subjects
was
contacted.
A
total
of
85
subjects were contacted
by
either
a
male
or a
female
interviewer.
Site
The
experiment
was
conducted
on two
bridges
over
the
Capilano River
in
North Vancouver,
British Columbia, Canada.
The
"experimental"
bridge
was the
Capilano Canyon Suspension Bridge,
a flve-foot-wide,
450-foot-long,
bridge constructed
of
wooden boards attached
to
wire cables
that
ran
from
one
side
to the
other
of the
Capilano Canyon.
The
bridge
has
many arousal-inducing features such
as
(a) a
tendency
to
tilt,
sway,
and
wobble,
creat-
ing the
impression
that
one is
about
to
fall
over
the
side;
(6)
very
low
handrails
of
wire cable which
contribute
to
this
impression;
and (c) a
230-foot
drop
to
rocks
and
shallow rapids below
the
bridge.
The
"control"
bridge
was a
solid
wood
bridge
further
upriver. Constructed
of
heavy
cedar, this
bridge
was
wider
and firmer
than
the
experimental
bridge,
was
only
10
feet
above
a
small, shallow
rivulet
which
ran
into
the
main river,
had
high
handrails,
and did not
tilt
or
sway.
Procedure
As
subjects crossed either
the
control
or
experi-
mental bridge,
they
were approached
by the
inter-
viewer.3
Female
interviewer.
The
interviewer explained
that
she was
doing
a
project
for her
psychology
class
on the
effects
of
exposure
to
scenic attractions
on
creative expression.
She
then asked potential sub-
jects
if
they
would
fill out a
short questionnaire.
The
questionnaire contained
six filler
items
such
as
age,
education, prior visits
to
bridge, etc.,
on the
first
page.
On the
second page, subjects were
in-
structed
to
write
a
brief,
dramatic
story
based upon
a
picture
of a
young woman covering
her
face
with
one
hand
and
reaching with
the
other.
The
instruc-
tions
and the
picture (TAT
Item
3GF) employed
were
adapted
from
Murray's (1943) Thematic
Ap-
perception Test Manual.
A
similar measure
of
sexual
arousal
has
been employed
in the
Barclay studies
(1969,
1970; Barclay
&
Haber, 1965),
and in
other
sex-related experiments (Aron, 1970; Clark,
1952;
Leiman
&
Epstein, 1961).
The
particular
TAT
item
used
in the
present
study
was
selected
for its
lack
of
obvious sexual content, since projective measures
of
sexual arousal based
on
explicit sexual stimuli
tend
to be
highly sensitive
to
individual
differences
due to
sexual defcnsiveness (Clark
&
Sensibar,
1955; Eisler, 1968; Leiman
&
Epstein,
1961;
Lubin,
1960).
If the
subject agreed,
the
questionnaire
was
filled out on the
bridge.
Stories were later scored
for
manifest sexual con-
tent according
to a
slightly
modified
version
of the
procedure employed
by
Barclay
and
Haber (1965).
Scores ranged
from
1 (no
sexual content)
to 5
(high
sexual
content) according
to the
most sexual ref-
erence
in the
story.
Thus,
for
example,
a
story with
any
mention
of
sexual intercourse received
5
points;
but if the
most sexual
reference
was
"girl
friend,"
it
received
a
score
of
2;
"kiss"
counted
3;
and
"lover,"
4.
On
completion
of the
questionnaire,
the
inter-
viewer
thanked
the
subject
and
offered
to
explain
the
experiment
in
more detail when
she had
more
time.
At
this
point,
the
interviewer tore
the
corner
off a
3
The
interviewers were
not
aware
of the ex-
perimental hypothesis
in
order
to
prevent uninten-
tional
differential
cueing
of
subjects
in
experimental
and
control
groups.
512
DONALD
G.
BUTTON
AND
ARTHUR
P.
ARON
sheet
of
paper, wrote down
her
name
and
phone
number,
and
invited each subject
to
call,
if he
wanted
to
talk further. Experimental subjects were
told
that
the
interviewer's name
was
Gloria
and
control subjects, Donna,
so
that they could easily
be
classified
when they called.
On the
assumption
that
curiosity
about
the
experiment
should
be
equal
between
control
and
experimental
groups,
it was
felt
that
differential
calling rates might
reflect
dif-
ferential
attraction
to the
interviewer.
Male
interviewer.
The
procedure with
the
male
interviewer
was
identical
to
that
above. Subjects
were again supplied
with
two fictitious
names
so
that
if
they phoned
the
interviewer,
they
could
be
classified
into control
or
experimental groups.
Results
Check
on
Arousal Manipulation
Probably
the
most compelling evidence
for
arousal
on the
experimental bridge
is to
observe people crossing
the
bridge.
Forty
percent
of
subjects observed crossing
the
bridge walked very slowly
and
carefully,
clasping onto
the the
handrail
before
taking
each
step.
A
questionnaire
was
administered
to 30
males
who fit the
same criteria
as the
experimental subjects.
Fifteen
males
on the
experimental bridge were asked, "How
fear-
ful
do you
think
the
average person would
be
when
he
crossed this bridge?"
The
mean
rating
was 79 on a
100-point
scale where
100 was
equal
to
extremely
fearful.
Fifteen
males
on the
control bridge gave
a
mean rat-
ing
of 18 on the
same scale
(t =
9.7,
dj — 28,
p
<
.001,
two-tailed).
In
response
to the
question
"How
fearful
were
you
while crossing
the
bridge?" experimental-bridge males gave
a
rating
of
65
and
control-bridge males
a
rating
of 3 (t =
10.6,
p <
.001,
dj = 28,
two-
tailed).
Hence,
it can be
concluded
that
most
people
are
quite anxious
on the
experimental
bridge
but not on the
control bridge.
To
pre-
vent
suspicion,
no
checks
on the
arousal
of
experimental subjects could
be
made.
Thematic Apperception Test Responses
Female interviewer.
On the
experimental
bridge,
23 of 33
males
who
were approached
by the
female
interviewer agreed
to fill in the
questionnaire.
On the
control bridge,
22 of 33
agreed.
Of the
45
questionnaires
completed,
7
were
unusable either because they were
incomplete
or
written
in a
foreign
language.
The
remaining
38
questionnaires
(20
experi-
mental
and 18
control)
had
their
TAT
stories
scored
for
sexual imagery
by two
scorers
who
were
experienced with
TAT
scoring. (Al-
though both were
familiar
with
the
experi-
mental hypothesis, questionnaires
had
been
coded
so
that
they
were
blind
as to
whether
any
given questionnaire
was
written
by a
control
or
experimental subject.)
The
inter-
rater reliability
was
+.87.
Subjects
in the
experimental group
ob-
tained
a
mean sexual imagery score
of
2.47
and
those
in the
control group,
a
score
of
1.41
(*
=
3.19,
/><
.01,
d}
= 36,
two-tailed).
Thus,
the
experimental hypothesis
was
veri-
fied
by
the
imagery
data.
Male
interviewer. Twenty-three
out of 51
subjects
who
were approached
on the
experi-
mental bridge agreed
to fill in the
question-
naire.
On the
control bridge
22 out of 42
agreed.
Five
of
these questionnaires were
un-
usable, leaving
20
usable
in
both experimental
and
control groups.
These
were rated
as
above. Subjects
in the
experimental group
obtained
a
mean sexual imagery score
of .80
and
those
in the
control group,
.61 (t
=
.36,
ns).
Hence
the
pattern
of
result obtained
by
the
female
interviewer
was not
reproduced
by
the
male interviewer.
Behavioral
Data
Female interviewer.
In the
experimental
group,
18 of the 23
subjects
who
agreed
to
the
interview accepted
the
interviewer's phone
number.
In the
control group,
16 out of 22
accepted (see
Table
1).
A
second measure
of
sexual attraction
was the
number
of
subjects
who
called
the
interviewer.
In the
experi-
mental group
9 out of 18
called,
in the
con-
trol group
2 out of 16
called
(x2 =
5.7,
p <
.02).
Taken
in
conjunction
with
the
sexual
imagery
data,
this
finding
suggests that sub-
jects
in the
experimental group were more
attracted
to the
interviewer.
Male
interviewer.
In the
experimental
group,
7 out of 23
accepted
the
interviewer's
phone number.
In the
control group,
6 out of
22
accepted.
In the
experimental
group,
2
subjects
called;
in the
control
group,
1
sub-
ject called. Again,
the
pattern
of
results
ob-
tained
by the
female
interviewer
was not
replicated
by the
male.
SEXUAL
ATTRACTION
UNDER CONDITIONS
OF
HIGH
ANXIETY
513
TABLE
1
BEHAVIORAL
RESPONSES
AND
THEMATIC APPERCEPTION
TEST
IMAGERY
SCORES
FOR
EACH EXPERIMENTAL GROUP
Interviewer
Female
Control bridge
Experimental bridge
Male
Control
bridge
Experimental bridge
No.
filling in
questionnaire
22/33
23/33
22/42
23/51
No.
accepting
phone
number
16/22
18/23
6/22
7/23
No.
phoning
2/16
9/18
1/6
2/7
Usable
questionnaires
18
20
20
20
Sexual
imagery
score
1.41
2.47
.61
.80
Although
the
results
of
this
experiment
provide
prima
facie
support
for an
emotion-
sexual attraction link,
the
experiment
suffers
from
interpretative problems that
often
plague
field
experiments.
The
main problem
with
the
study
is the
possibility
of
different
subject populations
on the two
bridges.
First,
the
well-advertised suspension bridge
is a
tour-
ist
attraction
that
may
have attracted more
out-of-town
persons than
did the
nearby
provincial park where
the
control bridge
was
located.
This
difference
in
subject
popula-
tions
may
have
affected
the
results
in two
ways.
The
experimental subjects
may
have
been
less able
to
phone
the
experimenter
(if
they
were
in
town
on a
short-term tour)
and
less
likely
to
hold
out the
possibility
of
further
liaison with her.
If
this
were
the
case,
the
resulting
difference
due to
subject
differ-
ences would have operated against
the
main
hypothesis. Also, this
difference
in
subject
populations could
not
affect
the
sexual imagery
scores unless
one
assumed
the
experimental
bridge subjects
to be
more sexually deprived
than controls.
The
results using
the
male
interviewer
yielded
no
significant
differences
in
sexual imagery between experimental
and
control subjects; however,
the
possibility
still
exists that sexual deprivation could have
in-
teracted with
the
presence
of the
attractive
female
experimenter
to
produce
the
sexual
imagery results obtained
in
this experiment.
Second,
differences
could exist between
ex-
perimental
and
control populations with
re-
spect
to
personality variables.
The
experi-
mental population might
be
more predisposed
to
thrill seeking
and
therefore
more willing
to
chance
phoning
a
strange
female
to
effect
a
liaison. Also, present knowledge
of
person-
ality
theory does
not
allow
us to
rule
out the
combination
of
thrill seeking
and
greater sex-
ual
imagery. Accordingly,
a
second experi-
ment
was
carried
out in an
attempt
to
rule
out
any
differential
subject population expla-
nation
for the
results
of
Experiment
1.
EXPERIMENT
2
Method
Subjects
Subjects
were
34
males visiting
the
suspension
bridge
who fit the
same criteria
as in
Experiment
1.
Procedure
The
chief
problem
of
Experiment
2 was
choosing
a
site that would allow contact with aroused
and
nonaroused
members
of the
same subject population.
One
possibility
was to use as a
control group sus-
pension-bridge
visitors
who had not yet
crossed
the
bridge
or who had
just gotten
out of
their
cars.
Unfortunately,
if a
substantial percentage
of
this
group
subsequently
refused
to
cross
the
bridge,
the
self-selecting-subject
problem
of
Experiment
1
would
not be
circumvented. Alternatively, males
who had
just
crossed
the
bridge could
be
used
as a
control.
The
problem with this strategy
was
that
this
group,
having just crossed
the
bridge,
may
have
felt
residual anxiety
or
elation
or
both, which would
confound
the
study.
To
avoid
this
latter
problem,
control
subjects
who had
just crossed
the
bridge
and
were sitting
or
walking
in a
small park were
contacted
at
least
10
minutes after crossing
the
bridge. This strategy,
it was
hoped, would rule
out
residual physiological arousal
as a
confounding
factor.
Except
that
a
different
female
experimenter
was
used
in
Experiment
2 and no
male interviewer
condition
was
run,
all
other details
of the
study
were
identical
to
Experiment
1.
Results
Check
on
Arousal Manipulation
As
with Experiment
1, no
arousal manipu-
lation
check
wa