Abstract

THE REFLECTIVE NORM AND CASUAL SEXUAL BEHAVIOR: WHAT DOES THE OPPOSITE SEX WANT?

Sam Harrison (Middlebury class of 2011) & Carlos J. Vélez-Blasini

Presented at the annual meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Brooklyn, NY, 2010.

College students (n=177) completed an anonymous online hookup survey where they answered questions regarding the reflective norm, or the sexual behaviors an individual believes the opposite sex prefers of them. These were compared to the actual norm, the frequency that participants of the opposite sex actually preferred. Women consistently overestimated men’s actual preferences. Both sexes overestimated opposite sex perceived attractiveness based on sexual behavior.  Finally, for women, reflective norms predicted frequency of intercourse behavior. 

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