The effect of sex information on an individual''s attitudes toward pornography

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between 1) the amount of accurate sex information that a person possessed and his expressed attitudes toward pornography, and 2) some specific biographical data and attitudes toward pornography as well as the amount of accurate sex information. The sample was a group of 233 persons who had been invited to a showing of the controversial films Deep Throat and The Devil in Miss Jones. The sample consisted of faculty and graduate students from the Psychology Department of the University of Houston, faculty members from non-mental health departments, psychologists and other mental health workers from the Houston, Texas community; and spouses of the above. The following test instruments and questionnaires were administered to measure the variables of interest: 1) Sex Information Test (M. S. I. T.-Form D), 2) an Attitude Questionnaire designed to assess each subject's personal attitudes toward pornography in general as well as his specific reactions to the two films shown, and 3) a questionnaire to obtain biographical data and responses reflecting sexual attitudes. The scores thus received were analyzed through correlational techniques to assess the influence of amount of accurate sex information and certain background features upon the relationships of interest. The following variables predicted more accurate sex information: 1) having been raised in a more urban setting, 2) attitude that having viewed sexually explicit material in the past was beneficial, 3) attitude that a person who is upset by having seen sexually explicit material would be much less accepting of others, 4) attitude that the sexually explicit film Deep Throat was not obscene according to present Texas Statutes, 5) being a graduate student in psychology, 6) having no present religious affiliation, and 7) attitude that a person who is upset by having viewed sexually explicit material would be less sexually stable. The following variables predicted various attitudes toward pornography: 1) attitude that past exposure to sexually explicit material had been beneficial, 2) sex, 3) age, 4) marital status, 5) attitude that a person who is upset by pornography would be less stable, 6) professional status, 7) age when first exposed to sexually explicit material, 8) attitudes toward sexuality in general, 9) level of enjoyment of the films Deep Throat and The Devil in Miss Jones, 10) desire to see another sexually explicit film, 11) present religious affiliation, and 12) childhood religious influence.