No Gender Differences in Enrollment for Replicated, Minimally-Different 'Pornographic' Versus 'Photographic' Studies

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Sociology
• Media Studies

Background:

• Women historically report lower pornography consumption compared to men.
• This disparity may influence women's participation in pornography-related research.
• Concerns exist regarding potential self-selection bias and the over-representation of gender-atypical individuals in such studies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether the inclusion of the word "pornographic" in study advertisements affects women's participation rates.
• To examine if women who respond to such advertisements differ in pornography use, erotophilia-erotophobia, or openness to experience.
• To assess potential gender-atypical self-selection in response to study advertisements.

Main Methods:

• A study with a replication component was conducted.
• Participants were assessed for their self-reported gender and response to two minimally different advertisement versions (one including "pornographic").
• Pornography use frequency, Erotophilia-Erotophobia scale scores, and Openness to Experience were measured.

Main Results:

• The proportion of participants responding to each advertisement version did not significantly differ.
• In one sample, women who responded to one advertisement version showed differences in Openness to Experience.
• No significant differences were found in pornography use or Erotophilia-Erotophobia between groups.

Conclusions:

• Advertising studies on pornography using the term "pornographic" in North American convenience samples does not appear to cause women to self-exclude.
• This advertising strategy is unlikely to result in an over-sampling of gender-atypical women.
• Findings suggest that direct language in advertisements may not significantly skew participant demographics in this context.