Shifting Preferences in Pornography Consumption, Revisited

Forty years ago, an experimental study was published in a leading communication journal finding that frequent exposure to conventional pornography increased interest in watching new, unconventional pornography and decreased interest in watching yet more conventional pornography. The study is frequently cited and highly influential, even appearing in a variety of communication, media, and psychology textbooks. And yet, few observational studies have explored whether these findings extend beyond the laboratory. This letter encourages additional research on what has been deemed the "Content Progression Thesis (CPT)" and presents pertinent findings from the National Survey of Pornography, Relationships, and Sexual Socialization (NSPRSS), a nationally representative survey of U.S. adults. Consistent with the CPT, heavier pornography consumers were more likely to agree that their pornography preferences had become more "hardcore" over time than lighter pornography consumers and a shift in preferences toward hardcore pornography was associated with greater liking for and consumption of unconventional pornographic depictions such as sexual coercion and simulated rape. The small to moderate magnitude of these associations, however, suggests that the likelihood of content progression as a function of consumption frequency is more likely for some pornography consumers than others.