Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 9, 2026

Assessment of Sexual Behavior of Male Mice
Published on: March 5, 2020
Attractiveness of the underling: an automatic power --> sex association and its consequences for sexual harassment
J A Bargh1, P Raymond, J B Pryor
1Department of Psychology, New York University, New York 10003, USA.
Abstract:
One characteristic of men who sexually harass is that they are not aware that their actions are inappropriate or a misuse of their power (L. F. Fitzgerald, 1993a). We investigated the existence and automaticity of a mental association between the concepts of power and sex, and its consequences for sexual harassment tendencies. Using a subliminal priming paradigm, Experiment 1 demonstrated an automatic link between power and sex, and only for men high in the likelihood to sexually harass or aggress. In Experiment 2, male participants were unobtrusively primed with either power-related or neutral stimuli. For men likely to sexually aggress, but not other participants, attraction ratings of a female confederate were significantly higher in the power priming than the neutral priming condition.
Related Concept Videos
Sex-linked Disorders
Automatic Processing and Automatic Social Behavior
Factors Influencing Attraction II: Physical Attraction
Aggression
Noncovalent Attractions in Biomolecules
Four types of noncovalent interactions are hydrogen bonds, van der Waals forces, ionic bonds, and hydrophobic interactions.
Hydrogen bonding results from the electrostatic attraction of a hydrogen atom covalently bonded to a strong-electronegative atom like oxygen,...
Timing and Consequences on Behavior
Humans, however, can respond to delayed reinforcers. We often make decisions between immediate small rewards and delayed larger rewards. This ability to delay gratification is a significant...

