Reimagining the Measurement of Sexual Interest from An Identity-Conscious Perspective

This thesis aimed to understand the measurement of normative sexual interest better. In the first study (Chapter 2), transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) was employed with a Viewing Time (VT) task to investigate the neural correlates of sexual interest, focusing on the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and temporoparietal junction (TPJ), in a university sample of self-identified straight men (N = 87). While a VT effect was observed, tDCS stimulation did not yield statistically significant effects compared to the sham group. Reflecting on the inconclusive evidence from Study 1 and in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, this thesis pivoted towards adopting a critical race framework in reimagining the implicit measurement of sexual interest by integrating intersectional and identity-conscious epistemologies. Chapter 4 presented a set of complimentary mixed-methods studies. The first study (N = 150) showed that the Tanner 4 and 5 images of the Not Real People (NRP) and Morph Set were perceived to be homogeneously white (almost 90%), with low body fat, and lacking sufficient 'realism' with the overall theme developed to be a 'demand for more everyday people' in visual stimuli. The second study in this chapter followed the same procedure to examine perceptions of a new face-only image set (FFHQ subset) with a more diverse sample (N = 156). It was perceived to be about 32% white and more representative of people's sexual preferences. Chapter 5 illustrated a novel online VT task to compare the highest-rated images from the two sets (NRP Morph set, FFHQ subset) with a diverse sample (N = 177). Results indicated a significant correlation between the two sets, implying the measurement validity of the new image set. VT effect was present, capturing the sexual interest preferences of white men and women of colour. Lastly, the study outlined in Chapter 6 used an online adaptation of the Pictorial-Modified Stroop Task (P-MST; N = 147) and showed modified-Stroop effects broadly, with more pronounced outcomes for white men, followed by men of colour. Women of colour displayed different response patterns between the two image sets, with only the new set showing indications of a shift away from sexual-orientation inconsistent responses. Neither image set effectively measured implicit sexual interest in white women for both the online VT and P-MST. Taken together, this thesis contributed to understanding implicit sexual interest measurement in an inclusive format and emphasised the importance of diverse stimuli and study samples to avoid exclusion and replication of social inequities in psychological sciences.