Implicit Measures of Sexual Attraction

A range of implicit cognitive measures have successfully measured the sexual interest that observers hold in other people. These studies have typically focused on sexual interest in broad categories, such as images of men and women. In contrast, limited research has sought to investigate whether such measures are sensitive to the more fine-grained differences in attraction present within these groups. In this thesis, this was explored across a series of experiments. Firstly, sexual interest was investigated through an explicit self-report task (Chapter 2) to determine which attractiveness judgements invoke sexual interest, and thus to inform later experimental design. Then, the potential utility of implicit cognitive measurement for the investigation of sexual interest both between and within sex groups was explored (Chapter 3). The results indicate that such measures may be reflective of mate preference, whereby responses are indicative of sexual interest between sex groups but not within. The potential manipulability of implicit measures of sexual interest were also explored through the investigation of pupillary responses, by instructing observers to control their viewing behaviours and through the social presence of other people (Chapter 4). These experiments demonstrate that implicit cognitive measures of sexual interest may be susceptible to intentional control, with alternative suggestions contemplated. The findings obtained throughout this thesis are discussed in relation to previous research across a range of implicit measures and the theoretical implications considered.