Authors
Tara K MacDonald, Geoff MacDonald, Mark P Zanna, Geoffrey Fong
Publication date
2000/5
Journal
Health Psychology
Volume
19
Issue
3
Pages
290
Publisher
American Psychological Association
Description
Data from 7 studies were aggregated to examine how reported sexual arousal and alcohol intoxication interact to affect attitudes and intentions toward engaging in unprotected sexual intercourse in college-age men (N= 358). When participants were in a sober or placebo condition, their self-reports of sexual arousal had no effect on their responses. When participants were intoxicated, however, those who felt sexually aroused reported more favorable attitudes, thoughts, and intentions toward having unprotected sex than did those who did not feel aroused. These findings support alcohol myopia theory (CM Steele & RA Josephs, 1990), which states that alcohol intoxication restricts attentional capacity so that people are highly influenced by the most salient cues in their environment. It is suggested that sexual arousal is a powerful internal cue that interacts with alcohol intoxication to enhance attitudes and intentions …
Total citations
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