Individual differences in men's misperception of women's sexual intent: Application and extension of the confluence model

Abstract

Men are more likely than women to misperceive a cross-sex companion’s degree of sexual interest. The current study extends previous research by using the confluence model (Malamuth et al., 1991) to examine how narcissism and impulsive sensation-seeking are directly and indirectly associated with men’s misperception of women’s sexual interest. A community sample of young, single men (N = 470) completed audio computer-assisted self-interviews. Using path analyses, hostile masculinity and impersonal sexual orientation were proximal predictors of men’s misperception of women’s sexual intent. Additionally, narcissism was indirectly related to men’s misperception through hostile masculinity. Impulsive sensation-seeking was directly and indirectly related to men’s misperceptions through impersonal sexual orientation. Although there was a bivariate relationship between alcohol consumption and misperception, this relationship was not significant in the path model. Overall, these findings demonstrate the importance of considering how personality traits increase the risk for misperception.

Sexual assault interventions may be doing more harm than good with high-risk males

“…It relates positively to rape supportive attitudes and negatively to empathy for others, and produces more punitive responses to rejection by a female (Bushman, Bonacci, van Dijk, & Beaumeister, 2003). Wegner and Abbey (2016) found that narcissism is also indirectly related to men's misperception of women's degree of sexual interest through the proximal predictor of hostile masculinity, suggesting that narcissists are especially unlikely to process and perceive cues of female sexual disinterest when experiencing reactance. In general, sexually aggressive men are more likely than other men to misperceive women's sexual intent (Boundurant & Donat, 1999).…”

The intersection of men's sexual violence perpetration and sexual risk behavior: A literature review

“…Individuals who report a greater number of sexual partners (i.e., vaginal-penile intercourse) are more likely to have a short-term mating approach, which includes views of casual sex as acceptable and enjoyable, a preference for brief sexual encounters rather than long-term meaningful relationships, and low emotional investment associated with sex (Penke & Asendorpf, 2008; Simpson, Wilson & Winterheld, 2004). Men who take a short-term mating approach may be unlikely to invest time in getting to know their partners which could result in a greater likelihood of misperceiving their partner’s sexual interest (Wegner & Abbey, 2016; Jacques-Tiura et al, 2007) and subsequent unwanted sexual behavior (Abbey, Jacques-Tiura & LeBreton, 2011). Research has examined SV’s relationship to sexual partners in a variety of ways including numbers of lifetime sexual partners, concurrent/extramarital partners, one-night stands, transactional sex partners, and higher risk sexual partners.…”

The Consequences of Alcohol-Involved Sexual Victimization in Male and Female College Students

“…Perpetrators may drink alcohol purposefully before an assault to enable or justify their planned behaviour (Zinzow & Thompson, 2015). Conversely, personality characteristics such as narcissism, impulsivity, sensation-seeking, or life experiences such as childhood maltreatment or adolescent sexual assault, may lead perpetrators to drink heavily and then to sexually victimize others (Abbey et al, 2004;Wegner & Abbey, 2016). Additionally, individuals who are predisposed to sexually victimize may be more likely to act on their desires when drinking due to alcohol's effects on higher-order cognitive processes such as planning, decision-making, and inhibition (Wegner & Abbey, 2016).…”