Sexual stereotypes and attributions about sexual arousal

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Abstract
A study was conducted to examine whether the attribution‐making process can serve as a mechanism through which stereotypes about female sexuality are maintained. Forty‐three female and 45 male subjects were given information about the sexual experience (high or low) of a male or a female target and then shown the target's sexual arousal to a variety of sexual stimuli. It was predicted that subjects would make internal attributions about the arousal of a sexually experienced female and external attributions about the arousal of a sexually inexperienced female. No differences were predicted for the attributions made about male targets. The results supported these predictions. In addition, the relationship between the attributions and ratings of the target on a number of sexual and evaluative traits lent further support to the hypothesis. The importance of attributions in the maintenance of stereotypic beliefs about female sexuality and implications for further research are discussed.