Expressions of consent and pleasure: the development and initial validation of sexual video clips specifically created for sex research

Abstract

Abstract Sexually explicit videos are widely used in sexuality research to induce sexual arousal, yet there remains a critical need for validated and standardized audiovisual materials specifically designed for research purposes. This study validated a newly developed series of sexual video clips for use in psychophysiological sex research. Fifty heterosexual men viewed three sexual video clips depicting sexual interactions between a male and female actor and representing different levels of engagement and consent. Participants rated their sexual arousal, emotional responses, and perceptions of the female actor’s arousal and consent. Each video effectively conveyed engagement, ambiguity, or distress and elicited distinct emotional and perceptual responses. The engagement video elicited the highest levels of sexual arousal, pleasure, and positive emotions, while the distress video evoked the strongest negative affect and general arousal. The ambiguity video elicited responses similar to those for the distress video. Individual differences in sexual excitation and inhibition influenced emotional and sexual responses, and sexual aggression perpetration was linked to reduced sensitivity to lower-consent cues in the ambiguity video. These findings demonstrate the value of these novel sexual film clips in enhancing the precision and validity of sex research, especially in the study of sexual aggression.