Do you see what I see? : A comparison of Belgians’ and Canadians’ perception of pornography based on media type and stimuli framing

Details

Supervisors

Kohut, Taylor

Faculty

Faculté de psychologie, logopédie, sexologie et des sciences de la famille

Degree label

Master [120] en sciences de la famille et de la sexualité, à finalité spécialisée: approche interdisciplinaire de la famille et du couple

Abstract

The present study aimed to examine laypeople’s perceptions of pornography and potential differences in such perceptions based on media type (e.g., still images, texts, and GIFs) and framing of stimuli. Data were obtained using a sample of 150 participants (74 Belgians, 76 Canadians) of various ages (M = 32.57, SD = 10.69) who provided pornographicness ratings for 300 stimuli (one-third per media type). Participants were divided into two conditions, one where stimuli had a logo for a fictious pornographic website and one where there was no logo present. No cultural differences in pornographicness ratings were evident. Significant correlations were found between the pornographicness ratings of Belgians and Canadians, meaning that the two subsamples largely agreed about which stimuli were the most pornographic and which were the least. There were also no significant differences between these nationalities' mean pornographicness ratings. In contrast, significant differences were evident across media types, such that GIFs were perceived as more pornographic than still images which were seen as more pornographic than text. Significant differences were also observed between logo conditions such that the presence of a fake pornographic logo led to higher perceptions of pornography. Although several hypotheses were not supported in this study, the present research still provides valuable insight regarding laypeople’s perception of pornography and the influence of media type and framing on the latter. Limitations and implications for future research are also discussed.