GradPSYCH - January 2012 - (Page 13)
Study finds distinct sexual arousal pattern for bisexual men
While previous research has shed doubt on the existence of men who are aroused both by men and women, a new study in press in Biological Psychology finds that some men do show bisexual patterns of arousal. The researchers, led by psychology doctoral student allen rosenthal of Northwestern university, recruited bisexual men by placing an ad on a website where heterosexual couples seek men for sexual encounters. To be included in the bisexual sample, a man needed to have had sexual and romantic relationships with both men and women in the past. men who identified as bisexual but who did not meet these criteria were excluded from the study. The researchers also recruited homosexual men and heterosexual men for comparison groups. Participants were asked to watch short videos of two men having sex and of two women having sex while a circular band at the base of their penises recorded their sexual arousal. The bisexual men, as compared with the homosexual and heterosexual men, were aroused by all the videos. It may sound like an obvious finding, says rosenthal, but past research has cast doubt on bisexuality in men, as many gay men initially identify as bisexual, and bi-identified participants in a previous study did not show genital arousal to videos of women. What rosenthal and his colleagues did differently was to only recruit men who were actively looking for bisexual experiences and who had experienced bisexual encounters in the past — probably ruling out the men who were only attracted to men but identified as bisexual. The findings confirm something the bisexual community has preached for years, says rosenthal. “men who say they’re bisexual are not deluded,” he says.
Thinking about casualties may increase support for war
Anti-war protests that focus on the number of service members killed might undermine their cause because of a phenomenon called the sunk-cost effect, according to a study in the March Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. Long studied in business decision-making, the sunk-cost effect explains the tendency to continue a course of action despite evidence that it might not be working because of the amount of time, money and other resources already invested in a plan or project. To test his idea, psychology doctoral student John Paul Schott of Washington University in St. Louis divided participants into four groups. Half of the participants read scenarios designed to get them thinking about the sunk-cost effect — for example, a story about someone who finished an unappetizing lobster dinner to avoid being wasteful — and the other half read generic stories. Then, the groups were subdivided: Half read news articles about the casualties of the Iraq or Afghanistan wars, while the others read weather reports. Finally, all the participants completed a questionnaire about whether they supported the wars. Of the four groups, the people primed for the sunk-cost mindset and given casualty statistics were the most in favor of continued involvement, Schott says. “The implication is that presidents or military leaders who may want to ... decrease support for a war have to be careful about mentioning casualties,” he says. n
Sophia Greenbaum
War protesters may unintentionally activate people’s unconscious desire to assure soldiers’ sacrifices weren’t made in vain.
gradPSYCH • January 2012 • 13
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of GradPSYCH - January 2012
GradPSYCH - January 2012
Contents
Psychology grad school enrollment drops, despite record numbers of applicants
Students leave their iPods at home during ‘crunch time’
Media Picks
Chair’s Corner
Odd Jobs
Research Roundup
Hot careers: Video game design and development
Friends and co-workers
Time to bail?
Scaling Mount Publication
Need to heal thyself?
Staying connected
Matters to a Degree
Power up your PowerPoint
Dissertations vs. diapers
Searching for answers
Bulletin Board
Jobs, internships, postdocs and other opportunities
The Back Page
GradPSYCH - January 2012
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/apa/gradpsych_201109
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