- Over-exposure to soft-core images was linked with low views of women
- Psychologists say it also leads to people becoming desensitised to images
- They add it is unclear whether the habit drives the attitude or vice versa
- Researchers say more research is needed to study the effects of exposure
By Ryan O’Hare for MailOnline
Published: 18:01 EST, 14 June 2016 |
Reaching for the top shelf too often could lead you to looking down on women.
Psychologists have found that too much soft-core pornography may be linked to a lower view of women, and leads to people becoming desensitised to provocative images.
The research findings are due to be presented later today at the Annual Conference of the British Psychological Society’s Division of Forensic Psychology in Brighton.
Previous studies have shown links between hard-core pornography and increased sexual deviance, including sex offences, negative attitudes to intimate relationships and acceptance of rape myths.
But the effects of soft porn, including images found in tabloid newspapers and websites, are less well studied.
Sophie Daniels and Dr Simon Duff from the University of Nottingham said this lack of research is surprising, as people are more likely to be exposed to ‘soft-core’ semi-nude images of women through the media, advertisements and using social media.
The pair looked for any links between how much someone was exposed to soft-core images of women and their thinking and behaviour towards women.
They found that people who were frequently exposed to soft-core images were desensitised to them and were less likely to describe them as ‘pornographic’ than people with lower levels of exposure.
In addition, the study showed that people who viewed soft-core images often were less likely to hold positive views of women.
However, the researchers add that it’s unclear whether the habit drives the attitude or vice versa.
‘It’s difficult to unpick cause and effect with this type of research, so it’s not possible to say that soft-core pornography changes attitudes towards women,’ explains Dr Duff.
He adds: ‘For example, it might be that people who do not hold positive attitudes towards women then seek out soft-core pornography.
‘However, there is a relationship between frequency of exposure to soft-core pornography and attitudes towards women and that warrants further exploration.’
In terms of real world applications, the team say there is an argument for tighter regulation of censorship in the media around soft-core images.
But they add that further research is needed to understand any potential impacts on public health, like those seen with more hard-core images.
‘This research is unfinished at this stage and certainly isn’t enough to draw conclusions about cause and effect or about any public health threat,’ said Kaye Wellings, Professor of Sexual and Reproductive Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
‘There is extremely limited data available so we can’t know how robustly the research has been carried out. Those surveyed were a small sample of undergraduate students and are not representative of the population.
Professor Wellings added: ‘To be able to mount public health action to help people deal with pornography, we need a better understanding of the drivers, and for that we first need bigger and better studies.’
Dr Duff told MailOnline: ‘We need to explore further if the relationship is one of cause or not, so currently the interesting finding is that there is a relationship between soft-core, which we have defined as the kind of material that is commonly used in advertisements and glamour pictures, and these attitudes, which does not seem to have been previously demonstrated.
He added: ‘We are not suggesting a cause and we are not suggesting any definitive applied benefits at this time.’
Evidence suggests that exposure to explicit images can have a damaging effect on children.
A study, published today by Middlesex University, found the majority of children are exposed to pornography by their early teens, leaving many at risk of becoming ‘desensitised’ to its impact.
Researchers found that more than half of 11 to 16-year-olds have encountered pornographic material online, with 94 per cent having seen it by the age of 14, but more than one in four had already seen such images by 11 or 12.
Children were found to access X-rated sites through their phones, with one third of those surveyed saying they first saw pornography on a handheld device.
Researchers talked to more than 1,000 children aged 11 to 16 as part of the study, which is the most extensive look at the impact of porn on secondary school pupils in the UK to date.
Children’s charity NSPCC said an entire generation of children was at risk of being ‘stripped of their childhoods’ through exposure to pornography at a young age.
A Department for Culture, Media and Sport spokeswoman said the government was working to impose stricter age verification methods to websites.
They added: ‘Keeping children safe online is one of Government’s key priorities. Just as we do offline, we want to make sure children are prevented from accessing pornographic content online which should only be viewed by adults.’
DOES PORN LEAD TO NEGATIVE VIEWS OR VICE VERSA?
Researchers studied the links between how much someone was exposed to soft-core images of women and their thinking and behaviour towards women.
They found that people who were frequently exposed to soft-core images were desensitised to them and were less likely to describe them as ‘pornographic’ than people with lower levels of exposure.
In addition, the study showed that people who viewed soft-core images often were less likely to hold positive views of women.
However, the researchers add that it’s unclear whether the habit drives the attitude or vice versa, explaining that it is hard to pick apart this type of research due to the numerous factors involved.
What’s more, the research hasn’t undergone peer review and is not published in a journal.
DAMAGING EFFECT ON CHILDREN
In a study of more than 1,000 children in the UK aged 11 to 16, more than half said they have encountered pornographic material online.
Almost all (94 per cent) had seen images by the age of 14, but more than one in four had already seen such images by 11 or 12.
Children were found to access X-rated sites through their phones, with one third of those surveyed saying they first saw pornography on a handheld device.
The survey, commissioned by the NSPCC and the Children’s Commissioner for England, also discovered it was more likely for youngsters to find material accidentally (28 per cent) than seek it out (19 per cent).
The NSPCC said an entire generation of children was at risk of being ‘stripped of their childhoods’ through exposure to pornography at a young age.
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