Seeing Desire Through Similarity: Racial Homogamy and Attractiveness in Male Sexual Overperception

This study aimed to conceptually replicate the study conducted by Maner et al. (2005) by investigating the role of racial homogamy, defined as the preference for partners of the same race, and attractiveness on sexual overperception, as well as how motivational states may influence this. Previous research has shown that motivational states like romantic arousal can increase men’s tendencies to overperceive sexual interest, particularly in attractive women. However, the role of racial homogamy remains unclear. The findings offer insight into how racial homogamy affects perceptions of sexual arousal and emphasize the need for more diverse samples. Using a 2 × 2 × 2 mixed-design ANOVA, the study included 32 heterosexual male participants who were randomly assigned to either a neutral video (control) or a romantically arousing video (experimental). Participants rated emotions, including sexual arousal, of 60 female faces varying in attractiveness and race. Results showed that...Show moreThis study aimed to conceptually replicate the study conducted by Maner et al. (2005) by investigating the role of racial homogamy, defined as the preference for partners of the same race, and attractiveness on sexual overperception, as well as how motivational states may influence this. Previous research has shown that motivational states like romantic arousal can increase men’s tendencies to overperceive sexual interest, particularly in attractive women. However, the role of racial homogamy remains unclear. The findings offer insight into how racial homogamy affects perceptions of sexual arousal and emphasize the need for more diverse samples. Using a 2 × 2 × 2 mixed-design ANOVA, the study included 32 heterosexual male participants who were randomly assigned to either a neutral video (control) or a romantically arousing video (experimental). Participants rated emotions, including sexual arousal, of 60 female faces varying in attractiveness and race. Results showed that participants rated same-race and highly attractive women as significantly more sexually aroused than women of a different race or medium attractiveness. However, no significant effect was found for the two conditions, nor was there an interaction between racial similarity and attractiveness. These results suggest that sexual overperception is influenced by racial similarity and attractiveness independently, while romantic arousal has no impact. The findings underline the role of implicit racial biases in perceptions of sexual interest and highlight the need for more culturally sensitive research on sexual overperception.Show less

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Seeing Desire Through Similarity: Racial Homogamy and Attractiveness in Male Sexual Overperception