The effects of familiarity and group size on mating preferences in the guppy, Poecilia reticulata

In recent years, it has become evident that frequency dependence in the attractiveness of a particular phenotype to mates can contribute to the maintenance of polymorphism. However, these preferences for rare and unfamiliar male phenotypes have only been demonstrated in small, controlled experiments. Here, we tested the preference for unfamiliar mates in groups of six to 96 individuals over 13 days, in the guppy (Poecilia reticulata). We observed individual behaviour in situ to test whether fish discriminate two unfamiliar individuals among many familiar ones. We found that unfamiliar males and females were preferred over the familiar fishes in all groups and that this effect decayed over time. Increasing group sizes and levels of sexual activity did not hamper the preference for unfamiliar mates, providing further support for the role of frequency dependent mate choice in the maintenance of trait polymorphism in natural populations.

Blokey' newsrooms still a battleground for female journalists

This paper reports on the largest survey of female journalists in the Australian news media. The goal was to investigate issues confronting women, including the extent of perceived gender discrimination in promotion, job segregation and working conditions. It is the first quantitative research of its type in 16 years, building on a smaller survey by the Australian media industry union, the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). That 1996 report found there was significant gender discrimination in Australian newsrooms and that sexual harassment, in particular, was a systemic problem. This 2012 online survey of 577 female journalists working across all media platforms in metropolitan, regional, rural and suburban news media organisations demonstrates that little has changed. The paper compares and contrasts key data from the 2012 and 1996 surveys to ascertain the challenges still evident for female journalists.

“Just a little bit of cheeky ribaldry”? Newsroom discourses of sexually harassing behaviour

 This paper is concerned with how Australian print news media journalists, male and female, remember, talk about, experience, acknowledge, condemn, and/or deny sexually harassing behaviour in the newsroom. A total of seventeen in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight male and nine female journalists in late 2003 and early 2004. The interviewees ranged in age from 19 to 56 and differed in levels of industry experience. The interviews were not set up to specifically discuss sexually harassing behaviour in the newsroom; however it was a theme that arose in seven of the interviews about newsroom culture, my broader PhD project. The female interviewees make clear their encounters are constant reminders of how their bodies do not "fit" and/or where and how they do fit in this occupation. This is the case, even though some women do not use the term "sexual harassment" to describe the behaviour that clearly constitutes it under Australian government legislation. The two male journalists interviewed who mentioned harassment talk about it in defence of accepted office behaviour, or in passing about procedural business policy. The use of the term "sexual harassment," or lack of its use, also tells us about the place of feminism and/or feminist inspired government legislation in journalism's occupational culture. © 2007 Taylor & Francis.

Evaluation of a cognitive behavior therapy program for people with sexual dysfunction

This article reports on an evaluation of a cognitive behavioral program for the treatment of sexual dysfunction. Frequency data are provided on the sexual dysfunction of 95 males (mean age = 41.6 years) and 105 females (mean age = 36.4 years). The effectiveness of a cognitive behavioral program among 45 sexually dysfunctional males (mean age = 39.9 years) and 54 sexually dysfunctional females (mean age = 36.2 years) was assessed. The results demonstrated that, after therapy, respondents experienced lower levels of sexual dysfunction, more positive attitudes toward sex, perceptions that sex was more enjoyable, fewer affected aspects of sexual dysfunction in their relationship, and a lower likelihood of perceiving themselves as a sexual failure. The implications of these findings for the treatment of sexual dysfunction are discussed.

Gay men's estimates of the likelihood of HIV transmission in sexual behaviours

In 3 studies we recorded gay men's estimates of the likelihood that HIV would be transmitted in various sexual behaviours. In Study 1 (data collected 1993, n=92), the men were found to believe that transmissibility is very much greater than it actually is; that insertive unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) by an HIV-infected partner is made safer by withdrawal before ejaculation, and very much safer by withdrawal before either ejaculation or pre-ejaculation; that UAI is very much safer when an infected partner is receptive rather than insertive; that insertive oral sex by an infected partner is much less risky than even the safest variant of UAI; that HIV is less transmissible very early after infection than later on; and that risk accumulates over repeated acts of UAI less than it actually does. In Study 2 (data collected 1997/8, n=200), it was found that younger and older uninfected men generally gave similar estimates of transmissibility, but that infected men gave somewhat lower estimates than uninfected men; and that estimates were unaffected by asking the men to imagine that they themselves, rather than a hypothetical other gay man, were engaging in the behaviours. Comparison of the 1993 and 1997/8 results suggested that there had been some effect of an educational campaign warning of the dangers of withdrawal; however, there had been no effect either of a campaign warning of the dangers of receptive UAI by an infected partner, or of publicity given to the greater transmissibility of HIV shortly after infection. In Study 3 (data collected 1999, n=59), men induced into a positive mood were found to give lower estimates of transmissibility than either men induced into a neutral mood or men induced into a negative mood. It is argued that the results reveal the important contribution made to gay men's transmissibility estimates by cognitive strategies (such as the 'availability heuristic' and 'anchoring and adjustment') known to be general characteristics of human information-processing. Implications of the findings for AIDS education are discussed.

Habituation of male sexual arousal: effects of attentional focus

Three experiments are reported demonstrating that levels of penile tumescence and subjective sexual arousal are greater when men employ participant-oriented rather than spectator-oriented attentional focus while viewing an erotic film segment. Under each instructional set, there was a reduction in sexual arousal during repeated erotic stimulation. As sexual arousal habituated, the men reported feeling less absorbed during erotic stimulation. When these associated changes in attentional focus (absorption) were partialled out through analysis of covariance, sexual arousal remained relatively stable over trials, suggesting that sexual arousal is less likely to habituate if attentional focus remains constant during repeated erotic stimulation. Further directions for studying associations between habituation of sexual arousal and cognitive processing are discussed.

Psychological correlates of perception of sexual intent in women

In a sample of 183 men and 186 women, the authors assessed (a) the relative contributions of gender and level of nonverbal social cues to the perception of a female actor's sexual intent during a videotaped social interaction with a man and (b) the association between those variables and personality traits implicated in faulty sexual-information processing. The authors assessed those variables while the participants viewed 1 of 3 film segments depicting a female-male interaction. The authors experimentally manipulated eye contact, touch, physical proximity, and female clothing. At all levels of those nonverbal cues, the men perceived more sexual intent in the female actor than did the women. The perception of the female actor's sexual intent increased as the nonverbal cues in the film segments were magnified: Both actors displayed more eye contact, touch, and physical proximity, and the female actor wore more revealing clothing. Relative to the women, the men demonstrated greater sexual preoccupation and reduced sociosexual effectiveness, variables associated with inferring greater sexual intent in the female actor.

Sexual function and the menopausal woman: the importance of age and partner`s sexual functioning

The aim of this study was to investigate age, menopausal status, and the male partner's sexual function on the sexual function of the menopausal woman. Sexual functioning of 304 women (120 premenopausal, 76 perimenopausal, 108 postmenopausal) aged between 35 and 65 years from a community sample was investigated. Multiple regression analyses found that sexual satisfaction within the relationship was better predicted by age group than by menopausal status. Younger women were more likely to be satisfied with their sexual relationship than older women. Age group was also a better predictor than menopausal status of current frequency of intercourse, with younger women being likely to have more frequent intercourse than older women. Whether a female respondent had experienced a sexual dysfunction was better predicted by menopausal status than by age. Women who were menopausal were more likely to report a sexual problem such as lack of sexual interest, poor lubrication, and failure to have an orgasm. However, age group appeared to be a better predictor of whether the male partner had experienced a sexual dysfunction. Older men were more likely to have experienced failure to have an erection, for example. The findings of this study indicate that age and the sexual function of the partner are important factors to take into consideration when investigating the sexual function of the menopausal woman.