Expectations for Sexual Interaction: A Cognitive Test of the Sequencing of Sexual Communication Behaviors

Abstract

With few exceptions, communication researchers have not studied communication within the context of sexual encounters. As concerns grow in our society about unwanted pregnancy, AIDS, and other sexually transmitted diseases, health communicators require more detailed information regarding individuals' expectations about sexual behavior. The present research summarizes the results of four studies designed to explore expectations for sexual interaction. We were interested in examining sexual scripts, specifically to determine whether individuals (a) could generate scripts for casual sexual encounters, (b) agree on the rank ordering of the expected actions during the encounter, (c) distinguish between the perceived typicality and necessity of the behaviors in the scenario, and (d) segment prototypical behaviors in a time-ordered sequence. Gender and expertise differences were evaluated within the studies. Results clearly indicate the presence of distinct expectations for both public and private casual sexual encounters, but differences based on gender and expertise were minimal. The results are interpreted in the context of societal sex-role expectations. We discuss the pragmatic implications of our results.