Taylor is testing three hypothesis. First, to see individuals who view sexual television content will have more permissive sexual attitudes and beliefs than individuals who do not. Secondly, testing to see if individuals who view sexual television content as realistic are more likely to have sexual attitudes and beliefs than those who view them to be less realistic. Lastly, Taylor is testing to see if individuals who read sexual television content will have more permissive sexual attitudes and beliefs than whose who view similar behaviors visually. Taylor does this through 188 undergraduates who are taking an introductory communications courses. They were then divided into two control groups and an experimental group. The experimental group received stimulus materials, whether watched or read, randomly. The first control group received paragraphs from magazines and the second received nonsexual television content. After viewing, participants were asked to measure sexual attitudes and beliefs in a survey. To test sexual attitudes and beliefs, Taylor used a Premarital Sexual Permissiveness Scale. This includes a five-item measure of statements that include sexual intercourse on the first date, casually dating, serious dating, and so on. Sexual beliefs were measured by asking to estimate how many males and females were sexually active. When viewing clips, they were asked to indicate on a scale from one to five (five being realistic). For the first hypothesis, it was found that there was no significant difference between sexually permissive attitudes, estimates of sexually active male peers or female peers. For the second hypothesis, there was a difference between different kinds of sexual content and how realistic it is. Lastly, viewing had an effect on sexual beliefs with those with are higher in perceived realism. An interesting find was that gender played a major affect on beliefs about a females sexual activity.

Taylor, Laramie D. 2005. “Effects of Visual and Verbal Sexual Television Content and Perceived Realism on Attitudes and Beliefs”. The Journal of Sex Research (42) (2).Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 130-137.