Dutton, D. G., & Aron, A. P. (1974). Some evidence for heightened sexual attraction under conditions of high anxiety. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 30(4), 510-517.

85 male passersby were contacted either on a fear-arousing suspension bridge or a non-fear-arousing bridge by an attractive female interviewer who asked them to fill out questionnaires containing Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) pictures. Sexual content of stories written by Ss on the fear-arousing bridge and tendency of these Ss to attempt postexperimental contact with the interviewer were both significantly greater. No significant differences between bridges were obtained on either measure for Ss contacted by a male interviewer. A 2nd study using 34 males involved a similar field setting and attempted to clarify findings of Study 1. A 3rd study in a laboratory setting manipulated anticipated shock to 80 male undergraduates and an attractive female confederate independently. Anticipation of own shock but not anticipation of shock to confederate increased sexual imagery scores on the TAT and attraction to the confederate.

 

 

http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0037031