The Influence of Mating Goal Activation and Gender Differences on the Evaluation of Advertisements Containing Sexual Words

Abstract

This research examines the impact of humans’ mating motivation on their attitudes toward and recall of advertising that contains words with sexual connotations (e.g., “Sexton Plumbing” and “We Sell Boxes”). Due to gender differences based on evolution-based and socialization-based approaches, this research predicts differential evaluations between men and women for advertising that contains words with sexual connotations. The results of two empirical studies reveal that men in a mating mindset condition show more positive attitudes toward advertisements containing words with sexual connotations than do men in the control condition. In contrast, a different pattern is evident for women. Women in a mating mindset show similar attitudes toward such advertisements compared to women in the control condition. A similar pattern was also found for the recall of advertisements.