How Media Contribute to Misperceptions of Social Norms About Sex

Abstract

In this study we examined how media contribute to college students' erroneous perceptions of peer norms and the consequences of such misperceptions. The data came from a survey of 312 college students. Results indicate that students believed that their peers were significantly more sexually permissive than was actually the case. The data suggested that they formed such erroneous impressions of peers based in part on their perceptions of media influence on peers. Some evidence also indicated that these misperceptions produced a significant impact on male college students, making them more likely to say they would engage in casual sexual activity and engage in it at an earlier stage in dating.