Male-female estimates of opposite-sex first impressions concerning females’ clothing styles

Abstract

Men and women college students recorded their impressions of a model dressed either conservatively or in clothing judged to be sexually provocative, and also attempted to estimate the impressions of a typical member of the opposite sex. The results indicated a generally negative bias toward women wearing provocative clothing. The most striking finding was that females greatly overestimated the extent of male rape motivation. © 1989, The Psychonomic Society, Inc.. All rights reserved.