The Siren’s Call: Terror Management and The Threat of Sexual Attraction

Why do sexually appealing women often attract derogation and aggression? According to terror management theory, women\u27s sexual allure threatens to increase men\u27s awareness of their corporeality and thus mortality. Accordingly, in Study 1 a subliminal mortality prime decreased men\u27s but not women\u27s attractiveness ratings of alluring women. In Study 2, mortality salience (MS) led men to downplay their sexual intent toward a sexy woman. In Study 3, MS decreased men\u27s interest in a seductive but not a wholesome woman. In Study 4, MS decreased men\u27s but not women\u27s attraction to a sexy opposite-sex target. In Study 5, MS and a corporeal lust prime increased men\u27s tolerance of aggression toward women. Discussion focuses on mortality concerns and male sexual ambivalence