Researchers use different methods to establish what effects porn use can have on a user’s behaviour. We particularly like the ones using brain scans that show measurable physical differences, but they are expensive and rare compared to the cheaper method of using questionnaires favoured by many social scientists. However questionnaires vary a great deal in how well they are drafted. Some produce very skewed results indeed.
We have just posted this video analysing the Pornography Consumption Effect Scale (PCES) created by Hald and Malamuth back in 2008 in their paper Self-Perceived Effects of Pornography Consumption. As one psychology professor commented on the scale “it is a psychometric nightmare”.
In April 2018, Gary Wilson of yourbrainonporn.com, did a presentation about the Pornography Consumption Effect Scale. It was a part of his analysis of the research tools of good and bad science at the Coalition to End Sexual Exploitation Global Summit in Washington D.C.
The PCES has been used in many studies that report that high pornography consumption is good for the health. Watch the video and learn how poor questionnaire design can turn harms into positive outcomes. The design faults of this tool are a real eye-opener. Unfortunately, many of the papers that seem to demonstrate that porn is always a healthy choice for consumers have used and continue to use this flawed scale as the basis of their research.
If you would like to see Gary’s full presentation, which also covers 4 other examples of poor research design, it is available from the Coalition to End Sexual Exploitation Global Summit website under the title Porn Research: Fact or Fiction? – Gary Wilson.
We hope to add a lot more videos to www.rewardfoundation.org in the next few weeks.
