Motivated Reasoning & Sexual Arousal
Through her work, Shayna has found that sexually aroused men and women both show greater intentions to engage in sexual risk-taking (e.g., having condomless sex with a new partner). She has also found that people who are sexually aroused also tend to make riskier choices when playing a game of Blackjack! In order to make sense of these effects, Shayna began exploring how sexual arousal might impact other mechanisms that are associated with decision making and risk-taking.
This work has revealed that, although sexual arousal doesn't have an impact on self-efficacy (neither general self-efficacy nor condom-use self-efficacy), it does shift men's and women's motivation into a state where they are more focused on pleasure and less concerned about the consequences of their actions. This suggests that while sexual arousal might not make an individual feel like they can't negotiate condom use, it might make them feel like they simply don't care to. In a subsequent project, Shayna also found that sexual arousal interferes with self-control and sexual self-restraint - which could help explain why sexually aroused men and women find it harder to focus on long-term health goals (e.g., preventing unwanted pregnancy or STI transmission).
Shayna has also investigated the process of condom negotiation to learn more about how an individual will approach requesting or insisting on condom use with a new partner. She has explored the influence of factors like partner familiarity and relationship motivation, as well as how these two factors interact to create situations where it is easier for individuals to self-justify sexual risk taking.