Sexual attraction modulates interpersonal distance and approach-avoidance movements towards virtual agents in males

PLoS One. 2020 Apr 21;15(4):e0231539. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0231539. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

How does sexual attraction alter social interaction behavior? We examined the influence of sexual orientation on locomotor approach-avoidance behavior and interpersonal distance. We immersed androphilic and gynophilic male subjects into a virtual environment and presented various male and female virtual persons. In the first experiment, subjects took a step forward (approach) or backward (avoidance) in response to the sex of the virtual person. We measured reaction time, peak velocity, and step size, and obtained ratings of sexual attractiveness in every trial. In the second experiment, subjects had to approach the virtual person as if they were to engage in a social interaction. Here, we analyzed interpersonal distance and peak velocity of the approaches. Our results suggest that sexual attraction facilitates the approach response and reduces the preferred interpersonal distance. We discuss our findings in terms of proxemics, current findings in sex research, and the applicability of our novel task in other fields of psychological research.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Avoidance Learning*
  • Biomechanical Phenomena
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Interpersonal Relations*
  • Male
  • Motor Activity
  • Reaction Time
  • Sexual Behavior / psychology*
  • Social Behavior*
  • Spatial Behavior*
  • Virtual Reality*
  • Visual Perception
  • Young Adult

Grants and funding

This study was partially funded by a Mainz Universtity research grant (Förderstufe 1) granted to Heiko Hecht. The funder did not play a role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. There was no additional external funding received for this study.