What mediates the effect of mild erotica on annoyance and hostile behavior in males?

Male subjects were provoked or not provoked, exposed to photographs of (a) nonerotica, (b) nude females, or (c) couples engaged in sexual activities, and provided with an opportunity to express annoyance and to retaliate against their annoyer. Both annoyance and retaliatory behavior were measured. The excitatory potential, the involvement potential, and the hedonic valence of the nonerotic and erotic stimuli were also assessed. Provocation produced strong effects on all measures of annoyance and retaliatory behavior. In unprovoked subjects, erotica had no effect whatsoever on such behavior. Under conditions of provocation, reported annoyance in both erotica conditions was significantly less than in nonerotic condition. There was no corresponding differentiation in retaliatory behavior, however. The excitatory potential of the erotica employed, as measured in heart-rate and blood-pressure changes, proved to be minimal. No stimulus differences in involvement potential were found. The erotica were similarly pleasing. The nonerotica, in contrast, were conisdered boring. The findings are discussed in terms of various theoretical proposals concerning the relationship between erotica and aggression.