Sexual Opinion Survey

Abstract

The Sexual Opinion Survey (SOS) is a specialized psychological instrument designed to capture an individual’s fundamental affective orientation toward sexuality. Developed by Fisher and colleagues in 1988, the SOS operationalizes the critical personality dimension known as Erotophobia-Erotophilia. This continuum ranges from highly positive and comfortable attitudes (erotophilia) to negative, fearful, and restrictive attitudes (erotophobia) regarding sexual matters. Comprising 21 items scored on a 7-point Likert scale, the SOS is a highly reliable and widely adopted tool for understanding diverse sexual attitudes in academic research and clinical settings.

Keywords

Sexual Opinion Survey, SOS, Erotophobia, Erotophilia, Sexual attitudes, Personality dimension, Sex research, Psychological measurement, Likert scale, Affective orientation

Authors

W. A. Fisher, J. D. Hall, M. K. P. Hall

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Sexual Opinion Survey (SOS) is to provide a standardized, quantifiable measure of an individual’s position along the fundamental personality dimension of Erotophobia-Erotophilia. This allows researchers and clinicians to objectively assess the degree of comfort, openness, and knowledge a person holds concerning various aspects of sexuality, including masturbation, explicit material (erotica), and diverse sexual behaviors.

By yielding a robust, standardized score, the SOS is instrumental in investigating how generalized sexual attitudes correlate with specific behaviors, sexual health outcomes (e.g., contraceptive use, STI testing), and response patterns to sexual educational interventions. It serves as a necessary instrument for research requiring a robust measure of generalized sexual disposition, distinct from transient emotional states or specific arousal patterns.

Construct

The SOS is theoretically grounded in the measurement of a single, unifying psychological construct: the Erotophobia-Erotophilia continuum. This construct posits that individuals possess a consistent and pervasive affective orientation towards sexual topics that fundamentally shapes their cognitive processing, emotional reactions, and behavioral responses related to sex.

The negative pole, Erotophobia, is characterized by feelings of guilt, anxiety, fear, and highly conservative beliefs regarding sexual expression. Individuals scoring high in erotophobia typically exhibit discomfort with sexual discussions, avoid sexual information, and may experience heightened sexual inhibition. Conversely, Erotophilia, the positive pole, is defined by comfort, curiosity, positive affect, and liberal, accepting attitudes toward diverse sexual activities and materials. The SOS measures where an individual falls along this bipolar dimension.

Validity

The Sexual Opinion Survey demonstrates strong psychometric properties, particularly concerning its construct validity. Empirical studies consistently validate that SOS scores predictively correlate with a wide array of relevant sexual variables, affirming that the scale measures the intended underlying concept.

Specifically, individuals categorized as erotophilic consistently report higher levels of sexual experience, greater knowledge regarding sexual health practices, increased frequency of sexual fantasies, and more positive attitudes toward sexual minorities. In contrast, erotophobic individuals typically report greater sexual guilt, higher levels of inhibition, and reluctance to engage in preventative sexual health behaviors. Furthermore, the instrument exhibits strong discriminant validity, confirming that it measures a unique sexual disposition distinct from measures of general social desirability or broader political conservatism.

Reliability

The reliability of the SOS is consistently reported as exceptionally high across varied demographic and clinical samples. Measures of internal consistency, typically assessed using Cronbach’s alpha, frequently exceed the stringent .90 threshold. This high coefficient indicates that the 21 items cohere strongly and reliably measure the same singular underlying construct (Erotophobia-Erotophilia).

Additionally, the scale possesses robust test-retest reliability, demonstrating the stability of scores when administered over time. This temporal stability confirms that the SOS is successfully capturing a durable personality dimension regarding sexuality, rather than momentary fluctuations in mood or context-specific attitudes.

Factor Analysis

Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses conducted during the development and subsequent validation of the SOS overwhelmingly support a robust, unidimensional structure. This finding is critical as it validates the theoretical assumption that Erotophobia and Erotophilia exist on a single, bipolar continuum.

The strong loadings of the individual items onto this primary factor confirm that the scale effectively measures a single, generalized affective and cognitive orientation toward sexuality, rather than being fractured into multiple, separate clusters of sexual attitudes or domains.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-Report Inventory / Psychological Scale

Format: 21 items utilizing a 7-point Likert scale, ranging from “I strongly agree” to “I strongly disagree.”

Language Available: Primarily English (original). Translations exist for use in various cross-cultural sex research projects.

Population Group: General adult population and university students.

Age Group: Adolescents (16+) and Adults (18+).

Population Details: While frequently utilized in studies involving undergraduate students due to accessibility in sex research, the utility of the SOS extends reliably to married couples, community samples, and clinical populations.

Test Methodology: Respondents are instructed to indicate their level of agreement or disagreement with statements concerning various sexual activities, attitudes toward sexual minorities, masturbation, and erotica. Scoring typically involves summing or averaging responses, after reversing the scores for negatively worded items, to yield a single total score. A higher score signifies a greater degree of erotophilia (positive sexual disposition), while a lower score indicates erotophobia (negative sexual disposition).

Keywords

Sexual behavior, Sexual attitude, Personality assessment, Psychological measurement, Sex education, Psychometrics, Unidimensional scale

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: N/A (Not provided in source; requires external lookup for 1988 authors)

Affiliation Email addresses: N/A (Not provided in source)

Correspondence Address: N/A (Not provided in source)

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Sexual Opinion Survey was originally published in 1988. The scale and its primary reference were reprinted by permission of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality (SSSS). Researchers intending to utilize the scale are generally required to acknowledge the original authors (Fisher et al., 1988). It is important to seek appropriate permissions, particularly if the instrument is being used for commercial purposes or in large-scale studies that fall outside the scope of standard academic research.

Test Year: 1988

Reference’s

• Fisher, W. A. et al. (1988, February). Erotophobia-erotophilia as a dimension of personality. Journal of Sex Research, 25(1): 123–151. Reprinted by permission of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality.

Items of the Sexual Opinion Survey

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

Place an X in the space on the scale that describes your feelings about each statement.

1. I think it would be very entertaining to look at erotica (sexually explicit books, movies, etc).

I strongly agree : : : : : : I strongly disagree

2. Erotica (sexually explicit, books, movies, etc.) is obviously filthy and people should not try to describe it as anything else.

I strongly agree : : : : : : I strongly disagree

3. Swimming in the nude with a member of the opposite sex would be an exciting experience.

I strongly agree : : : : : : I strongly disagree

4. Masturbation can be an exciting experience.

I strongly agree : : : : : : I strongly disagree

5. If I found out that a close friend of mine was a homosexual it would annoy me.

I strongly agree : : : : : : I strongly disagree

6. If people thought I was interested in oral sex, I would be embarrassed.

I strongly agree : : : : : : I strongly disagree

7. Engaging in group sex is an entertaining idea.

I strongly agree : : : : : : I strongly disagree

8. I personally find that thinking about engaging in sexual intercourse is arousing.

I strongly agree : : : : : : I strongly disagree

9. Seeing an erotic (sexually explicit) movie would be sexually arousing to me.

I strongly agree : : : : : : I strongly disagree

10. Thoughts that I may have homosexual tendencies would not worry me at all.

I strongly agree : : : : : : I strongly disagree

11. The idea of my being physically attracted to members of the same sex is not depressing.

I strongly agree : : : : : : I strongly disagree

12. Almost all erotic (sexually explicit) material is nauseating.

I strongly agree : : : : : : I strongly disagree

13. It would be emotionally upsetting to me to see someone exposing himself publicly.

I strongly agree : : : : : : I strongly disagree

14. Watching a stripper of the opposite sex would not be very exciting.

I strongly agree : : : : : : I strongly disagree

15. I would not enjoy seeing an erotic (sexually explicit) movie.

I strongly agree : : : : : : I strongly disagree

16. When I think about seeing pictures showing someone of the same sex as myself masturbating it nauseates me.

I strongly agree : : : : : : I strongly disagree

17. The thought of engaging in unusual sex practices is highly arousing.

I strongly agree : : : : : : I strongly disagree

18. Manipulating my genitals would probably be an arousing experience.

I strongly agree : : : : : : I strongly disagree

19. I do not enjoy daydreaming about sexual matters.

I strongly agree : : : : : : I strongly disagree

20. I am not curious about erotica (sexually explicit books, movies, etc.).

I strongly agree : : : : : : I strongly disagree

21. The thought of having long-term sexual relations with more than one sex partner is not disgusting to me.

I strongly agree : : : : : : I strongly disagree