Sophie Renee Landry awarded Science Atlantic Undergraduate Research Award!

MASH Lab member Sophie Renee Landry was awarded the Science Atlantic Undergraduate Research Award for her research poster titled “Examining the influence of social barriers and sexual scripts on positive casual sexual experiences in university students” where she investigated students’ perceptions of casual sex, whether they recognized barriers to positive experiences, and how casual sex can be improved upon so that there are more positive outcomes.

Here are some of her result highlights:

1. Many negative outcomes reported stemmed from harmful gender norms/stereotypes and lack of openness to communicate

2. Casual sex was defined by absence (e.g., no romance, no strings attached, no feelings)

3. Planning a hookup was found to be a scripted experience; coined the “pre-hookup script” as many participants described the same course of events when planning a hookup

4. Communicating one’s desires and intentions going into a casual sex relationship was seen as a barrier because a lot of people saw it as being awkward and taboo. The Traditional Sexual Script also factored into this, as it inhibited discussions about pleasure.

5. Almost all participants noted that communication and challenging the Traditional Sexual Script could be a way to improve casual sex experience, and that people should be clear about their intentions and communicate their desires. So, there was an inherent tension around communication

NSERC grant awarded to Dr. Hamilton!

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