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From: adam@mtund.UUCP (Adam V. Reed)
Newsgroups: talk.politics.misc,net.legal,soc.singles
Subject: Re: Re: Evidence and Pornography Legislation
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Date: Fri, 19-Sep-86 18:23:09 EDT
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Mark Terribile:
> I have one more question, oriented toward values, purposes, and goals:
> 	Given the claims of law enforcement officials and self-identified
> 	victims (many of whom are quite credible), what is the proper role,
> 	if any, of this field in which you are expert?  What can or should
> 	behavioral science do to try to determine what the cause of these
> 	criminal acts is, and what link, if any, pornographic (or other
> 	fantasy-inspiring) materials may have with these acts?

Glad you asked. Two possible contributions have ocurred to me:

1. Quantify the positive value of fantasy material, including
sexually stimulating ("pornographic") fantasy. Many people, including
myself, experience the effects of such fantasy, including mental
stimulation, emotional exhilaration, and sexual arousal, as a positive
values. Cognitive scaling methodology could be used to quantify the
relative benefits of fantasy material for input to the cost/benefit
analysis of any proposed legislation.

2. Determine whose behavior is adversely affected by fantasy materials.
The existing evidence is consistent with the hypothesis that adverse
behavioral effects are confined to people suffering from a specific
cognitive deficit, which impairs their ability to distinguish between
reality and fantasy. Behavioral studies might be conducted to evaluate
this hypothesis empirically. We could also learn how to diagnose this
(at this point hypothetical) deficit, and how to remediate it (for
example, by teaching the art of distinguishing between fantasy and
reality to those affected, if it turns out to be a teachable cognitive
skill).
					Adam Reed (mtund!adam)