Explicit content consumption has the potential to lead to maladaptive reliance on such arousing imagery as a coping mechanism and has been found to profoundly impact intimate relationships and society at large. We examine the impact of arousing imagery consumption on an intimate partner’s perceived relationship and intimacy satisfaction. Two experiments, with a total of 489 online participants, document a crossover interaction effect such that individuals who believe that their sex life is fixed respond negatively toward explicit content consumption by their partner, whereas individuals who believe their sex life is malleable respond more positively (Studies 1 and 2). This effect is mediated by situationally induced desire for closeness (Study 2). The paper concludes with theoretical contributions and a research agenda for future inquiries.
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