Beyond “Yes Means Yes”: A Behavioral Conceptualization of Affirmative Sexual Consent

As efforts to improve awareness and prevention of sexual assault increase, the importance of a workable definition of sexual consent becomes apparent. Affirmative sexual consent, often summarized as “yes means yes,” has been adopted by sexual assault prevention activists and much of popular culture, whereas legal policy and scientific pursuits seem to lag behind. For example, despite its importance for not only the prevention of sexual assault but also the facilitation of satisfying and meaningful relationships, affirmative sexual consent has not been subjected to a conceptual behavioral analysis. This article offers a behavioral conceptualization of affirmative sexual consent with specific implications for how consent is defined, what behaviors compose the response class of consent, and what contexts control those behaviors. Specifically, we propose that affirmative sexual consent as a functional response class involves tact–mand combinations of appetitive contingencies under appetitive control, shifting with the changing context. Action implications are provided for defining affirmative sexual consent, identifying the target behaviors that compose it, and setting the context for training those behaviors. It is our hope that this functional approach to affirmative sexual consent might provide a preliminary foundation for empirical and applied pursuits to move beyond “yes means yes.”