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Human Sexuality in a Changing World, 10th Edition Class Notes

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    Instructor’s Resource Manual For Human Sexuality in a Changing World 10 th Edition Spencer A. Rathus, The College of New Jersey Jeffrey S. Nevid, St. John’s University Lois Fichner - Rathus, The College of New Jersey Prepared by Kathleen Hughes Stellmach

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    Table of Contents (SME/author to provide) Chapter 1 What Is Human Sexuality? 1 Chapter 2 Female Sexual Anatomy and Physiology 26 Chapter 3 Male Sexual Anatomy and Physiology 39 Chapter 4 Gender: Identity, Roles and Differences 49 Chapter 5 Sexual Orientation 62 Chapter 6 Attraction and Love 79 Chapter 7 Sexual Response and Sexual Behavior 91 Chapter 8 Relationships and Communication 113 Chapter 9 Conception, Pregnancy, and Childbirth 122 Chapter 10 Contraception and Abortion 140 Chapter 11 Sexuality Through the Lifespan 158 Chapter 12 Sexual Problems and Solutions 184 Chapter 13 Sexually Transmitted Infections 203 Chapter 14 Atypical Sexual Variations 223 Chapter 15 Sexual Coercion 236 Chapter 16 Selling Sex 252

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    Updated April 2018 1 Chapter 1: What Is Human Sexuality? Table of Contents 1. Learning Objectives 2 2. Chapter Outline 2 3. Chapter Summary 22 4. Lecture Launchers 24 5. Online Discussion Starters 27 6. Student Activities 27 7. Web Resources 40 8. Journal Articles 41

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    Updated April 2018 2 Chapter 1: What Is Human Sexuality? Learning Objectives LO 1.1 Define the science of human sexuality. LO 1.2 Define the value systems people use in making sexual decisions. LO 1.3 Explain how you can become a critical thinker. LO 1.4 Discuss various ways of looking at human sexuality. LO 1.5 Explain the steps in the scientific method. LO 1.6 Explain what is meant by populations and samples. LO 1.7 Describe methods of observation, including the case - study method, the survey, naturalistic observation, ethnographic observation, participant observation, and laboratory observation. LO 1.8 Describe the correlational method. LO 1.9 Explain how experiments seek to determine cause and effect. LO 1.10 Describe the ethical concerns that govern the ways in which professionals interact with research participants and clients in treatment. Chapter Outline • The Science of Human Sexuality o Define the science of human sexuality. ▪ One use of the term sex refers to our anatomic sex, female or male. The words sex or sexual are also used to refer to anatomic structures called sex organs or sexual organs, which play roles in reproduction and sexual pleasure. We may also speak of sex when referring to physical activities involving our sex organs for purposes of reproduction or pleasure, as in having sex. Sex also relates to erotic feelings, experiences, or desires, such as sexual fantasies and thoughts, sexual urges, or feelings of sexual attraction. The use of “sex differences” is probably more correct when we are talking about differences between anatomic males and anatomic females. The term human sexuality refers to the ways in which people experience and express themselves as sexual beings. ▪ The Study of Human Sexuality • The study of human sexuality draws on the scientific expertise of anthropologists, biologists, medical researchers, sociologists, and psychologists . Biologists inform us about the physiological mechanisms of sexual arousal and response. Medical science teaches us about STIs and the biological bases of reproduction and sexual dysfunctions. Psychologists examine how our sexual behavior and attitudes are shaped by perception, learning, thought, motivation and emotion, and personality. Sociologists examine relationships between sexual behavior and religion, race, and social class. Anthropologists focus on cross - cultural similarities and differences in sexual behavior. • Sexuality and Values

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    Updated April 2018 3 o Define the value systems people use in making sexual decisions. ▪ Our society is pluralistic. It embraces a wide range of sexual attitudes and values. People’s sexual attitudes, experiences, and behaviors are shaped to a large extent b y cultural traditions and beliefs. They influence how, where, and with whom we become sexually involved. ▪ Value Systems for Making Sexual Decisions • Our value systems — our sexual standards — have many sources: parents, peers, religious training, ethnic subcultures, the larger culture, and our own appraisal of these influences. Value systems include legalism, situational ethics, ethical relativism, hedonism, asceticism, utilitarianism, and rationalism. The legalistic approach formulates ethical behavior on the basis of a code of moral laws derived from an external source, such as a religion. • Thinking Critically about Human Sexuality o Explain how you become a critical thinker. ▪ Newspapers, TV shows, popular books and magazines, and the Internet contain one feature after another about sex. Critical thinkers never say that something is true b ecause an authority figure says it is true. They demand evidence. Critical thinking means being skeptical of things that are presented in print, uttered by authority figures or celebrities, or passed along by friends. Another aspect of critical thinking is analysis and probing of claims and arguments. Critical thinking means scrutinizing definitions of terms and evaluating the premises of arguments and their logic. Critical thinkers maintain open minds. They suspend their beliefs until they have obtained and evaluated the evidence. • Perspectives on Human Sexuality o Discuss the various ways of looking at human sexuality. ▪ The Historical Perspective • History places sexual attitudes and behavior in context. It informs us as to whether sexual behavior reflects trends that have been with us through the millennia or the customs of a particular culture and era. History shows little evidence of universal sexual trends. Attitudes and behaviors vary extensively from one time and place to another. History also shows how religion has been a major influence on sexual values and behavior. • Prehistoric Sexuality: From F emale I dols to Phallic W orship o I nformation about life among our Stone Age ancestors is drawn largely from cave drawings, stone artifacts, and the customs of modern - day preliterate peoples whose existence has changed little over the millennia. By and large, men hunted for game, and women tended to remain close to home. Women nurtured children and gathered edible plants and nuts, crabs, and other marine life that wandered along the shore or swam in shallow waters . Primitive statues and cave d rawings portray women with large, pendulous breasts, rounded hips, and prominent sex organs . Stone Age

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    Updated April 2018 4 people may have been unaware of the male’s contribution to reproduction. As the glacial sheets of the last Ice Age retreated (about 11,000 bce) and the climate warmed, human societies turned agrarian. Hunters and gatherers b e came farmers and herders. Villages sprang up around fields. Men tended livestock. Women farmed. As people grew aware of the male role in reproduction, phallic worship (worship of the penis) sprang into being. K nowledge of paternity is believed to have developed a round 9000 bce, resulting from observation of livestock. T he penis became glorified in art as a plough, ax, or sword. Phallic symbols played roles in religious ceremonies in ancient Egypt. The incest taboo may have been the first human taboo. All human societies apparently have some form of incest taboo, but societies have varied in terms of its strictness. • The Ancient Hebrews o The ancient Hebrews viewed sex, at least in marriage, as a satisfying experience intended to fulfill the divine command to “be fruitful and multiply.” Male – male and female – female sexual behavior were strongly condemned because they threatened the perpetuation of the family. Although the ancient Hebrews believed that sex helped strengthen marital bonds and solidify the family. According to the Book of Proverbs, a good wife rises before dawn to tend to her family’s needs, brings home food, instructs the servants, tends the vineyards, makes the clothes, keeps the ledger, helps the needy, and works well into the night. Even so, a wife was considered the property of her husband and could be divorced on a whim. A wife might have to share her husband with secondary wives and concubines, but she could be stoned to death for adultery — a fate still practiced in some Islamic cultures. Men who consorted with the wives of other men were considered to have violated the property rights of those men and might have to pay “damages.” • The Ancient Greeks o The classical or golden age of Greece lasted from about 500 bce to 300 bce. Within this relatively short span lived the philosophers Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle; the playwrights Aristophanes, Aeschylus, and Sophocles; the natural scientist Archimedes; and the lawgiver Solon. Like the Hebrews, the Greeks valued family life, but Greek men also admired the well - developed male body and enjoyed nude wrestling in the arena. Erotic encounters and off - color jokes characterized the plays of Aristophanes and other

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    Updated April 2018 5 playwrights. The Greeks viewed their gods as voracious seekers of sexual variety. Three aspects of Greek sexuality are of particular interest to our study of sexual practices in the ancient world: male – male sexual behavior, pederasty, and prostitution. The Greeks viewed people as bisexual. Male – male sex was deemed normal and tolerated so long as it did not threaten the institution of the family. Pederasty means love of boys. Sex between men and prepubescent boys was illegal, but families were generally pleased if their adolescent sons attracted socially prominent mentors. Prostitution flourished at every level of society in ancient Greece. Prostitutes ranged from refined courtesans to concubines, who were usually slaves. The women of Athens were subject to the authority of their male next - of - kin before marriage and to their husbands afterward. • The World of Ancient Rome o Much is made of the sexual excesses of the Roman emperors and ruling families. Sexual excesses were found more often among the upper classes of palace society than among average Romans . Romans disapproved of male – male sexual behavior as a threat to the integrity of the Roman family, which was viewed as the core of strength of the empire. Although Roman women were more likely than their Greek counterparts to share their husbands’ social lives, they still were the property of their husbands. Western society traces the roots of many of its sexual terms to Roman culture, as indicated by their Latin roots. Fellatio, derives from the Latin fellare, meaning “to suck.” Cunnilingus derives from cunnus, meaning “vulva,” and lingere, “to lick.” Fornication derives from fornix, an arch or vault. • Christianity o Christianity emerged within the Roman Empire during the centuries following the death of Jesus. Early Christian views on sexuality were largely shaped by Saint Paul and the church fathers in the first century and by Saint Augustine in the latter part of the fourth century. Adultery and fornication were rampant among the upper classes of Rome at the time, and early Christian leaders began to associate sexuality with sin. In replacing the pagan values of Rome, the early Christians sought to restrict sex to marriage. They saw temptations of the flesh as distractions from spiritual devotion. Paul preached that celibacy was closer to the Christian ideal than marriage. He recognized that not everyone could achieve celibacy, however, so he said that it was “better to marry than to burn” (with passion,

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    Updated April 2018 6 that is). Christians, like the Hebrews before them, demanded virginity of brides. Prostitution was condemned. Christians taught that men should love their wives with restraint, not passion, because the goal was procreation and not pleasure — the spirit should rule the flesh. Divorce was outlawed. Unhappiness with one’s spouse might reflect sinful restlessness. Dissolving a marriage might also jeopardize the social structure that supported the church. Masturbation, male – male sexual behavior, female – female sexual behavior, oral – genital contact, anal intercourse — all were viewed as abominations. Lust made any sexual expression, even in marriage, inherently evil. Only through celibacy, according to Augustine, could men and women attain a state of grace. There have been two conflicting concepts of woman in Christianity: One is of woman as Eve, the temptress; the other is of woman as Mary, Mother of God, virtuous and pure. Contemporary Western images of women still show the schism between the good girl and the bad girl — the Madonna and the whore. During the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther (1483 – 1546) and other Christian reformers such as John Calvin (1509 – 1564) split off from the Roman Catholic Church and formed their own sects, which led to the development of the m od ern Protestant denominations. Luther believed that priests should be allowed to marry and rear children. To Luther, marriage was as much a part of human nature as eating or drinking. Calvin rejected the Roman church’s position that marital sex was permissible only for procreation. He believed that sex strengthened the marriage bond and helped relieve the stresses of everyday life. Early European settlers brought to North America the religious teachings that had dominated Western thought and culture for centuries. • Islam o Islam, the dominant religion in the Middle East, across North Africa and into parts of Southern Asia, was founded by the Prophet Muhammad. The Islamic tradition treasures marriage and sexual fulfillment in marriage. Premarital sex and adultery invite shame and social condemnation — and, as noted, in some fundamentalist Islamic states, the death penalty, by stoning. Muhammad decreed that marriage represents the road to virtue. Islamic tradition permits a sexual double standard, however. Men under most circumstances may take up to four wives but women are permitted only one husband. Public social interactions between men and women are severely restricted in more

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    Updated April 2018 7 conservative Islamic societies. Women are expected to keep their heads and faces veiled in public and to avoid all contact with men other than their husbands. • India o Hindu sexual practices were codified in a sex manual, the Kama Sutra, which illustrates sexual positions, some of which would challenge a contortionist. It also holds recipes for alleged aphrodisiacs. This manual is believed to have been written sometime between the third and fifth centuries ce, when Christianity was ascending in the West. In its graphic representations of sexual positions and practices, the Kama Sutra reflected the Hindu belief that sex was a religious duty, not a s ource of shame or guilt. Hindu deities were often portrayed as engaging in same - sex as well as male – female sexual activities. In the Hindu doctrine of karma (the passage of souls from one place to another), sexual fulfillment was regarded as one way to become reincarnated at a higher level of existence. Indian society grew more restrictive toward sexuality after about 1000 ce. • The Far East o In the cultures of the Far East, sexuality was akin to spirituality. To the Taoist masters of China, who influenced Chinese culture for millennia, sex was a sacred duty — a form of worship that led toward harmony with nature and immortality. In ancient China, the man was expected to extend intercourse as long as possible to absorb more of his wife’s natural essence, or yin. Yin would enhance his own masculine essence, or yang. Moreover, he was to help bring his partner to orgasm so as to increase the flow of energy that he might absorb. Taoists believed that it was wasteful for a man to “spill his seed.” Masturbation, acceptable for women, was ruled out for men. Sexual practices such as anal intercourse and oral – genital contact (fellatio and cunnilingus) were permissible, so long as the man did not squander yang through wasteful ejaculation. Same - sex activity was not prohibited by Taoist holy writings, but some Taoists frowned on exclusive homosexuality. The good Chinese wife, like her Western counterparts, was limited to domestic roles. • The Victorian Period o The middle and later parts of the nineteenth century in Western civilization are generally called the Victorian period, after Queen Victoria of England, who assumed the throne in 1837 and ruled until her death in 1901. Her name has become virtually synonymous with sexual repression.

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    Updated April 2018 8 Many women viewed sex as a marital duty to be performed for procreation or to satisfy their husbands’ cravings. Women were assumed not to experience sexual desires or pleasures. But the behavior of Victorians was not as repressed as advertised. Women’s diaries of the time also contain accounts of passionate love affairs. Prostitution flourished during the Victorian era. Same - sex sexual behavior was considered indecent in Victorian society. • Beginnings of the S cientific S tudy of S exuality o The English physician Havelock Ellis (1859 – 1939) published a veritable encyclopedia of sexuality between 1897 and 1910, Studies in the Psychology of Sex. Ellis drew information from case histories, anthropological findings, and medical knowledge. He argued that sexual desires in women were natural and healthy. He wrote that many sexual problems had psychological rather than physical causes. Gay male and lesbian sexual orientations were natural variations in sexual orientation, not aberrations. The German psychiatrist Richard von Krafft - Ebing (1840 – 1902) described case histories of people with sexual deviations in his book, Psychopathia Sexualis (1886). Krafft - Ebing viewed deviations as mental diseases that could be studied and perhaps treated by medical science. At about the same time, the Viennese physician Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939) was developing his influential theory of personality. Freud believed that the sex drive was our principal motivating force. Alfred Kinsey (1894 – 1956), an Indiana University zoologist, conducted the first large - scale studies of sexual behavior in the 1930s and 1940s. Kinsey conducted detailed interviews with nearly 12,000 people across the United States attempts to provide a comprehensive picture of American sexual behavior. The results of his surveys were published in two volumes, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (Kinsey et al., 1948) and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (Kinsey et al., 1953). Kinsey and his colleagues made sex research a scientifically respectable field of study and helped lay the groundwork for discussing sexual behavior openly. • The Sexual Revolution o The period of the mid - 1960s to the mid - 1970s is often referred to as the sexual revolution. Our society was on the threshold of major social upheaval, not only in sexual behavior but also in science, politics, fashion, music, art, and cinema. The sexual revolution gained momentum from a timely interplay of scientific, social, political, and economic forces. The war (in Vietnam), the bomb (fear of

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    Updated April 2018 9 the nuclear bomb), the pill (the introduction of the birth control pill), and the mass media (especially television) were four such forces. Popular books encouraged people to explore their sexuality. Film scenes of lovemaking became so commonplace that the movie rating system was introduced to alert parents. During the sexual revolution, sexually explicit questionnaires proliferated in popular magazines, interviewers posed sexually explicit questions by telephone and in person, and some pioneers, including William H. Masters and Virginia Johnson, observed people engaging in sexual activity in the laboratory. In the 1960s, Masters and Johnson were condemned by many as destroying the moral fabric of the nation — a complaint similar to those leveled earlier against Kinsey. • Recent T rends o More teenagers are sexually active today, and at younger ages, than they were a couple of generations ago. Two other features of the sexual evolution have become permanent parts of our social fabric: the liberation of female sexuality and widespread willingness to discuss sex openly. Countless pornography Web sites populate the Internet and can be accessed by children. ▪ The Biological Perspective • The biological perspective focuses on the roles of hormones, the nervous system, the sex organs, genetics, and other biological factors in human sexuality. Study of the biology of sex informs us about the mechanisms of reproduction as well as of the mechanisms of sexual arousal and response. We learn that orgasm is a spinal reflex as well as a psychological event. Genes lead to the timely development female and male sexual anatomy and physiology and, apparently, to stereotypical mating behavior in most species. Our physical traits, and perhaps our mating strategies, are determined or at least influenced by genes that we inherit from our parents. ▪ The Evolutionary Perspective • Species vary not only in their physical characteristics but also in their social behavior, including their mating behavior. The English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809 – 1882) showed that current species of animals and plants evolved from other life forms through natural selection, or “survival of the fittest.” In each species, individuals vary, and some are better adapted to their environments than others. B etter - adapted members are more likely to survive to reproduce and transmit their traits to succeeding generations. They are not necessarily the strongest or fleetest of foot, although these traits are adaptive for some species and enhance their reproductive success. New variations in species can also be introduced through

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    Updated April 2018 10 random genetic changes called mutations. Although mutations occur randomly, they are subject to natural selection. Adaptive mutations enhance reproductive success. ▪ Evolutionary V iews of M ale - F emale D ifferences in M ating S trategies • With humans, natural selection may not only have led to the development of our sex organs, but also to sexual and mating strategies that promote the survival of our species. More specifically, researchers into evolutionary processes suggest that there may be a genetic basis to certain aspects of social behavior, including sexual behavior, amon g humans and some other animals. S ome evolutionary psychologists argue that men are naturally more promiscuous than women because they are the genetic heirs of ancestors whose reproductive success was related to the number of women they could impregnate . Women, by contrast, can produce only a few offspring in their lifetimes. Thus, evolutionary theory suggests, woman may have to be more selective with respect to their mating partners. Women’s reproductive success is enhanced by mating with the fittest males — not with any Tom, Dick, or Harry who happens by. Thus the male’s “roving eye” and the female’s selectivity may be embedded in their genes. ▪ The Cross - Species Perspective • In an endeavor to discover what kinds of sexual behaviors are “natural,” scientists have looked to the sexual behavior of other animal species. A surprising variety of sexual behaviors exist among nonhumans. There are animal examples, or analogues, of human male – male sexual behavior, female – female sexual behavior, oral – genital contact, and oral – oral behavior (i.e., kissing). Foreplay is also well known in the animal world. Most mammals use only a rear - entry position to mate, but some animals, such as apes, use a variety of positions. Cross - species research reveals an interesting pattern. Sexual behavior among “higher” mammals, such as primates, is less directly controlled by instinct than it is among the “lower” species, such as birds, fish, or lower m ammals. Experience and learning play more important roles in sexuality as we climb the evolutionary ladder. ▪ Sociological Perspectives • Sociology tends to study the influences of groups of sexual behavior. Thus sociologists consider the behavior of humans by socioeconomic status level of education, sex (male or female), race and ethnicity, and age. They look at the roles of families, religion, urbanization, social movements, and nations. Sociological perspectives, like the historical perspective, provide insight into the ways in which cultural institutions and beliefs affect sexual behavior and people’s sense of morality. Societies differ in their attitudes toward childhood masturbation. Individuals in these societies tend to accept dominant beliefs or, if they challenge

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    Updated April 2018 11 them, to be o stracized. The members of all human societies share anatomic structures and physiological capacities for sexual pleasure, however. The same hormones flow through their arteries. Yet their sexual practices, and the pleasure they reap or fail to attain, may set them apart. If human sexuality were determined exclusively by biology, we might not find such diversity. ▪ Psychological Perspectives • Sigmund Freud and Psychoanalytic Theory o Sigmund Freud, a Viennese physician, formulated a grand theory of personality termed psychoanalysis in the latter part of the nineteenth century. Freud believed that we are all born with biologically based sex drives that must be channeled through socially approved outlets if family and social life are to carry on without undue conflict. Freud proposed that the mind operates on conscious and unconscious levels. The conscious level corresponds to our state of present awareness. The unconscious mind refers to the darker reaches of the mind that lie outside our direct awareness. The ego shields the conscious mind from awareness of our baser sexual and aggressive urges by means of defense mechanisms such as repression, or motivated forgetting of traumatic experiences. One avenue of expression is the dream, through which sexual impulses may be perceived in disguised, or symbolic, form. The therapists and scholars who follow in the Freudian tradition are quite interested in analyzing dreams, but this view has not been supported by research evidence. Freud introduced us to new and controversial ideas about ourselves as sexual beings. One of Freud’s most controversial beliefs was that children normally harbor erotic interests. He theorized that it was normal for children to progress through stages of development in which the erotic interest shifts fro m one erogenous zone to another from the mouth or oral cavity to the anal cavity. According to his theory of psychosexual development, children undergo five stages of development: oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital, which are named according to the main erogenous zones of each stage. Freud believed that it was normal for children to develop erotic feelings toward the parent of the other sex during the phallic stage. These incestuous urges lead to conflict with the parent of the same sex. • Learning Theories o Even within the same society, family and personal experiences can shape unique sexual attitudes and behaviors. Behaviorists such as John B. Watson (1878 –

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    Updated April 2018 12 1958) and B. F. Skinner (1904 – 1990) emphasized the importance of rewards and punishments in the learning process. Children left to explore their bodies without parental condemnation will learn what feels good and tend to repeat it. Observational learning refers to acquiring knowledge and skills by observing others. Observational learning includes seeing models in films and on television, hearing about them, and reading about them. According to social – cognitive theory, children acquire the gender roles deemed appropriate for people of their anatomic sex through reinforcement of what society considers to be gender - appropriate behavior and through observing the gender - role behavior of their parents, their peers, and other models. • Cognitive Theories o Cognitive psychologists emphasize the importance of cognitive activity (problem solving, decision making, expectations, attitudes and beliefs, and so on). They recognize that the beliefs and attitudes taught to children can serve as cognitive anchors for a lifetime. ▪ Feminist Theory • The Greek philosopher Aristotle is said to have described a female as a deformed male. Feminism and feminist theory are born of protest against ideas such as those of Aristotle’s — ideas that remain with us today in many if not most parts of the world . Definitions of feminism and of feminist theory are controversial, but it is clear enough that feminist theory focuses on the subordination of women to men; analyzing the relationships between sexism, heterosexism (prejudice or discrimination against homosexuals by heterosexuals), racism, and class oppression; and exploring means of resistance — on individual and societal levels. Among other things, feminist theory challenges: ▪ Traditional views of men as breadwinners and women as h omemakers ▪ Traditional views of men as political policymakers, especially because those policies affect women and children ▪ Traditional views of men as sexual “aggressors” and women as sexual “gatekeepers” ▪ Traditional gender roles that view men as objective and rational, and women as emotional and irrational S ome feminists challenge the concepts of femininity and masculinity because their existence tends to suggest that there is some sort of biological or “actual” basis to the distinction. They argue, instead, that femininity and masculinity might be purely social constructions that have the effect of giving women second -

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    Updated April 2018 13 class citizenship — or, in many historic eras and parts of the world, no c itizenship whatsoever. ▪ Queer Theory • The word queer was initially used as an insult to describe homosexuals. After approximately two centuries, the term became gradually replaced by the word gay. However, homosexuals have reappropriated the word queer as a sign of pride, as shown by the title of the former TV show, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. As one result of this reappropriation, a widely cited theory of the psychology and sociology of gender roles and sexual orie ntation is termed queer theory. Queer theory challenges heteronormativity — the assumptions that heterosexuality is norma l and superior to homosexuality. Queer theory also challenges the assumption that people are naturally divided into heterosexuals and homosexuals. According to queer theory, the concepts of heterosexuality and homosexuality are social constructs that ignore commonly experienced mismatches among people’s anatomic sex, society’s gender roles, and individuals’ sexual desires. Queer theory asserts that human sexuality has always been more varied than those in power — particularly male heterosexuals — are willing to admit. ▪ Multiple Perspectives on Human Sexuality • Each perspective — historical, biological, cross - species, sociological, psychological, feminist, and queer — has something to teach us. First, human sexuality appears to reflect a combination of biological, psychological, and social factors that interact in complex ways. Second, there are few universal patterns of sexual behavior, and views on what is right and wrong show great diversity. Third, although our own cultural values and beliefs may be deeply meaningful to us, they may not indicate what is normal, natural, or moral in terms of sexual behavior. The complexity of human sexuality — a complexity that causes it to remain somewhat mysterious even to s cientists — adds to the wonder and richness of our sexual experience. • Research Methods in Human Sexuality o Explain the steps in the scientific method. ▪ Scientists who study sex take an empirical approach. They base their knowledge on research evidence, rather than on intuition, faith, or superstition. Critical t hinking and the scientific approach share the hallmark of skepticism. Scientists question prevailing assumptions and theories about sexual behavior. They are willing to dispute the assertions of authority figures such as political and religious leaders — even other scientists. Scientists are involved in the continuous quest for truth, but they do not see themselves as experiencing revelations or defining final truths. The scientific method is a systematic way of gathering scientific evidence and testing assumptions. It has a number of elements:

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    Updated April 2018 14 • 1. Formulating a research question. Scientists formulate research questions on the basis of their observations of, or theories about, events or behavior. They then seek answers to such questions by conducting empirical research. • 2. Framing the research question in the form of a hypothesis. Experiments are usually undertaken with a hypothesis in mind — a precise prediction that is tested through research. • 3. Testing the hypothesis. Scientists then test hypotheses through carefully c ontrolled observation and experimentation. • 4. Drawing conclusions. Scientists then draw conclusions or inferences about the correctness of their hypotheses, based on their analyses of the results of their studies. If the results of well - designed research studies fail to bear out certain hypotheses, scientists can revise the theories that served as the frameworks for the hypotheses. Research findings often lead scientists to modify their theories, and in turn, generate new hypotheses. ▪ Goals of the Science of Human Sexuality • The goals of the science of human sexuality are congruent with those of other sciences: to describe, explain, predict, and control the events (in this case, the sexual behaviors) that are of interest. Scientists attempt to be clear, unbiased, and precise in their descriptions of events and behavior. Researchers attempt to relate their observations to other factors, or v ariables, that can help explain them. The variables that are commonly used to explain sexual behavior are biological (age, health), psychological (anxieties, skills), and sociological (educational level , socioeconomic status, ethnicity). The concept of “controlling” human behavior does not mean coercing people to do the bidding of others. Rather, it means drawing from scientific knowledge to help people create their own goals and marshal their resources to meet them. Reputable scientists are held to ethical and professional standards that safeguard the rights of participants in research. o Explain what is meant by populations and samples. ▪ Researchers seek to learn about populations — complete groups of people, animals, or events. Because of the difficulty in studying all members of a population, scientists select individuals from the population and study them. The individuals who participate in research are said to compose a sample. However, that sample must represent the target population. ▪ Sampling Methods: Does Size Matter? • Researchers use random samples, when possible, because every member of the target population has an equal chance of participating. In a stratified random sample, known subgroups of a population are represented in proportion to their numbers in the population. Random samples can be hard to come by, especially when it comes to asking people about their sexual attitudes or behavior. Volunteers tend to differ from people who refuse to

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    Updated April 2018 15 participate by being more open about their sexuality . The refusal of people who have been randomly selected to participate in a survey can ruin the representativeness of the sample, yet researchers cannot coerce people to participate in research. Therefore, researchers must use samples of volunteers, rather than true random samples. A low response rate to a voluntary survey is an i ndication that the responses do not represent the people for whom the survey was distributed. Some samples, such as the Kinsey sample, are “samples of convenience.” They consist of individuals who happen to be available to the researcher and do not represent the population at large. Convenience samples often consist of European American, middle - class college students who volunteer for studies conducted at their schools. They may not even be representative of students in general. o Describe methods of observation including the case - study method, the survey, naturalistic observation, ethnographic observation, participant observation, and laboratory observation. ▪ The Case - Study Method • A case study is a carefully drawn, in - depth biography of an individual or a small group. The focus is on understanding one or several individuals as fully as possible by unraveling the interplay of various factors in their backgrounds. In most case studies, the researcher comes to know the individual or group through interviews or other extended contacts. Researchers also conduct case studies by interviewing people who have known the individuals being studied, or by examining public records. Some case studies have been carried out on people who are dead. Reports of innovative treatments for sexual dysfunctions often appear as detailed case studies. A clinician may report the background of the client in depth, describe the treatment and the apparent outcomes, and suggest factors that might have c ontributed to the treatment’s success or failure. Case studies or multiple case studies (reports concerning a few people) that hold promise may be subjected to experimental s tudies involving treatment and control groups. Despite the richness of material that may be derived from case studies, they are not as rigorous a research design as an experiment. People often have gaps in memory, especially concerning childhood events. There is also the potential of observer bias; that is, clinicians and interviewers may unintentionally guide people into saying what they expect to hear. ▪ The Survey Method • Researchers may survey respondents by interviewing or administering questionnaires to thousands of people from particular population groups to learn about their sexual behavior and attitudes. Face - to - face interviews such as those used by Alfred Kinsey and his colleagues (1948, 1953) give the interviewer the

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    Updated April 2018 16 opportunity to probe — to follow up on answers that seem to lead toward useful information. A skilled interviewer may be able to establish a sense of trust or rapport that encourages self - d isclosure . Many surveys have something to contribute to our understanding of human sexuality, but none perfectly represents the American population at large. People who agree to be polled on political matters may resist participation in surveys about their sexual behavior. Even the best surveys suffer from volunteer bias. ▪ The Kinsey Reports • Alfred Kinsey and his colleagues (1948, 1953) interviewed 5,300 males and 5,940 females in the United States between 1938 and 1949. They posed questions about sexual experiences, including masturbation, oral sex, and intercourse before and in marriage. Kinsey did not try to obtain a random sample . He believed that a high refusal rate would wreck his chances of representing the general population. Instead, he used group sampling. He recruited participants from the organizations and community groups to which they belonged, such as college fraternities and sororities. He contacted representatives of groups in diverse c ommunities and tried to persuade them to secure the cooperation of fellow group members. If he showed these individuals that they would not be subjected to embarrassment or discomfort, Kinsey hoped that they would persuade other members to participate. In some cases he obtained the full participation of a group. Yet, people of color, people in rural areas, older people, poor people, and Catholics and Jews were underrepresented in Kinsey’s research . It is thus unlikely that Kinsey’s results accurately mirrored the U.S. population at the time. But some relationships Kinsey uncovered, such as the positive link be t ween level of education and participation in oral sex, are probably generalizable. ▪ The National Survey of Adolescents and Young Adults • This study tried to obtain a nationally representative sample of 13 - to 24 - year - olds by selecting telephone numbers at random and conducting telephone interviews with 1,854 young people either in English or Spanish. They purposefully oversampled people in ethnic minority groups — African Americans, Latin Americans, and Asian Americans — because most studies do not generate enough information about them. Parents provided permission to interview minors (respondents younger than age 18). The response rate was 55%. Note some of the study’s major findings: o About one adolescent in three reported being pressured into sex. o Sixty percent of the sample agreed with the statement that “Waiting to h ave sex is a nice idea but nobody really does.” o One adolescent in three has engaged in oral sex, often to avoid intercourse.

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    Updated April 2018 17 o Seventy percent of sexually active young adults and 40% of sexually active adolescents reported that they or their partner had taken a pregnancy test. o Four out of five adolescents reported that adolescents tend to drink or use drugs before sex. o Although 90% of adolescents say that using condoms is a sign of respect and caring for one’s partner, about half were reluctant to discuss condoms with their partners, fearing, that raising the subject would be embarrassing or suggest that one is suspicious of one’s partner. ▪ The National Surveys of Family Growth (NSFG) • The National Surveys of Family Growth are conducted by the CDC as a means of assessing sexual behavior “relevant to demograp hic and public health concerns” One survey was run primarily in 2002, and results were published over the following years. It involved face - to - face interviews in the homes of 12,571 people, including 4,928 men and 7,643 women aged 15 to 44. A more recent survey, published in 2011, reported the results of interviews with 22,682 face - to - face interviews of people aged 15 to 44, 12,279 with women and 10,403 with men over the years from 2006 to 2010 . In the 2002 study, the interviewees responded to questions about their sexual behavior on laptop computers, to ensure their privacy and encourage honesty. The researchers who published in 2011 drew their sample from 110 locales across the United States and sampled randomly within those locales. All in all, the National Health and Social Life Survey (NHSLS) and NSFG may be the only surveys since Kinsey’s day to offer a reasonably accurate — if not perfect — snapshot of the sexual behavior of the general population of the United States. There have been some interesting findings about male – male and female – female sexual behavior. In the study published in 2005, 5.7% of the males had had oral sex with another male, and 3.7% had had anal sex with another male. In the study published in 2012, the figure was 5.5% for oral sex, and 5.7% reported oral or anal sex with another male — not exactly comparable. There was more comparability among females: in the 2005 study, 11% said yes when asked “Have you ever had any sexual experience of any kind with another female?” That figure rose to 17.4% in the study reported in 2012. Either female – female sexual activity has been increasing or there were differences in sampling or data collection and analysis between 2005 and 2012 . ▪ Magazine Surveys • Readership surveys have also been conducted by popular magazines, such as Psychology Today, Glamour, Ladies’ Home Journal, and C osmopolitan. Although these surveys may obtain large numbers of respondents, their sampling techniques raise

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    Updated April 2018 18 questions. Each sample represents, at best, the readers of the magazine in which the questionnaire appears. ▪ Limitations of the Survey Method • One limitation of surveys involves the fact that they are self - reports of behavior and attitudes. Self - reports are subject to inaccuracies or biases because of factors such as faulty memory and tendencies to distort or conceal information resulting from embarrassment, shame, or guilt; or attempts to present a favorable image. People may not recall the age at which they first engaged in petting, or masturbated to orgasm. People may have difficulty recalling or calculating the frequency of certain behaviors, such as the weekly frequency of marital intercourse. Survey data may also be drawn from haphazard or nonrepresentative samples and not represent the target population. Participants in surveys of sexual behavior may feel pressured to answer questions in the direction of social desirability. Some try to ingratiate themselves with their interviewers by offering what they believe to be socially desirable answers. Even though interviewers may insist that participants will remain anonymous, respondents may fear their identities could be exposed someday. Some respondents exaggerate the bizarreness of their behavior or attitudes to draw attention to themselves or to foul up study results. Because many people refuse to participate in surveys, samples are biased by large numbers of volunteers. Volunteers tend to be more sexually permissive and liberal - minded than nonvolunteers. ▪ The Naturalistic - Observation Method • In naturalistic observation, also called the field study, scientists directly observe the behavior of animals and humans where it happens. Scientists try to observe their subjects unobtrusively; that is, they try not to influence the behavior of the individuals they study. Naturalistic observers sometimes find themselves in ethical dilemmas. They have allowed sick or injured animals to die, rather than intervene, when medical assistance could have saved them. They have allowed substance abuse and illicit sexual behavior to go unreported to authorities. The ethical trade - off is that unobtrusive observation may yield data that will benefit large numbers of people — the greatest good for the greatest number. ▪ The Ethnographic - Observation Method • Ethnographic observation provides data concerning sexual behaviors and customs that occur among various ethnic groups — those that vary widely across cultures and those that are limited to one or few cultures. Anthropologists are the specialists who typically engage in ethnographic research. They have lived among societies of people in the four corners of the earth in order to observe and study human diversity. Margaret Mead (1935) reported on the social and sexual customs of various peoples of

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    Updated April 2018 19 New Guinea. Bronislaw Malinowski (1929) studied the Trobriand Islanders, among others. Even so, ethnographic observation has its limits in the study of sexual behavior. Sexual activities are most commonly performed away from the watchful gaze of others, especially visitors from other cultures. Ethnographers may thus have to rely on methods such as interviewing. The ethnographer who studies a particular culture or subgroup within a culture tries to do so unobtrusively. Falling prey to social desirability, some people may “straighten out their act” while the ethnographer is present. Other people may try to impress the ethnographer by acting in ways that are more aggressive or sexually provocative than usual. In either case, people supply distorted information. ▪ The Participant - Observation Method • In participant observation, investigators learn about people’s behavior by directly interacting with them . Participant observation has been used in studies of male – male sexual behavior and mate - swapping. In some cases, researchers have engaged in coitus with participants during “swinging parties,” which raises questions as to what is permissible “for the sake of science.” ▪ The Laboratory - Observation Method • Rather than study individuals in their natural settings, laboratory observation brings them into the laboratory, where their behavior can be more carefully monitored. In Human Sexual Response (1966), William Masters and Virginia Johnson were among the first to report direct laboratory observations of individuals and couples engaged in sex acts. In all, 694 people (312 men and 382 women) participated in the research. The women ranged from ages 18 to 78; the men were from 21 to 80 years old. There were 276 married couples, 106 single women, and 36 single men. The married couples engaged in intercourse and manual and oral stimulation of the genitals. The unmarried people participated in studies that did not require intercourse, such as measurement of female sexual arousal in response to insertion of a penis - shaped probe, and male e jaculation during masturbation. Direct laboratory observation of biological processes was not invented by Masters and Johnson, but they were confronting a society that was still unprepared to speak openly of sex . Masters and Johnson were a ccused of immorality and voyeurism. Nevertheless, their methods offered the first reliable set of data on what happens to the body during sexual response. Their instruments — the penile strain gauge and the vaginal plethysmograph — permitted them to directly measure vasocongestion (blood flow to the genitals), myotonia (muscle tension), and other physiological responses. One confounding factor in Masters and Johnson’s research is that people who participate in laboratory observation know that they are being observed and that their responses are being measured.

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    Updated April 2018 20 Researchers have since developed more sophisticated physiological methods of measuring sexual arousal and response. ▪ What Does a Woman Want? Using Objective and Subjective Measures to Find Out • Research using a variety of methods suggests that men’s sexual responses are more predictable, and that what goes on in men’s bodies is more likely to correlate with what they are thinking . . Meredith Chivers and her colleagues showed erotic videos to men and women, both heterosexual and homosexual; the videos showed male – female sex, male – male sex, female – female sex, a man masturbating, a woman masturbating, a muscled man walking nude on a beach, and a well - toned nude woman doing calisthenics. The subjects watched on recliners while Chivers measured their arousal objectively and subjectively. The objective measures were made possible by plethysmographs connected to the viewers’ genitals. Men wore an apparatus on the penis that gauged its swelling (that is, erection). Women inserted a tampon - shaped probe in the vagina that bounced light off the vaginal walls, providing a gauge of genital blood flow. In men, genital engorgement with blood produces erection. In women, it spurs lubrication — the seeping of moisture through the vaginal walls. The participants could rate their subjective feelings of arousal with a keypad. Self - labeled heterosexual (“straight”) men achieved erection while watching male – female or female – female sex, and while gazing at the masturbating and the exercising women. They were generally unresponsive when they watched a man masturbating or male – male sex. Gay males showed the opposite pattern of sexual arousal. For both straight and gay males, the subjective ratings matched the numbers provided by the plethysmograph. The men’s subjective rating were congruent with their body’s responses. Not so with the women. Regardless of whether the women labeled themselves as heterosexual or lesbian, they responded with genital arousal when they viewed male – male sex, female – female sex, and male – female sex. Their genitals were more responsive to the exercising woman than the nude man. However, their self - reported arousal did not particularly match their body’s responses. Chivers suggests that women are genitally aroused by a wider range of stimuli than men because these differences might reflect innate, e volutionary forces. In the Chivers studies, both heterosexual and lesbian women showed greater sexual arousal in response to stimuli depicting female targets than to stimuli showing male targets. One possibility is that the women observers identify with the depicted female targets, imagining themselves in the place of the women receiving pleasure, whereas the men are more likely to attend to the physical attributes of the actors. Sexologist Lisa Diamond suggests that the

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    Updated April 2018 21 response of women to a wider range of sexual stimuli allows for quite a bit of plasticity in sexual response. o Describe the correlational method. ▪ The correlational method describes the relationship between variables in numerical terms, and as positive or negative. A correlation is a statistical measure of the relationship between two variables. In correlational studies, two or more variables are related, or linked to, one another by statistical means. The strength and direction (positive or negative) of the relationship between any two variables is expressed with a statistic called a correlation o Explain how experiments seek to determine cause and effect. ▪ The best method for studying cause and effect is the experiment. Experiments permit scientists to draw conclusions about cause - and - effect relationships because the experimenter directly manipulates the variables of interest and observes their effects. In an experiment on the effects of alcohol on sexual arousal a group of participants would receive an intervention, called a treatment, such as a dose of alcohol. The participants would then be carefully observed to learn whether this treatment made a difference in their behavior — in this case, their sexual arousal. In an experiment, the variables (treatments) that are hypothesized to have a causal effect are manipulated or controlled by the researcher. The measured results are called dependent variables because changes in their values are believed to depend on the independent variable or variables. Dependent variables are outcomes; they are observed and measured by the researchers, but not manipulated. ▪ Experimental and Control Groups • True experiments randomly assign subjects to experimental and control groups. Subjects in experimental groups receive the treatment. Subjects in control groups do not. All other conditions are held constant for both groups. By using random assignment and holding other conditions constant, researchers can be reasonably confident that the independent variable (treatment), and not extraneous factors (such as the temperature of the room in which the treatment was administered or differences between subjects in the experimental and control groups), brought about the results. Although scientists agree that the experimental method provides the best evidence of cause and effect, experimenters cannot manipulate many variables d irectly. Societal prohibitions and ethical standards preclude experimenters from exposing children or adolescents to erotic materials. • Ethics in Research on Human Sexuality o Describe the ethical concerns that govern the ways in which professionals interact with research participants and clients in treatment. ▪ Sex researchers are required to protect the people being studied. People cannot be subjected to physical or psychological harm and must participate of their own free w ill. In colleges, universities, hospitals, and research institutions, ethics review committees help researchers weigh the

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    Updated April 2018 22 potential harm of proposed studies in light of ethical guidelines. If the committee finds fault with a proposal, it may advise the researcher how to modify the research design to comply with ethical standards and withhold approval until the proposal has been modified. What kinds of ethical issues are raised concerning sex research? • Exposing participants to harm. Individuals may be harmed if they are exposed to pain or placed in stressful situations. Nor would researchers expose children to erotic materials to determine their effects. • Confidentiality. Sex researchers keep the identities and responses of participants confidential to protect them from possible harm or embarrassment. • Informed consent. The principle of informed consent requires that people freely agree to participate after being given enough information about the procedures and purposes of the research, and its risks and benefits, to make an informed decision. Once the study has begun, participants must be free to withdraw at any time without penalty. • The use of deception. Ethical conflicts may emerge when experiments require that participants not know all about the experiment’s purposes and methods . Chapter Summary The chapter begins by discussing the need for studying human sexuality as opposed to learning about it just by experience. The breadth of information provided will permit the student to understand the psychological, biological, and sociological aspects of this fascinating behavior. Sexual behavior is defined as physical activities that involve the body in the expression of erotic or affectionate feelings. The study of human sexuality is interdisciplinary. While information regarding sexual behavior may come from many sources, individuals must consider their personal values in making sexual choices. The authors then describe different value systems used in making various choices. The importance and basic principles of critical thinking are presented. The authors then present the historical, biological, evolutionary, cross - species, psychological, sociological, feminist, and queer theory perspectives on human sexuality. The historical approach provides an understanding how the societal context determines values, beliefs, and accepted behaviors. It also implies that our ancestors have shaped our own values and beliefs. Issues such as bisexuality, homosexuality, pederasty, and gender roles are described in light of the social and political context of these different societies. The section ends with a brief introduction to the pioneers of the scientific study of human sexuality. The biological perspective informs us of the mechanics of reproduction, including the nervous, endocrine, and circulatory systems, as well as genetic influences. The evolutionary perspective, which states that current behaviors are driven by evolutionary forces, is explained. From this perspective, sexual behavior is interwoven with reproductive success. Males tend to be more promiscuous because their reproductive success is related to the number of women they can impregnate. Women’s reproductive success, since they can produce only a few offspring in their lifetime, is related to mating with the fittest males. The cross - species perspective provides the opportunity to take a

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    Updated April 2018 23 critical look at certain “myths” related to what is considered “natural” in sexual behavior. It also points out to the fact that as we climb the “evolutionary ladder,” psychosocial factors start acquiring a greater relevance in determining the occurrence and “quality” of the response. Psychological perspectives include psychoanalysis, which focuses on the hypothesized inner conflicts between sexual drives and social constraints, and learning theories that emphasize the reciprocal determinism of person, behavior, and environment. The sociological perspective asserts that social factors such as socioeconomic status and gender will affect our sexual values, beliefs, and behaviors. The focus of feminist theory is often on forms of prejudice, such as sexism or racism, due to majority versus minority relationships. Feminist theory also concentrates on ways to resist oppression. Finally, queer theory challenges the dichotomous assumptions about sexuality and gender, noting that there is more variability in our sexual interests and gender identities. The second half of the chapter states the need for an empirical approach to the study of human sexuality. This systematic way of gathering evidence is provided by the scientific method. The different steps in the method are then described: formulating a question, formulating a hypothesis, testing the hypothesis, and drawing conclusions. The goals of science — description, explanation, prediction , and control — are then presented as they apply to the study of human sexual behavior. The authors caution not to confuse description with inference and then introduce the concepts of variables, correlation, and theories. Ethical issues are discussed in light of the concept of control. The use of operational definitions is essential to the scientific method and is relevant in our ability to compare and generalize from one study to another. The different definitions of sexual arousal are used to illustrate the point. Because of the impracticality of studying all the members of a population of interest (a target population), researchers try to select a representative sample. Probability sampling (random and stratified random) and convenience samples are the methods most frequently used. The issue of volunteer bias is discussed. Different observation methods, their advantages and limitations are described. The case - study method, an in - depth observation of individuals or small groups, is frequently used in the report of innovative treatment approaches. Survey methods employ interviews or questionnaires to gather data. The most relevant surveys on sex research are introduced to discuss issues of sampling. The section ends with a discussion on the limitations of survey methods. Naturalistic observations (field studies) are described and their ethical implications are pointed out. The ethnographic approach is limited because of the usually private nature of sexual behavior. The participant - observation method requires a direct interaction between the researchers and the participants of the study; a controversial study on “spouse swapping” was conducted using this method. The laboratory - observation method is illustrated in reference to the work of Masters and Johnson, who observe participants as they engage in different sexual activities. A correlation describes the association between variables. Although useful in predicting behavior, correlations do not provide proof of causal relationships. This can be achieved only through the experimental approach. The different aspects of the experimental method (independent and dependent variables, experimental and control groups, and random assignment) and its limitations (artificiality and practical and ethical concerns) are presented. The chapter concludes with a discussion of ethical issues in research. Benefits exceeding harm, confidentiality, informed concern, and the use of deception are discussed.

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    Updated April 2018 24 Lecture Launchers Lecture Launcher 1.1: Introductory Topics Activity and Creating a Good Learning Space This is a good activity to do on the first day of class. Ask students to get a piece of paper and pen/pencil and make a list of sexual topics that they think might be covered during the entire course. Eac h student makes their own list. • Ask them to shout out their topics. You can list each topic on the board or have students write them up. Note the degree to which students use the word “sex” or “sexual” (e.g., do they say “dysfunctions” or “sexual dysfunctions”). Note any topics that students might be forgetting — or topics/words that they might be avoiding. • There might be laughter in the beginning of this activity, although this will taper off and by the end there shouldn’t be much laughter. • After you have a good list, ask students to openly indicate what emotions might arise when discussing these topics. List these emotions on the board in a new color. Consider having students tie each emotion to a topic (e.g., “A person might experience anxiety when discussing which topic?”). • As a group, analyze the emotions listed. Some common themes are that most of the feelings are “negative.” Discuss the meaning behind this. Also, note that two people can have different emotional responses to the same topic. • Explain to class how this can make teaching a class in human sexuality challenging. Ask them to make a list of rules that everyone in class can follow to create a good learning space (e.g., what can be done to make the class a safe place where people can make comments and ask questions openly). An alternative to this lecture launcher is to ask students to get in teams and to brainstorm terms that relate to sexuality. They can list terms for anatomy, activities, names that people are called, etc. State that you know that some of the words may be considered profanity and that is fine. Some words may be nicknames or slang. Just as with the list above, there will likely be discomfort and laughter. Once the teams have completed writing down their terms, ask the teams to take turns sharing the words that they generated. Each group should cross out a term if another team listed it. At the end of the exercise, you want to see what terms were unique to the teams and see if any teams used or accurate terms for anatomy. Ask why people tend to use slang instead of the technical terms. Lecture Launcher 1. 2 : Value Clarification Exercise This is another activity that is good for the first day of class. Psychologists use value clarification exercises to assist people with goal setting and decision - making. Specifically, the more clear students are about what values and roles are core to their identity , the more they can evaluate the decisions they make about sexuality. Present the following list (or have students generate their own) to identify their top five values and roles: • Being a good student • Loyalty • Respectability

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    Updated April 2018 25 • Discipline • Being a good parent, friend, daughter, son, etc. • Responsibility • Social consciousness • Being a good Christian, Jew, Muslim, etc. • Success • Independence • Vitality • Integrity • Being a good community member/responsible citizen • Health consciousness • Spirituality Once students have identified their top five values and/or roles, use the following discussion questions: • How do these values and roles impact the sexual decisions you make? • What values are compatible with your sexual decisions? What values conflict? How do you understand the discrepancies? • What changes would you have to make to align your sexual decisions with your core values? • How may your beliefs have to adjust to be consistent with your behavior? Lecture Launcher 1. 3 : Critical Thinking Activity Have your students use their critical thinking skills to evaluate the following statements: “Rap music causes adolescents to engage in sexual activity.” “Young adults are having sex more often today than 10 years ago.” “Having a threesome is a common sexual fantasy among males.” “You can have oral sex without losing your virginity.” Questions to ask: • What value assumptions held by the author underlie this argument? • What fallacies in reasoning have you found? • Who is making this statement? • What assumptions are being made in each statement? • What evidence would be needed to support this statement? • How is “sex” being defined? • What ambiguous terms do you find? What terms need to be further defined? • Does each statement reflect an oversimplification or overgeneralization? Lecture Launcher 1. 4 : Discussion on Changing Sexual Attitudes Discuss how various aspects of sexuality have changed over time. What important changes have occurred in your students’ lifetimes (i.e., the past 20 years) and what are some of the factors that might have led to these changes? Some questions to consider: • Over the past 20 years, is there more or less sex portrayed on television? In the movies? Give examples.

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    Updated April 2018 26 • How have society’s views on sexuality changed with regard to age? Gender? Orientation? • What events have led to changes in the way issues related to sexuality are viewed? Why did these events cause these changes? Lecture Launcher 1. 5 : Discussion of the Evolutionary Psychology Perspective • Map out differences in male and female reproductive strategy for both long - term mating and for short - term mating encounters. • Discuss the study by Townshend and Levy* on the effects of status and attractiveness on female willingness to engage in romantic relationships as an example. • Discuss sociobiological explanations for the following phenomena: o The different acceptance of promiscuity in males and in females o The acceptability of relationships in which the man is much older than the woman, but not the other way around o Women wearing makeup Lecture Launcher 1. 6 : Populations and Samples Consider your classroom population. • How closely does your classroom form a representative sample of the population of the United States? • In what ways does your classroom population conform to a stratified sample? • If a survey of sexual attitudes were given to your class, how would these results compare to a more representative sample? • How closely does your college or university form a representative sample of the population of the United States? • Revisit the aforementioned questions with respect to the college or university. Lecture Launcher 1. 7 : Discussion of Different Methods of Observation Students are given a particular question about sexual behavior , for instance, the incidence of homosexuality in the United States. Split the class into groups. Each group will discuss how they would investigate the question by using one of the following observational methods: • Case studies • Surveys • Participant - observant method • Laboratory - observation method Each group is to present to the rest of the class the design of their study and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each method of observation. In your discussion, remind students to consider such aspects as veracity, volunteer bias, sample size or representation, assumptions and definition of terms, control groups, and observer effect. One problem with determining the veracity when interviewing subjects is that many people tell researchers what they think he or she wants to hear. As an alternative, have students focus on the research of Katherine Frank. What are the strengths and weaknesses to Katherine Frank’s method of studying strip clubs? What biases might be

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    Updated April 2018 27 operating in this research? How might her questions to participants be different if she had a background in clinical psychology as opposed to anthropology? Challenge students to design the same study using other methods of observation. Lecture Launcher 1. 8 : Analysis of Sexual Research Compare and discuss the research method used by Sigmund Freud, Masters and Johnson, Alfred Kinsey, and Margaret Mead. Analyze the pros and cons of each method of investigation. For each researcher, redesign their research using another method of observation. Discuss how this might have altered their results. What were their respective views on human sexuality? What were their contributions to our understanding of sexuality? How were their findings different from previous views on sex? How do they compare to societal views on sex today? In addition to or instead of this discussion, this activity can also be used to analyze the work of more recent sex researchers. What are the pros and cons of the National Health and Social Life Survey as well as the National Survey of Family Growth projects? Online Discussion Topics Discussion Starter 1.1: Sexual Attitudes Ask your students to reflect on their own values, attitudes, and experiences related to sex. Discussion questions: • What are the top three things in your life that have most influenced your viewpoints (some things to consider: religion, friends, family, age, hometown, TV and movies, etc.)? • How would you describe your values and attitudes toward sexuality? • Do you have any prejudices regarding sexuality? Why do you feel you have these? • What do you think of how the media portrays sexuality? What do you think of the messages religious or government institutions send about sexuality? • Would you be able to stay friends with someone who held very different values related to sexuality? Why or why not? Discussion Starter 1.2: Value Discussion What are examples of ways that these values and roles can impact sexual decisions? What are some examples of common conflicts that people may experience between their apparent values and sexual attitudes and behavior? How do you understand the discrepancies? What do people experience when their behavior is in conflict with their purported values? What makes it difficult to align values to behavior? Student Activities Student Activity 1.1: How Much Do You Know About Sex? Distribute copies of this 18 - item questionnaire used by the Roper Organization and the Kinsey Institute in a nationwide survey of “sexual literacy.” The questionnaire, scoring key, and national comparisons are included below. The Kinsey Institute/Roper Organization National Sex Knowledge Test

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    Updated April 2018 28 How much do you know about sex? A recent survey conducted by the Kinsey Institute and the Roper Organization gave Americans poor marks in general. This nationwide survey, which polled a cross section of 1,974 adults on 18 questions concerning sex and reproduction, represented the first national effort to assess the sexual knowledge of people in the United States (Reinisch, 1990) 1 . The questions tapped knowledge about such topics as sexual physiology, contraceptives, American sexual practices, and reproductive biology. The answers to questions about sexual practices were based on research conducted by the Kinsey Institute over the past two generations. How did Americans fare on the national sex test? Less than half (45%) of the respondents received “passing grades” of 10 or more correct (out of 18). Fewer than one in five were able to answer 12 correctly. To be fair, some of the questions test familiarity with the results of sex surveys rather than general knowledge about human sexuality. Some questions, for example, asked for the percentage of Americans who have had extramarital affairs, homosexual encounters, or engaged in anal intercourse. Other questions asked about the average age of first intercourse and the length of the average man’s erect penis. Still, our society needs to do a better job educating the public about sex. We need to know more if we are to deal effectively with social problems like preventing teenage pregnancy and AIDS. You may evaluate your own knowledge by completing the 18 - item Kinsey Institute/Roper Organization National Sex Knowledge Test. Then you can compare your results to those of the nationwide sample. An alternative activity would be to ask students to analyze the questionnaire critically and replace those items that are considered “unfair” with new ones that would really measure knowledge of human sexuality. The same activity can be repeated at the end of the semester to determine whether students change these items.

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