Ch. 2 Studying Human Sexuality Flashcards
Why is it hard to study sex?
- Hard for researchers to be objective
- Value judgements are frequently made
- Biases
- Stereotypes
Egocentric
Mistaken belief that our own personal experience and values are generally help by others
Ethnocentric
Belief that our own ethnic group, nation or culture is innately superior to others
Concerns about sex research
- ethical issues
- Sampling
Types of sex research
- Clinical
- Survey
- Observational
- Experimental
Clinical research limitations
focus on pathological behavior
Survey Research Limitation
self-reporting
Observational research Limitations
Observer affects participant behavior
Experimental Research Limitations
Measurement tools
Sex Researcher: Anton van Leeuwenhoek
discovered sperm
Sex Researcher: Sigmund Freud
“Theoretical Perspectives on Sexuality”
Sex Researcher: Henry Havelock Ellis
Studies in the Psychology of Sex
Sex Researcher: Richard von Krafft-Ebing
Psychopathia Sexualis
○ Sadism, masochism and pedophilia
Sex Researcher: Magnus Hirschfeld
first sex research institute
○ Coined the term transvestite
Sex Researcher: Masters and Johnson
sexual disorders and sexual response
Freud: Psychoanalytic Theory
Libido and death are the main drivers of human behavior
Id
present at birth, basic personality, irrational
Ego
reality principle – realistic, rational interactions with others
Superego
conscience, values & ideas, inhibits impulses and strives for moral goods
Erogenous zones: focused libido
○ Lips and mouth
○ Genitals
○ Anus/rectum
Stages of Psychosexual Development
○ 0-1 yo: oral stage
○ 1-3 yo: anal stage
○ 3-6 yo: phallic stage (masturbation)
Opedius complex, penis envy, and castration anxiety. (?) Electra complex
○ Latency period
○ Puberty: genital stage
Alfred Kinsey
- Unmasked previously “deviant” sexual behaviors as very common
- Re-evaluated masturbation
- Developed the Heterosexual- Homosexual Rating scale
Masters and Johnson
○ Males and females are very similar
○ Women experience orgasm primarily through clitoral stimulation
○ Sexual problems were not the result of underlying neuroses or personality disorders
Themes of Modern Sexual Research
- Sexual expression is essential to an individual’s well-being
- Seek to broaden the range of legitimate sexual activity
- Believe female sexuality is the equal of male sexuality
Feminism
a movement that involves women and men working together for equality
