Exam 01 2017-09-18 Flashcards
Defining Human Sexuality
(in-class 8/28)
- times have changed
- not just penile-vaginal sex
- now more varied: behaviors, purposes
Psychology of Human Sexuality
(in-class 8/28) - scientific study of thoughts and behaviors that produce arousal and increase the chance of orgasm
Sex-positivity (from in-class 8/30)
(in-class 8/30)
- inclusive definitions of gender, sexual orientation, sexual behavior
- consider (+) and (-) consequences of sex
- provide information, tools to optimize sexual health, sexual, romantic relationships
- monogamy, marriage aren’t universal goals
- respect differences of opinions about sex
Sex-positivity (from Williams, et al., 2013)
(Williams et al. 1)
- sex positive approach means being open, communicative, and accepting of individual’s differences
- allow for wide range of sexual expression that considers sexual identities, orientations, and behaviors; gender presentation; accessible health care and education; multiple important dimensions of human diversity
biases in research on human sexuality
(in-class 8/30)
- focus on heterosexual monogamous sex
- largely binary views of gender
- pathology, stigma associated with many sexual variations
Sexual orientation terminology
(Yarber & Sayad, 16)
- sexual orientation: pattern of sexual and emotional attraction based on the gender of one’s partner
(in-class 8/30)
Considered affirmative (APA)
- gay, lesbian, bisexual, same-gender couple, same-sex couple, pansexual, asexual,
Proceed with caution (only if someone has used it themself)
- queer
gender identity terminology
(in-class 8/30) Considered affirmative (APA) - cisgender, trans, transgender Proceed with caution (only if someone has used it themself) - queer, genderqueer, transsexual
Cross-cultural and historical perspectives on sexuality
(Yarber & Sayad, 14-24)
- can be “natural in one culture and “unnatrual” in another
- some cultures very sexual, and then not; some cultures only sex for procreation; many differences based on gender (women needing to control men’s sexual desires, women having to sexual desires);
(Williams, et al.)
- sex-positive approach
- lots of social injustice and oppression towards LGB people
(In-class 8/30)
Leonore Tiefer’s 5 Normality Types
(Yarber & Sayad, 20) (in-class 8/30)
1) Subjective - “are they the same as me because I’m normal?”
2) Statistical - common = normal; uncommon = abnormal; cut-off numbers change
3) Idealistic - fit ideal of perfect person?
4) Cultural - is it considered deviant or not in your culture?
5) clinical - healthy = normal; unhealthy = abnormal
Anal Sex (Myth #18) (in-class 8/30 group discussion)
(Schwartz & Kempner, 103-107)
- 5% heterosexual women found anal sex to be “very appealing” or somewhat appealing” (S&K, 103)
- another study: many )72%) experimented, and some (23%) regularly engaged (S&K, 103)
- connotation of gay men, but small amount (1-1.5%) regularly engage in anal sex (S&K, 105)
- virginity can be a motive for women where virginity is prized/required (not enough data to be conclusive); few data show young people have anal sex to “preserve virginity,” and few engage in anal sex before vaginal sex (S&K, 106)
- many (47%) women engaged seeking pleasure, but many found it not pleasurable (coercion, violence, roughness may have occurred) (S&K, 107)
controversy with civility
(in-class 8/30)
- learn from good discomfort
- be brave
- minimize bad discomfort
- don’t dehumanize people
- impact and intent both matter
- challenge what’s been said, not the person; challenge without blame or shame
construct validity
(in-class 9/4)
- abstract psychological phenomenon
- inferred from observable behavior
EX: love, attraction, engagement
– need to be specific in how you’re going to measure (unlike a ruler)
- did the authors measure or manipulate ~all facets of the concept~ that they claim to be measuring or manipulating?
- can’t measure directly
internal validity
(in-class 9/4)
- all about causation
- allows researchers to state that they’ve identified causal associations
- was the IV the sole cause of changes in the DV
EX:
- high: well controlled experiment (ideally with random assignment)
- medium: correlational study with statistical controls
- low: did not rule out potential third-variable explanations
external validity
(in-class 9/4) - ~generalizablilty~ to population of interest (not always everyone) - are the results true for other: participants? settings? times? EX: - high: large, random selection of participants from population of interest; procedure similar to situation of interest - low: small convenience sample with major differences from population of interest; procedure different form situation of interest
Three components of a well-controlled Experiment
(in-class 9/4)
1) manipulation of the IV
2) random assignment
3) measure of DV
Sexology research methods
(in-class Kinsey discussion 9/6) (Lehemiller, 32-42) - Survey - Direct observation - case report - experiment
Self report
(Greenberg, 38)
- most sexual research is self report, which isn’t always accurate
Social desirability responding
(Lehemiller, 35)
- participants presenting themselves in what they think is the most favorable way
Survey methods and limitations
(Lehemiller, 35)
Survey
- simply asked to report sexual experience
Limitations:
- non-response: choosing not to participate
- social desirability
direct observation and limitations
(Lehemiller, 38)
Direct observation
- researchers watch participants and record behaviors
Limitations
- hard/difficult to film for sexologist research
- reactivity: people act differently when they know they’re being observed
Strengths
- eliminate response bias, can be filmed
Sample selection
(Lehmiller, 32)
- find target population first, then chose sample
Convenience sample and importance
(Lehmiller, 33)
- participants who are most readily accessible for research purpose(s)
- quick and easy study, but not always representative of a whole population
Random selection and importance
(Lehmiller, 33)
- finding all of target population, then randomly selecting/contacting a subset to participate
- important for high internal validity and high external validity
Mean
- average
- - not always fully representative based on if there’s an outlier
Median
- middle number of data
- - helps to understand the mean better
ethics
(Greenberg, 37)
- sexuality research is intimate
- informed consent required: what, risks, etc.
- approved by IRB
