LECTURE Flashcards
Vasey (instructor) research uses __
triangulate: different methods for same hypothesis
what is sexual attraction
what is receptivity
what is proceoptivity
increased sexual interest in a target
willingness to engage in sexual activity
active solicitation of sexual activity
the subjective perspective on sexual orientation rejects __ and rejects __
idea of objective knowledge (truth) is attainable thus anti-empirical and anti-radical (e.g., Queer Theory)
psychological and behavioural sex differences/orientation have any biological component
the subjective perspective holds all psychological and behavioural differences are social constructs thus is intersubjective thus __
knowledge always restricted to culturally and historically specific intersubjectives (limited to emic vs etic viewpoint)
-emic=perspective of insider
-etic=perspective of outsider
what is queer theory
variant of social constructionism, which claims special expertise in relation to sex differences and sexual orientation
-seeks to subvert whatever is deemed “normal”
-political strategy
as social constructs, sexuality is infinite, unstable and arbitrary thus __
any universal categories we create to characterize sexuality is illusory (e.g., male typical vs female typical)
cannot meaningfully compare culturally and historically specific intersubjectivies thus __
are equally valid (cultural relativism)
those with socio-political power controls __
what counts as knowledge and truth (episteme)
-“power knowledge”, which relates to Queer theory
what is the goal of Queer Theory
push “queer” political agenda by disrupting what counts as normative knowledge to create confusion (obfuscation)
-believe language policing will cause us to think and behave differently thus eliminating oppression caused by categories
what is the Euphemism Treadmill
offensive words replaced with non-offensive words
-e.g., homosexual replaced with gay
sexual orientation categories are __ characterized by __
objectively real (natural kinds)
objective characteristics (intrinsic properties)
-will emerge regardless of subjective beliefs and historical/cultural context
sexual development begins with __
fusion of two anisogamous (unequal) gamates
gamates are __ sex cells meaning __
hapoid
they contain single set of 23 chromosomes
fusion of two gamates produces __, that develops into a new individual
these cells contain __
diploid cell (zygote)
46 chromosomes (23 pairs: 22 pairs of autosomes + 1 pair of sex chromosomes)
the developing XX and XY embryos have 3 characteristics, what are they
- one bipotential embryonic gonad
- one bipotential embryonic gential (genital ridge)
- two embryonic reproductive tracts (Mullerian duct system and Wolffian duct system)
Y chromosomes contain __ and at about 6 weeks post-conception, this triggers __
SRY gene
embryonic gonadal tissue to develop into testes
if the SRY gene is absent, __ direct embryonic gonadal tissue to develop into __
DAX-1
ovaries
developing embryonic testes produce __ and __
testosterone
mullerian inhibiting hormone (MIH)
at about 8 weeks post-conception, what four things can occur
- MIH causes mullerian duct system to regress
- T promotes development of Wolffian duct system into male reproductive tract
- in absence of T, wolffian duct system regresses
- in absence of MIH, mullerian duct system develops into female internal reproductive tract
during embryonic development, __ exists
this has two ridges of skin called the __ and these folds surround the __
single bipotential (homologous) protogenital
urethral folds (labia minor or shaft of penis)
urogenital sinus (urinary and genital tracts)
urethral folds meet anteriorly to form __
surround the urethral folds is __
genital tubercle (embryonic glans)
genital swelling (labia majora or scrotal sack)
what occurs around 10 weeks post-conception
testosterone causes fetal genital tissue to develop into male external genitalia (penis, scrotum)
in absence of T, fetal genital tissues develop into female external genitalia (clit, labial folds)
what are the two types of gamates produced by gonads
they are __, meaning they differ in size and function, explain
eggs and sperm
anisogamous (unequal)
eggs are large, nutrient rich and immobile whereas sperm are small, nutrient poor and mobile
in biological terms, how is sex defined
production of one type of gamete or the other thus sex refers to reproductive strategies
-strategies represent potentials that are not necessarily realized
females are sex defined by __ and males are sex defined by __
thus sex is __ by sex chromosomes
egg production which occurs in ovaries
sperm production which occurs in testes
determined (not defined)
structures that arise from organizational effects of gonads during development are __ but do not define sex
phenotypic markers that denote sex
-include gonads, internal reproductive tracts and genitals
primary markers that denote sex develop __
around 10-18, humans undergo __
in utero
secondary sexual development (puberty)
the second divergence in morphology evolved to __
enhance sexes ability to behaviourally enact one of two broad reporductive strategies:
1. be attractive (female evolutionary strategy)
2. be dominate (male evolutionary strategy)
not all species have a sex, give an example
prokaryotes
-unicelluar organisms lacking nuclei and mitochondria
some species have one sex, give an example
some species are simultaneously two sexes, give an example
some species are sequentially two sexes, give an example
no species has more than two sexes***
whiptail lizards (cloning)
corpse snail
clownfish
what is intersexuality sometimes referred to as
Disorders of Sexual Development (DSD)
how sex is conceptualized varies __
cross-culturally based on external morphological criteria
no change in how we choose to define sex is going to change fact that __
gamete production is an objective and binary biological/reproductive phenomenon, not a socially constructed one
intersex conditions are categorical, explain
relative to each other, they are not expressed as continuous gradient from male to female
-gamete production is completely dichotomous thus sex does not exist on continuum
what is the confirmation bias
tendency to search for, interpret, favor and recall information that confirms or supports one’s beliefs and values
what is motivated reasoning
tendency to make decisions that are desired (emotionally-motivated) rather than those that are evidence-based
what is gender
belief system used to construct categories based on concepts of masculinity and feminity
-anything can be “gendered” by attributing masculine or feminine characteristics to it
inter-subjective ideas about what counts as masculine or feminine vary __
across historical times and cultural space
when we gender bodies, we create __
give an example
gendered categories of personhood
a female who has masculine body is viewed as male
in many non-western cultures, gender is __
in these cultures __
conceptualized in non-binary manner
transgender, same-sex attracted individuals often identify and are identified by others as non-binary gender
what are gender role expectations
what is gender role enactment/presentation
culturally prescribed rules associated with how individuals that are perceived to occupy gender category of personhood should behave
constellation of masculine and feminine behaviours that individuals manifest
there are __ on average between males and females independent of any post-natal socialization that relates to gender role expectations
differences in personality, cognition and behaviour
some psycho-behavioural sex difference do not originate as result of gender role expectations, rather they __
however, their expression can be __
precede such socialization
influenced by those expectations
what is gynephilic
what is androphilic
what is ambiphilic
these are terms for sexual orientation __
sexual attraction to adult females
sexual attraction to adult males
sexual attraction to adults of both sexes
independent of one’s own sex
what is heterosexual
what is homosexual
what is bisexual
these are terms for sexual orientation __
attraction to opposite sex
attraction to same sex
attraction to both sexes
in relation to one’s own sex
what are four commonly employed indices of sexual orientation
sexual orientation is a __ when conceptualized as something that encompasses all four of these indices
- sexual identity (orientation)
- sexual behaviour
- sexual feelings (attractions/fantasies)
- sexual (physiological) arousal
social construct
what two measures are used for sexual feelings as an index of sexual orientation
Kinsley scale
self report (subjective)
what are two pitfalls involved in assessing sexual feelings
- people can lie
- people can unintentionally misreport sexual behaviour and feelings (confabulate)
-produce explanation but not one that accounts for real factors underlying one’s behaviour or psychology
some forms of love are probably closely linked to sexual orientation, what are they?
- infatuation (passion)
- romantic love (passion+intimacy)
- fatuous love (passion+commitment)
- consummate love (all three components)
many types of love do not include sexual feelings, what are they
- liking (intimacy)
- empty love (commitment)
- companionate love (intimacy+commitment)
another dimension of sexual orientation is location, explain
external: focusing on allosexual targets
internal: focusing on oneself
what is the measurement of male genital arousal discussed in lecture
penile plethysmograph
heterosexual male’s pattern of genital arousal and subjective sexual attraction in response to stimuli is __
sex specific
-sexual arousal dependent on sex of human stimulus
heterosexual men’s genital arousal and subjective sexual attraction are __
sexually concordant
-pattern whereby genital arousal and subjective sexual attraction match each other
homosexual men’s direction of genital arousal is toward men thus __
homosexual men exhibit pattern of genital arousal that is sex-specific thus __
sex a-typical
sex-typical
what is the sexual attraction rating
what is viewing time
*methods of samoan research
“how would you feel about having sex with person (image)”
1=very unpleasant
5=very pleasant
time between stimuli presentation and response to text prompt
through research, it was found that samoan males exhibit __ and __
sex specific attractiveness ratings and sex specific viewing time patterns
what is sexual orientation in men
maximum value along an erotic stimulus generalization gradient
-morphological distances
what is the measurement of sexual arousal for women (vaginal arousal)
vaginal photoplethysmograph
heterosexual women’s vaginal arousal and subjective sexual attraction are __
NOT sexually concordant
heterosexual women are vaginally aroused to __
non-preferred sexual activities
-e.g., sex violence no consent/consent
lesbians are __ sex specific (sexually concordant) than heterosexual women in terms of __
more
subjective sexual attraction
lesbians __ sex specific than heterosexual women in terms of vaginal arousal when shown __
more
low intensitiy sexual stimuli
lesbians and heterosexual women are both sexually non-concordant when __
shown higher sexual intensity stimuli
lesbian genital arousal shifted in __
male-typical direction
what are two important measures in eye-tracking experiments
- latency to first fixation (LFF) [automatic attention]
- total fixation duration (TFD) and total fixation count (TFC) [controlled attention]
LFF (latency to first fixation) is NOT sex specific in __ and __
LFF IS sex specific in __ and __
androphilic women/Kinsey 1
ambiphilic women and gynephilic women
in monosexual women, controlled attention is __
in ambiphilic women, controlled attention is __
sex specific
NOT sex specific
in all females, controlled attention is __ with self-reported sexual orientation in the TFD test
concordant
female sexual orienting toward stimuli appears to be __
less coupled to automatic physiological processes compared to male sexual orientation
-thus, greater cognitive component
greater cognitive control in sexual/reproductive realm may be adaptive for heterosexual women because __
they risk incurring relatively greater costs if they make poor sexual/reproductive decisions
across cultures and history, individuals who are attracted to same-sex adults are commonly __
they are distinguished by __
categorized into two groups
their presentation and behaviour
-include cisgender and transgender individuals
what is cisgender
person whose presentation and identity is relatively typical for their sex and corresponds to the gender they were assigned at birth
what is transgender
person whose presentation and identity is atypical for their sex and does NOT correspond to the gender that they were assigned at birth
many cultures categorize androphilic males into transgender and cisgender types, give an example
binary categorization of gynephilic females occurs outside the west, give an example
woubi and yossi
thai dee and tom
binary categorization of androphilic males occurred in ancient past, explain
two types of androphilic males (klibas) were recognized in ancient India (masculine and feminine)
binary categorization of gynephilic females have occurred since at least 19th century, explain
in critical arrows (1879), ulrich described how gynephilic females could be very masculine (Mannlingin) or very feminine (Weiblingin)
what is binary bias
treating gradients of information as binary
-intersubjectivity: binary categorization/social construction
what does Whitam (1987) claim
male homosexual and heterosexual tranvesitities (cross dressers) and transsexuals are “two seperate spectra, not one”
there are two types of male to female transgenders, what are they
- homosexual/androphilic
- heterosexual/gynephilic
what are the homosexual/androphilic transgender characteristics
extremely feminine in childhood (cross-dressing)
extremely feminine in adulthood
exclusively sexually attracted to men (homosexual/androphilic)
transition early in life
what are the heterosexual/gynephilic transgender characteristics
not feminine in childhood
sexually attracted to women (sometimes engage with men)
often marry/father children
sexually aroused to thought of themselves as women (autogynephilia)
fetish cross-dressing
transition later in life
cisgender androphilic “gay” man and androphilic transgender are considered __
androphilic transwoman and gynephilic transwoman are considered __
same natural kind
different natural kind
same-sex attracted individuals form two primary types of relationships, what are they
- homogendered
- heterogendered
homogendered sexual/romantic relationships involve __
two partners who share similar gender roles and gender identities
when partners in homogendered relationships are the same age, they often treat each other as __
most common expression of these relationships is __
social equals
-such relationships sometimes called egalitarian
between two cisgender males or two cisgender female
what are two examples of homogendered relationships that are uncommon
- two masculine/transgender gynephilic females
- two feminine/transgender androphilic males
what are heterogendered sexual/romantic relationships
partners who have different gender roles and gender identities and thus do not treat each other as social equals
transgender male androphiles and transgender female gynephiles typically form __
heterogendered relationships with cisgender, same-sex partners
the relationship between a “butch” and “femme” women could be characterized as _-
type of heterogendered relationship
what are age-graded relationships
when partners in homogendered relationships are age-graded, they sometimes __
two partners who differ in age by at least one generation (10 years)
do NOT treat each other as social equals
androphilic males prefer __
gynephilic females prefer __
masculinity
femininity
what are the two relationship formations by androphilic males
two men or man with transgender female (i.e., used to be male)
what are the two relationship formations by gynephilic females
two women or women with transgender male (i.e., used to be female)
