Module 38 - Sexual Motivation and the Need to Belong Flashcards
Sexual Response Cycle (4 stages)
- Excitement
- Plateau
- Orgasm
- Resolution
Excitement
Blood pressure and heart rate begin to rise; increase blood flow to sex organs (sympathetic)
Plateau
Increase respiratory and heart rate; orgasm immanent
Orgasm
Muscle contractions throughout body; in female, increases chances of conception (position uterus to draw sperm inward); subjective experience of men and women reported as same (parasympathetic)
Resolution
Male refractory phase (not as long for women)
Hormones and Sexual Behaviour - Direct
Physical development of male and female physical sex characteristics (brain circuits)
Activate Sexual Behaviours (in animals)
Female: rodents receptivity coincides with ovulation; timed injections of progesterone and estrogen induce sexual receptivity
Male: testosterone levels are more constant; castration leads to gradual loss of interest in receptive females
Human Sexual Behaviours
Hormones not a powerful an influence; increase sex drive in women around ovulation
Psychology of Sex
- if you don’t have you won’t die
- sex is not a need
- sexual motivation greatly influenced by external factors
1. exposeure to erotic material(arousal in men/women)
2. Harmful Effects
3. Imagination
Harmful Effects
Devalues one’s own relationship; dissatisfaction with partner, partner viewed as less attractive
Imagination
Sexual desire arises arises in the brain; spinal cord injury (no genital sensation) still report sexual desires; during REM experience genital arousal in men
Sexual Attraction
- 97% attracted to opposite sex
- gay is in animals as well
Fraternal Birth - Order Effect
- increase it of homosexuality in men with older brothers, only in right handed men
- may be caused by mothers change in immune system in response in uterus (biological theory)
LeVay (The Brain and Sexual Orientation)
- examined post-mortem brains of homo’s men and heterosexual men and women
- hypothalamus area was larger in heterosexual men than homo men and women
Genes and Sexual Orientation
- homo’s run in families
- male identical twins are more similar than females
- homo is more likely to occur on mom’s side of fan
- more likely to have more children
Taken Together (Genes and Sexual Orientation)
Genes in mother that make them strongly attracted to men may be passed on to males and nephews (creating attraction to men)
Fruit Flies
Single genes changes orientation of male from pursuing females to males
Prenatal Hormones
- increase number’s in fraternal twins and identical suggest pre-natal effect (common womb environment)
- testosterone injections during fetal development increase male like behaviour in female sheep
- stress hormones also possible
- several characteristics of homosexual men and women are intermediate to typical male and female pattern
Sex and Human Values
- importance of intimacy and sex
- sex is a socially significant act
- ppl report greater satisfaction after intercourse and orgasm with their loved one
- sexual motivation involves a yearning for closeness with another
- sex at its human best is life - uniting and love renewing
Aiding Survival
People with close social support are;
- happier
- healthier
- low risks for disorders and premature death
Wanting to Belong
- most people spend much time thinking about actual or hoped relationships
- we strive for acceptance and inclusion (don’t like rejection)
- self-esteem is enhanced when we feel valued and accepted
Sustaining Relationships
- naturally form relationships with people we meet
- feel the need to contact people when a part
- strong attachments can even keep people in an abusive relationship
- people suffer, even after bad relationships are broken
- negative emotions; anxiety, guilt, jealousy, emptiness follow broken relationship
Social Exclusion
Used throughout history to punish
- in many form; ignore, snub, talk behind back, exile, imprisonment, solitary confinement
- threatens your need to belong
- leads to depression, attempts to restore acceptance, then withdrawal
