Sex research

Question 1

Sex research

Answer 1

Techniques of sex reseatch vary in terms of the following
- how sexuality is measured
- whether large numbers of people or small numbers of people are studied
- whether the studies are conducted in the laboratory or in the field
- whether the behavior is studies as it occurs or if there is more attemot to manipulate it

Question 2

Non-experimental studies

Answer 2

To describe people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in a systematic manner
- surveys
- behavioral measures
- case reporting
- implicut measures
- biological measures

Question 3

Self-reports

Answer 3

Self-reports are the most common method for measuring sexuality: participants are asked questions about sexual behaviors and attitudes
- paper questionnaires (Golombok-Rust Inventory of Sexual Satisfaction or International Index of Erectile Function)
- interviews
- online

Question 4

Kinsey reports

Answer 4

Based on thousands of interviews conducted in the US between 1938-1949: Sexual behavior in the Human Male and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female
- Masturbation, homosexuality, extramarital sex were more commen than expected (but sampling issues)

Question 5

Behavioral measures: eye-tracking

Answer 5

Participants wear an eye-tracking device that measures their point of gaze as they are shown pictures on a computer
- research question: Where do men look first?
- Photos of naked women were presented

Question 6

Implicit Measures

Answer 6

Implicit Association Test: measures individual’s strength of association between different pairs of concepts
- reaction time is measured in millisecond
- quick reaction when two concepts are strongly associated

Question 7

Direct observation
- Masters and Johnson

Answer 7

They pioneered the biological measurement of sexual response
- genital measures assess erection in males and vaginal changes in females
- observed how (wo)mens’s bodies respond to sexual stimulation in the lab
- after engeging in sexual activity, participants were interviewed
- nonrepresentative
- their research was controversial and deemed ‘pornographic’

Question 8

Biological measures

Answer 8

Genital measures: measure erection in males and vaginal changes in females
- penile strain gauge (penile circumference)
- Vaginal photoplethysmograph (vaginal blood volume)
- pupil dilation: arousal
- functional MRI: brain and neural activity (blood flow)

Question 9

Magnetic Resonance Imaging
- MRI

Answer 9

Looks at anatomy by using magnets to send and receive signals that give information while participants lie in the center of the magnet (scanner)
- provides good contrast between soft tissues of the body
- noninvasive

Question 10

Experimental studies

Answer 10

Researchers manipulate or change the independent variable to see its effects on the dependent variable
- cause-and-effect
- confounding: other factors change alongside the independent variable

Question 11

Qualitative methods

Answer 11

Research results conveyed in words as opposed to numbers
- interviews
- focus groups
- media content analysis
–> in general, methods used to generate hypotheses and small samples (data saturation), coding protocols, intercoder reliability

Question 12

Measuring gener and sexual orientation

Answer 12

• With understanding that there are more than two genders, the measurement of gender has become more complicated
• proposals for questionnaired include asking a series of two questions and also asked open-ended questions
• these same issues apply to the measurement of sexual orientation

Question 13

Sampling

Answer 13

1. Population is idenitfied
2. method for obtaining a sample is adopted
3. people iin the sample are contacted and asked to participate
   Population: a group of people a researcher wants to study and make inferences about
   Sample: a part of a population

Question 14

Random sample

Answer 14

Each member of the population has an equal chance of being included in the sample

Question 15

Probability sampling

Answer 15

Each member of the population has a known probability of being included in the sample

Question 16

Convenience sample

Answer 16

A sample chosen in a haphazard manner relative to the population of interest

Question 17

Snowball sampling

Answer 17

Existing participants suggest names of future participants to be recruited

Question 18

Problem of refusal or nonresponse

Answer 18

Some people will refuse to participate in a sex survey
- Volunteer bias: the bias that results because those who volunteer to participate may in some ways differ from those who refuse to participate

Question 19

Accuracy in sampling

Answer 19

Purpose distortion: intentionally giving self-reports that are distortions of reality
Memory: it is difficult to remember facts accurately
Difficulties with estimates: it is difficult to estimate time, especially when engaged in an absorbing activity

Question 20

Ethical issues

Answer 20

• Tearoom trade study
• Tuskegee Syphikis study
• Stanley Milgram’s study
• Stanford Prison Experimetn

Question 21

More ethical issues

Answer 21

1. protections from harm including anonymity
2. informed consent in which subjects make a conscious decision based on true nature of study
3. justice principle in which the risk and benefits of participation should be distributed fairly across groups in society
4. cost-benefit approach in which the cost of the research is weighted against the benefits of the research
5. freedom to withdraw
6. debriefing in which subjects are informed of the research purpose afterward; misconceptions corrected

Question 22

Ethics

Answer 22

system of moral principles; a way of determining right and wrong
- some people use moral in the same way
- refers to a system of principles established by some particular group

Question 23

Abortion - pro-life

Answer 23

• seen as part of an overal commitment to respect for life
• distinction between human life and human personhood is crucial for some

Question 24

Pro-choice positions

Answer 24

Absolute: pregnancy is solely the concern of a women
Modified: there may be many situations in which abortion is the least bad choice

Question 25

Homosexuality
– ethics

Answer 25

Rejectionist position opposes any sexual acts between persons of the same gender
- Modified rejectionist position: same-gender sexual orientation = morally neutral but rejecting same-gender sexual acts
- “Love the sinner but hate the sin.”
- At the other end of the spectrum is full acceptance
- Two issues continue to provoke the most debate:
* ordination (in Dutch: kerkelijke wijding)
* marriage