Unit 2 - Research Methods and Theoretical Perspectives Flashcards
Do men really think about sex more than women?
- YES
- On average, between 1-388 times / day
- For women: 1-140
What’s up with our primal inclination toward novelty and lust being in direct contrast with societal inclination toward monogamy?
Self-Expansion. People want to expand their experiences and extend their identities (explains why we enter relationships)
What will cause a LTR to be successful?
expands both people’s identities (not when identity is lost); relationships stagnate when expansion stops (infidelity?)
3 ways to keep a healthy/successful relationship?
- Maintain your own interests
- Do new things together that expand yourselves!
- Couples are more satisfied/happy with each other have more new experiences together
4 goals of sex research?
- Provide basic knowledge about sex
- Understanding to influence behaviour (Risk factors for sexual offenders to prevent sexual abuse, factors influencing satisfaction to help couples be more sexually satisfied)
- Understanding to inform public policy (Sex ed, abortion, contraceptive, sex work, pornography can be used to inform laws/policy)
- Provides facts that inform personal decisions/opinions
What can help reduce stress/risks in sex research? (4)
- Confidentiality / anonymity, and cost-benefit analysis
- Researchers must minimize physical and psychological stress on participants
- Informed consent
- Debriefing
Explain tuskegee study
- Untreated syphilis
- 1932-1972
- Done by US government on 399 lower class African men to observe progression of untreated syphilis
- P’s did not give consent, weren’t given treatment they were promised, offered coercive incentives, denied access to treatment
Problems with self-report survey
- People not always truthful
- Purposeful distortion, social desirability
- Ability to estimate is not well
- Faulty memory
- Interpreting the question
6.
Problems with self-report survey
- People not always truthful
- Purposeful distortion, social desirability
- Ability to estimate is not well
- Faulty memory
- Interpreting the question
- Cross-sectional
NHSLS???
national health and social life survey (1994) national american survey
NSSHB
national survey of sexual health and behaviour (most recent) 2009-2018
-50% response rate :(
Drawbacks of qualitative research (4)
- Less Ps
- Intensive investigation of small group of individuals
- Interviews time consuming
- Problems coding
Pros of qualitative research
Helpful for understanding complex, nuanced questions
- Eg: specific questions about orgasms; subjective experiences & cannot be quantified (McGill) (Found intensity of orgasms was determined by psychological factors ~ could not be determined by quantitative methods)
How does eye tracking in sex research work?
Informs us of what people find erotic / sexually attractive / interesting
- tracks where people look when viewing stimuli
What does eye tracking tell us about sexuality?
- Heterosexual = look at opposite sex longer
- Bisexual = look at both sexes equally
