Variations in sexual behavior

Question 1

When is sexual behavior abnormal?

Answer 1

Terms like:
- sexual deviance
- perversion
- sexual variance
- paraphilia

Question 2

Statistical definition of abnormal sexual behavior

Answer 2

A sexual behavior that is rare or not practiced by many people

Question 3

Sociological approach of abnormal sexual behavior

Answer 3

Sexual behavior that violates the norms of the society

Question 4

Psychological approach of abnormal sexual behavior

Answer 4

Criteria include dysfunctional behavior, distress, highly deviant behavior, behavior that is dangerous to the self and others

Question 5

Medical approach of abnormal sexual behavior

Answer 5

DSM-5 includes 8 atypical sexual interests

Question 6

Paraphilia

Answer 6

Unusual, unconventional sexual behavior
- coercive and victimizing vs.
- noncoercive and nonvictimizing

Question 7

Paraphilic disorder

Answer 7

Paraphilia that causes the person distress or impairs their functioning, or causes harm to self or others

Question 8

The normal - abnormal continuum

Answer 8

• normal and abnormal sexual behavior are not two seperate categories but rather gradations on a continuum
• a mild, or even a strong preference for an object is within the normal range of sexual behavior but is abnormal if it becomes an extreme necessity

Question 9

Fetish as a necessity

Answer 9

When a sexual fetish becomes a necessity, it becomes abnormal

Question 10

Fetishism

Answer 10

Sexual fixation on some object other than another human being and attachment of great erotic significance to that object
- tend to develop early in life

Question 11

2 explanations for fetishdevelopment

Answer 11

• learning theory
• cognitive psychology
  (we are not sure what causes fetishes to develop)

Question 12

Learning theory for fetishes

Answer 12

A learned association is built between the fetish object and sexual arousal and orgasm

Question 13

Cognitive psychology for fetishes

Answer 13

A serious cognitive distortion; arousal may be caused by guilt and self-loathing

Question 14

Cross-dressing

Answer 14

Refers to dressing as a member of the other gender
- drag queens/kings
- female impersonators

Question 15

Drag queens/kings

Answer 15

(Wo)men who dress op as (wo)men

Question 16

Female impersonators

Answer 16

Men who dress as women, often as part of an entertainment job

Question 17

Transvestim

Answer 17

The practice of dressing as a member of the other gender to experience sexual arousal
- occasional cross-dressing is one of the harmless, victimless sexual variations
- problematic only when it is the person’s only source of erotic gratification or it becomes a compulsion that causes distress in other areas of the person’s life

Question 18

Transvestic disorder

Answer 18

A heterosexual man who dresses in female clothing to produce or enhance sexual arousal (almost exlusively a male sexual variation)
- may be often in private
- persists for at least 6 months
- clinically significant distress

Question 19

Sexual sadist

Answer 19

A person who derives sexual satisfaction from inflicting pain on another person
- Marquis de Sade

Question 20

Sexual masochist

Answer 20

A person who derives sexual satisfaction from experiencing pain
- Leopold von Sacher-Masoch

Question 21

Sadism and Masochism

Answer 21

Sadomasochism is a rare form of sexual behavior
- S-M behavior seems to be scripted
- hypermasculinity, administering and receiving, physical restriction, and humiliation

Question 22

Causes for sadism and masochism

Answer 22

Causes are not precisely known
- a child learns to associate pain with sexual arousal
- a desire to escape from self-awareness

Question 23

Voyeur

Answer 23

A person who becomes sexually aroused from viewing unsuspecting persons who are nude, undressing or having sex
- preference of strangers
- like the element of risk
- may or may not videotape it

Question 24

Exhibitionism

Answer 24

The person derives sexual pleasure from exposing his genitals to a nonconsenting person
- Goal: to produce shock or other strong emotional response (more common in men)
- cause may be linked to social skill deficits

Question 25

Hypersexuality

Answer 25

An excessive, insatiable sex drive
- leads to compulsive behavior; sexuality can overshadow all other concerns and interests
- one operational definition of hypersexuality suggests > 7 orgasms per week consistently for a min. of 6 months

Question 26

Asexuality

Answer 26

Defined as a lack of sexual attraction to a person of either sex
- asexuals were more likely women
- less likely to be cisgender
- and less likely to be in a serious romantic relationship

Question 27

IS asexuality a symptom of a mental disorder?

Answer 27

No, similar rates of depression

Question 28

Is asexuality an arousal disorder or sexual desire disorder?

Answer 28

No, asexuals do not necesserily report suffering from distress and they seem to have normal physiological arousal capacity

Question 29

Is asexuality a paraphilia?

Answer 29

No, a lack of interest is not considered to be an atypical sexual interest

Question 30

Is asexuality a sexual orientation?

Answer 30

If sexual orientation refers to attraction to members of one’s own gender, members of the other gender, or both, then attraction to neither can be considered as an orientation

Question 31

The grey spectrum of asexuality

Answer 31

• Sex repulsed asexual
• sex neutral asexuals
• demi- sexuals (sexual attraction after emotional bond)
• grey sexuals (occasionally sexual attraction)

Question 32

Asphyxiophilia (or hypoxyphilia)

Answer 32

The desire to induce in oneself a state of oxygen deficiency to create sexual arousal or to enhance excitement and orgasm
- people believe that arousal and orgasm are intensified by reduced oxygen

Question 33

Zoophilia (bestiality or sodomy)

Answer 33

Sexual contact with an animal

Question 34

Frotteurism

Answer 34

Sexual fantasies, urges, or behaviors involving touching or rubbing one’s genitals agains the body of a non-consenting person

Question 35

Saliromania

Answer 35

Desire to damage or soil a woman and her clothes or the image of a women

Question 36

Coprophilia

Answer 36

Feces are important to sexual satisfaction

Question 37

Urophilia

Answer 37

Urine is important to sexual satisfaction

Question 38

Necrophilia

Answer 38

Sexual contact with a dead person

Question 39

Medical treatment for sexual variations

Answer 39

Hormonal treatment involves the use of drugs to reduce sexual desire
- Psychopharmacological treatment is based on the idea that treatiing psychological problems such as depression will take care of the paraphilic behavior

Question 40

Cognitive behavior therapies for sexual variation

Answer 40

• education on the condition and factors that contribute
• practice in impulse-control skills and minfulness
• training in problem solving skills if the person experiences depression, anxiety or boredom
• cognitive restructuring to deal with negative thoughts
• skills to prevent relapse

Question 41

Skill training for sexual variation treatment

Answer 41

• how to carry on a conversation
• how to develop intimac
• how to be appropriately assertive
• identification or irrational fears
• basic sexuality education