Variations in Sexual Behaviour Flashcards
Paraphiliac interests
- Paraphiliac and paraphilia disorders may be divided into two main categories?
- Preferences for “atypical” activities
- Preferences for “atypical” targets
“Atypical”
- Lots of variability in how “atypical” is defined?
- Prevalence, might not reflect actual prevalence
- Norms, are variable and change though time
- What is legal,
- What does not cause harm
Conclusion, non of these terms are sufficient at describing atypicality. But very common ways society, law, diagnostic , etc. use to judge these behaviours.
Paraphilia literally means?
- Para = deviation
- Philip = love
Paraphilic Interest?
- Intense and persistent sexual interest other than sexual interest in genital stimulation or preparatory fondling with physically mature, consenting, adults.
- Can be exclusive (absolute necessary for arousal and orgasm) or non-exclusive (can also be turned on by other stimuli)
Paraphilic Disorder?
- The interest above causes distress/impairment to the individual OR causes personal harm or risk of harm to others when acted upon
Paraphilias related to courtship?
Related to phases of developing partnered sexual activity.
Paraphilias related to courtship
Voyeurism?
Observing an unsuspecting person who is naked, disrobing, or having sex, with the potential of getting caught
-> unsuspecting is key
Concept check….Is this paraphilia?
- You get turned on watching your partner undress
- You get turned on watching people have sex un porn
- You get turned on using a telescope to look into the neighbours window while they’re having sex
Paraphilias related to courtship
Exhibitionism?
- Intense arousal from exposing one’s genitals to an unsuspecting person
- Scatalogia is arousal by making equally explicit phone calls and masturbating during or afterwards
Concept check….Is this paraphilia?
- You streak across a public event
- You masturbate while having phone sex with your partner
- You expose your gents to a person at a bus stop
Paraphilias related to courtship
Frotteurism?
- “frotter” = “to rub”
- Arousal from fantasising about or engaging in rubbing against a non-consenting person
-> Crowds/public transport
Concept check….Is this paraphilia?
- You meet a person at the bar and grind up on each other on the dance floor
- You cram into a bus full of people and rub up against someone until you reach orgasm
Preferences for algolagnia activities
Sexual Sadism?
Definition + requirements for diagnosis?
- Sexual arousal/pleasure related to inflicting pain and/or psychological suffering on another person, often to gain power or to humiliate them
- For a diagnosis, a person must have acted on these interests with a non consenting person and/or cause impairment/distress
Preferences for algolagnia activities
Sexual Masochism?
Definition + requirements for diagnosis?
- Sexual arousal/pleasure related to experiencing pain or humiliation or suffering
- For a diagnosis the urges/fantasies/behaviours must cause the person significant impairment/distress
BDSM/Kink (Consent is what differs this from a sexual disorder)
Essential features?
Essential features
- Consent
- Guidelines/etiquette
- Safe words
- Negation
BDSM/Kink (Consent is what differs this from a sexual disorder)
3 key elements?
Bondage & Discipline
- Use of restraints
- Use of discipline
Dominance & Submission
- “Play” scripts
- Can be sexual but also nonsexual
- Expressed thought the romantic relationship
Sadomasochism
- Rituals and scripts around inflicting and receiving pain (consensual)
Parahilias related to “atypical” targets
Fetishes?
Persistent and repetitive use and dependence on non-living objects or a specific (non-genital) body part for arousal.
Usually experienced as a “primary” or “essential” element of arousal
- Fetish objects are often associated with felinity (e.g., lingerie, lace, shoes, feet). Fetishes often co-occur.
Paraphilias related to “atypical” targets
Transvestism?
- Arousal by cross-dressing
- NOT to be confused with aspects of social transition or gender affirming practices related to gender dysphoria
Paraphilias related to “atypical” targets
Pedpphilia/Hebephilia?
- Sexual arousal and attraction to individuals below the age of puberty (pedophilia) or early stages of puberty (hebephilia)
Paraphilic Interest
Uriphilia?
arousal related to urine
Paraphilic Interest
Scatophilia or coprophilia?
arousal related to faces
Paraphilic Interest
Biastophilia?
arousal to non-consent
Paraphilic Interest
Zoophilia?
arousal to animals
Paraphilic Interest
Somnophilia?
arousal to the idea of sex with someone unconscious/sleeping
Gender/Sex and Paraphilic Interest?
For many paraphilia interests we see a gender/sex difference (in favour of men and males). Could be partly due to sampling, that more men get into trouble with the law.
Paraphilic Intersts: An Examination of Sex Differences in a Nonclinical
Sample:
- Online study to assess a variety of paraphilia interests
- N = 1015
Amins:
- Examine the gender/sex effect for overall and individual paraphilia interests
- Examine what factors might explain the gender/sex effect (if there is one)
Results: M > W (d = .40)
- On average men are reporting greater interests in paraphilic interests than women
No difference for Masochism and Transvestite Fetishism
The only set of variables that explains the gender difference is sex drive. So if you take a man and women with equally high sex drive there will be no difference in interests in parahilias.
Factors examined that might explain the gender/sex difference:
Neurodevelopment stressors?
- The high degree of comorbidity between psychopathology and paraphilia suggests the possibility of a common causal mechanism (e.g., neurodevelopment, environmental stressors)
- Men are 3 to 4 times more likely to be affected by stressful prenatal environments, which may make them more susceptible to the development of psychopathology and paraphilias
Factors examined that might explain the gender/sex difference:
Handedness?
One index of prenatal brain organisation. Men are more likely to be NRH than women. NRG is associated with psychopathology and with paraphilias.
Factors examined that might explain the gender/sex difference:
Susceptibility to illness?
A measure of vulnerability to environmental stressors.
Factors examined that might explain the gender/sex difference:
Sexual Drive and Mating effort?
- Factors associated with sexuality may help explain the motivation to seek variety in sexual activities.
- High sex drive and preference for novely might precede or contribute to the development of paraphilias.
Factors examined that might explain the gender/sex difference:
Sex drive?
- The motivation to seek out sexual activities/partners.
Factors examined that might explain the gender/sex difference:
Mating effort?
- Energy expended locating, courting and keeping sexual partners.
- Both of these factors are higher in men than women.
Factors examined that might explain the gender/sex difference:
Impulsivity and Sensation-Seeking?
- Engaging in some paraphilia behaviour can involve violation of social norms and laws.
- In line with theories of sexual offending, some paraphilia behaviours might be explained by a person’s degree of impulsivity or risk taking.
- Meta-analyses reveal that men are more likely to be impulsive and take risks than women.
- It is possible that gender/sex differences in risk and sensation seeking may lead individuals to try new sexual activities leading to the development of pparahilic sexual interests.
Impulsivity: - Degree of impulsivity, sensation-seeking, risk taking.
Sensation-seeking: - Motivation to try new things.
Factors examined that might explain the gender/sex difference:
Masculinity/Femininity
- Perhaps interests in paraphilia is not about a person’s gender/sex but rather their gender role.
- Differences between men and women might be due to an exaggeration of accepted gender roles. This might also explain why men and women endorse different paraphilia interests.
Differences in baseline levels of sex drive will contribute to differences between people in terms of their paraphilic interests.
Meaning that….
- People who have a low sex drive may expend their limited sexual energy toward their preferred sexual target and activity resulting in minimal interest in or motivation to pursue
other sexual activities and fantasies. - People who have a high sex drive may choose to expend their vast energy toward not only their preferred targets and activities (which in most cases will be nonparaphilic), but also other targets and activities as well, including paraphilias.
- People with high sex drives might habituate more readily to a particular sexual target and activity, motivating them to pursue novel targets and activities.
- High sex drive may also counteract the baseline sexual disgust and aversion that is associated with various sexual activities.
- This theory could also explain why many paraphilias tend to co-occur, because high sex drive would produce a general effect on sexual arousal, behaviors, and fantasies.
Article; Concordance of Paraphilic Interests and Behaviours (Does arousal = behaviour?)
Results?
- Moderate to strong correlation, that if you have the arousal you are also likely to engage in the behaviour.
- The link between having a paraphilic interest and engaging in the associated behaviour is STRONGER at higher levels of sex drive.
2 Main Take-aways?
- Sex drive is important for explaining the gende difference in parahilic interests
- Sex drive is important for explaining the link between having a paraphilic interest and engaging in the actual behaviour.
