Understanding Human

Sexuality: Theory and

Research

Chapter 2
 Chapter 2 Outline
• Theories About Sexuality
– Psychological theories
– Psychoanalytic theory
– Behavioral theory
– Social learning theory
– Cognitive theory
– Humanistic theory
– Evolutionary theory
– Biological theory
– Sociological theories
– Feminist theory
– Queer theory
 Chapter 2 Outline (Cont.)

• Sexuality Research: Philosophers,

Physicians, and Sexologists
– Early sex research
– Recent studies on sexuality
– Politics and sex research
• Sexuality Research
– Early promoters of sexology
– Sexuality research moves to the U.S.
– Research studies on homosexuality
– Other sexuality studies
– Age-specific studies: teens and seniors
 Chapter 2 Outline (Cont.)

• Sex Research Methods and Considerations

– Case studies
– Questionnaires versus interviews
– Direct observation
– Participant observation
– Experimental methods
– Correlations
 Chapter 2 Outline (Cont.)

• Problems and Issues in Sex Research

– Ethical issues
– Volunteer bias
– Samplings problems
– Reliability
• Sexuality Research Across Cultures
• Sex Research in the Future: Beyond
Problem-Driven Research
 Theory and Research

• Theories are the intellectual structure

(assumptions, principles, methods) for
understanding sexuality
• Research helps answer questions about
human sexuality
• Many disciplines conduct research in
sexuality, varying in the questions asked and
scientific approaches taken
 Theories About Sexuality

• Many theories guide our thoughts about

human sexuality
• Most theorists utilize multiple perspectives
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), the father of psychoanalysis, set the stage for all other
psychological theories.
 Psychoanalytic Theory

• Freud (1856-1939)
• Most influential psychological theory of
sexuality
• Sex drive is a very important life force
• Two controversial concepts:
– Personality formation
– Psychosexual development
 Personality Formation

• Two drives (motivations):

– Libido – life or sexual motivation
– Thanatos – death or aggressiveness
motivation
• Two divisions to personality:
– Three levels of operation
• conscious, preconscious, unconscious
– Three guiding identities
• id, ego, superego
 Levels of Operation

• Conscious – information in awareness

• Preconscious – information within recall, but
not in awareness
• Unconscious – inaccessible, the most
important level of operation
 Guiding Identities

• Id – seeks immediate satisfaction

• Ego – operates in reality; balances id and
superego
• Superego – values & restrictions; conscience
• Psychoanalysis required if ego does not
balance id and superego
• Psychoanalysis brings unconscious thoughts
into consciousness
 Psychosexual Development

• Basic personality formed within the first six

years of life
• Stages of development
– Corresponding erogenous zones where
libidinal energy is directed
– Unsuccessful progression through each
stage could result in fixation
– Fixation occurs when libidinal energy is
caught in that stage’s zone
 Psychosexual Stages of Development

Stage (time period): Zone

• Oral (0-18 months): Mouth
• Anal (18 months-3 years): Anus
• Phallic (3-6 years): Genitals (Penis/Clitoris)
– Boys: Oedipus complex, castration anxiety
– Girls: Electra complex, penis envy
• Latency (6 years-puberty): None
• Genital (puberty-death): Genitals
• No fixations resulted in a heterosexual adult
 Behavioral Theory

• Only study overt behavior; ignore internal

states
• Operant conditioning (Skinner)
– reinforcement
– punishment
• Behavior modification – tool to change
unwanted behavior
– Aversion therapy
 Social Learning Theory

• Bandura
• Basis in operant conditioning
• Also consider internal events in affecting
behavior
• Identification and imitation of same-sex
parent in development of our gender identity
• Peer pressure influence on our sexuality
 Cognitive Theory

• Individual differences in processing

information
• Behavior is a result of our perceptions and
conceptualizations of our environment
• Largest sex organ – the brain
• We are sexually aroused by what we think is
sexually arousing
 Humanistic Theory

• Self-actualization – we try to be the best we

can become
• Unconditional positive regard allows us to
become self-actualized
 Biological Theory

• Our sexuality is controlled by our physiology,

genetics
• Sexual problems due to physiological causes;
interventions include medications or surgery
 Evolutionary Theory

• Combination of evolution and sociology

• Sexuality serves mainly to reproduce
• Primary goal is to pass on one’s genes
• Consider mater preferences from an
evolutionary perspective
 Sociological Theory

• Sexual expression varies across societies

• Institutions influence rules societies hold
regarding the expression of sexuality
– Family
– Religion
– Economy
– Medicine
– Law
– Media
 Feminist Theory

• Sexology is dominated by white, middle-

class, heterosexist attitudes
• Sexuality research is based on male sexuality
• Social construction of sexuality based on
power, historically held by men
• Women as passive and submissive
• Sexuality used by men to maintain power
over women
• Lack research on female orgasm, satisfaction
 Queer Theory

• Heterosexism and homophobia should be

resisted
• Heterosexism is not the norm, with all else
deviant
• Sexual categories are cultural constructions
that limit and restrain
 Early Sexuality Research

• Variety of disciplines
• Focus on abnormal and unhealthy practices
• Victorian period (19th century) suspended
sexuality research until physicians made it an
appropriate topic as related to medicine
• Primarily studied in Europe
 Early Sexuality Research (Cont.)

• Early 20th century it earned legitimacy with

Freud, Ellis, and Bloch
• Moved to the United States in 1920s,
encouraged by the social hygiene movement
• Limited funding for research
 Recent Sexuality Research

• Late 1980s, early 1990s increase in sexuality

research
• Prompted by HIV/AIDS
• Primarily “problem-driven” research, not
healthy sexuality
• Pressure from conservative groups
• Multiple disciplines studying sex has
fragmented research
 Recent Sexuality Research (Cont.)

• Popular media sensationalizes and distorts

information
• Sexologist – researcher, educator, clinician
specializing in sexuality; usually PhD
• Researchers feel pressure to research select
topics and avoid others
• Academic programs specializing in human
sexuality; need steady funding
 Politics and Sex Research

• Sexuality research changes with the political

climate
• Changing roles of women, development of
birth control pills, and Kinsey’s work led to
less acceptance for the double standard
• HIV/AIDS crisis provided a new opportunity
for sex research
• Political resistance even today
 Early Promoters of Sexology

• Bloch (1872-1922): Published the Journal of

Sexology beginning 1914
• Moll (1862-1939): In 1913, began the
International Society for Sex Research;
authored sexology books
• Hirschfeld (1868-1935): Worked to better the
treatment of homosexuals and bisexuals;
developed an Institute for Sexology
 Early Promoters of Sexology (Cont.)

• Krafft-Ebing (1840-1902): Sexual pathology

• Ellis (1859-1939): Published six-volume work
on sexuality; refuted deviance of
homosexuality and masturbation
• All early researchers legitimized the study of
sexuality
• Findings lacked consistency and organization
 Sexuality Research Moves to the
United States

• Mosher (1863-1940): First to ask Americans

about their sexual behavior; helped married
women have better sex lives
• Bement Davis (1861-1935): Prostitution and
STIs; homosexuality is not abnormal
Katharine Bement Davis (1861 – 1935) conducted some of the largest and most
comprehensive sexuality studies to date.
 Sexuality Research Moves to the
United States (Cont.)

• Kinsey (1894-1956): Most influential modern

sexuality researcher
– Atheoretical in the beginning because data
on sexuality was lacking
– He and 3 colleagues interviewed 18,000
subjects to obtain sexual life histories
– Preferred use of 100% sampling
– 1947, established the Institute for Sex
Research
 Sexuality Research Moves to the
United States (Cont.)

• Kinsey
– 1948: Sexual Behavior in the Human Male
– 1953: Sexual Behavior in the Human
Female
– Found many unacceptable activities to be
widely practiced
– Controversial work; had funding sources
taken away
Alfred Kinsey (1894-1956) implemented the first large-scale survey of adult sexual behavior in the
United States.
 Sexuality Research in the United
States (Cont.)

• Hunt: Playboy Foundation study of American

sexual behaviors (1974); volunteer bias
prevents generalizability
• Masters & Johnson: In 1954, began to study
the anatomy and physiology of intercourse in
the laboratory
– Electrocardiograph
– Electromyograph
– Penile strain gauges
– Photoplethysmographs
Virginia Johnson and William Masters were the first to bring sexuality into the laboratory.
To measure physiological changes during sexual arousal, researches rely on strain gauges and
photoplethysmographs. A penile strain gauge is placed on the base of the penis to measure
erectile changes in the penis, while a photoplethysmograph is inserted in the vaginal canal to
measure changes I vaginal lubrication.
 Sexuality Research in the United
States (Cont.)

• Masters & Johnson: Human Sexual

Response (1966)
– Four stage model
– Women may have multiple orgasms
– Sexuality stays with us as we age
• Masters & Johnson: Human Sexual
Inadequacy (1970)
– Vaginal orgasms from clitoral stimulation
 Research Studies Homosexuality

• Few large-scale studies

• Hooker: Early 1950s; professionals could not
differentiate gay and straight males
• Bell & Weinberg: Homosexualities (1978)
– majority of homosexual men and women
do not conform to stereotypes
– aren’t sexual predators
– homosexuals and heterosexuals are
similar in intimate relationships
Dr. Evelyn Hooker published the first empirical study to challenge the psychiatric view
that homosexuality was a mental illness. Her work ultimately led to the removal of
homosexuality from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
 Research Studies Homosexuality

• The Janus Report (1993): large survey on

sexual behavior in the U.S.; sectioned out
regions in the U.S.; not a random sample
• National Health and Social Life Survey
(NHSLS): Laumann, Gagnon, Michael, &
Michaels (1994); surveyed a representative
sample of the U.S. on sexual behaviors and
attitudes
 Age-Specific Studies:
Teens and Seniors

• Teens
– National Institute of Child Health and
Human Development (2002)
– National Survey of Adolescent Males
(2002)
• Seniors
– Starr & Weiner (1981): Sexuality still
important for seniors
– Love, Sex, and Aging (1984)
 Sex Research Methods and
Considerations

• Case study – thorough examination of one or

few participants
• Validity – accuracy of measurement
• Reliability – consistency of measurement
• Generalizability – ability of sample to be
applicable to the population
 Sex Research Methods and
Considerations (Cont.)

• Case studies – individual cases explored to

form hypotheses; Freud
• Questionnaires versus interviews – self-report
attitudes, behavior, knowledge; Kinsey
– Anonymity
• Direct observation – focus on behaviors;
Masters and Johnson
– difficult to find subjects in sexuality
research; expensive
 Sex Research Methods and
Considerations (Cont.)
• Participant observation – researchers monitor
within a natural environment; research
conducted in a bar; much sexual behavior is
in private
• Experimental method – establish cause and
effect due to increased control
– Random assignment
– Independent variable – manipulated
– Dependent variable – measured
– Costly, artificial, results may not relate to
the real world; ethical constraints
 Sex Research Methods and
Considerations (Cont.)

• Correlations – describes a relationship

between variables
– Used when experiments are not possible
– Cannot establish cause and effect
Problems and Issues in Sex Research

• Ethical Issues – informed consent,

confidentiality
• Volunteer Bias – there are differences
between volunteers and nonvolunteers; poor
generalizability
• Sampling Problems – samples of
convenience (college students);
generalizability questioned
• Reliability – changes over time; memory
 Sexuality Research Across Cultures

• Human Sexual Behaviors (1971) – one of the

largest cultural studies
– Many commonalities, differences
• Analyse des Comportements Sexuels en
France (1992) and NHSLS (2001) compared
sexual behavior in France and the U.S.
• Pfizer Global Study of Sexual Attitudes and
Behaviors (2002) – 1st global examination of
behaviors, attitudes, beliefs, satisfaction
Figure 2.2 Do you engage in sex at least weekly?
 Sex Research in the Future: Beyond
Problem-Driven Research

• Need for financial support

• Congressional and religious opposition
• Reliance on pharmaceutical companies for
funding
• Many sex researchers work in a “Scientific
underground”
• Many unexplored topics within human
sexuality
• Future direction to understand emotional and
relational aspects
 Penelitian Seksualitas
di Indonesia

• Studi Baseline tentang Penanganan Kasus

Kekerasan Berbasis Gender (GBV) di Indonesia
• Free to Be Me Research: Inclusivity in
Multinational and National Companies in
Indonesia
• Perilaku Seksual Orang Indonesia
• Penggunaan Kontrasepsi
• Pendidikan Seksual di Indonesia
• Pernikahan Dini