REVIEW Human Sexuality

Learning Objectives

Page 197

Test Yourself by taking a moment to answer each of these Learning Objective Questions (repeated here from within the module). Research suggests that trying to answer these questions on your own will improve your long-term memory of the concepts (McDaniel et al., 2009).

Question

15-1 How do hormones influence human sexual motivation?
ANSWER: For all but the tiny fraction of us considered asexual, dating and mating become a high priority from puberty on. The female estrogen and male testosterone hormones influence human sexual behavior less directly than they influence sexual behavior in other species. Women's sexuality is more responsive to testosterone level than to estrogen level. Short-term shifts in testosterone level are normal in men, partly in response to stimulation.

Question

15-2 What is the human sexual response cycle, and how do sexual dysfunctions and paraphilias differ?
ANSWER: William Masters and Virginia Johnson described four stages in the human sexual response cycle: excitement, plateau, orgasm (which involves similar feelings and brain activity in males and females), and resolution. During the resolution phase, males experience a refractory period in which renewed arousal and orgasm are impossible. Sexual dysfunctions are problems that consistently impair sexual arousal or functioning. They include erectile disorder and female orgasmic disorder, and can often be successfully treated by behaviorally oriented therapy or drug therapy. Paraphilias are conditions, which may be classified as disorders, in which sexual arousal is related to nonhuman objects, the suffering of self or others, and/or nonconsenting persons.

Question

15-3 How can sexually transmitted infections be prevented?
ANSWER: Safe-sex practices help prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Condoms are especially effective in preventing transmission of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. A vaccination administered before sexual contact can prevent most human papilloma virus infections.

Question

15-4 How do external and imagined stimuli contribute to sexual arousal?
ANSWER: External stimuli can trigger sexual arousal in both men and women. In experiments, depictions of sexual coercion have increased acceptance of rape. Sexually explicit material may lead people to perceive their partners as comparatively less appealing and to devalue their relationships. Imagined stimuli (dreams and fantasies) also influence sexual arousal.

Question

15-5 What factors influence teenagers' sexual behaviors and use of contraceptives?
ANSWER: Rates of teen intercourse vary from culture to culture and era to era. Factors contributing to teen pregnancy include minimal communication about birth control with parents, partners, and peers; guilt related to sexual activity; alcohol use; and mass media norms of unprotected and impulsive sexuality. High intelligence, religious engagement, father presence, and participation in service learning programs have been predictors of teen sexual restraint.

Question

15-6 What has research taught us about sexual orientation?
ANSWER: Sexual orientation is an enduring sexual attraction toward members of one's own sex (homosexual orientation), the other sex (heterosexual orientation), or both sexes (bisexual orientation). About 3 or 4 percent of men and 2 percent of women in Europe and the United States identify as exclusively homosexual, and 3.4 percent of Americans describe themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. There is no evidence that environmental influences determine sexual orientation. Evidence for biological influences includes the presence of same-sex attraction in many animal species; straight-gay brain differences; higher rates in certain families and in identical twins; exposure to certain hormones during critical periods of prenatal development; and the fraternal birth-order effect.

Question

15-7 How might an evolutionary psychologist explain male-female differences in sexuality and mating preferences?
ANSWER: Evolutionary psychologists use natural selection to explain why women tend to be choosier than men when selecting sexual partners. These psychologists reason that men's attraction to multiple healthy, fertile-appearing partners increases their chances of spreading their genes widely. Because women incubate and nurse babies, they have more at stake. Women increase their own and their children's chances of survival by searching for mates with the potential for long-term investment in their joint offspring.

Question

15-8 What are the key criticisms of evolutionary explanations of human sexuality, and how do evolutionary psychologists respond?
ANSWER: Critics argue that evolutionary psychologists start with an effect and work backward to an explanation. They also charge that evolutionary psychologists try to explain today's behavior based on decisions our distant ancestors made thousands of years ago, noting that a better, more immediate explanation takes learned social scripts into account. And, the critics wonder, does this kind of explanation absolve people from taking responsibility for their sexual behavior? Evolutionary psychologists respond that understanding our predispositions can help us overcome them. They recognize the importance of social and cultural influences, but they also cite the value of testable predictions based on evolutionary principles.

Question

15-9 What role do social factors play in our sexuality, and how do nature, nurture, and our own choices influence gender roles and sexuality?
ANSWER: Our ancestral history helped form us as a species. Our genes form us, but our culture and experiences also form us. Sex is a socially significant act, and our gender identities and mating behaviors are the products of both our genes and our environments. We are both the creatures and creators of our worlds, with our own hopes, goals, and expectations directing our future.

Terms and Concepts to Remember

Test yourself on these terms.

Question

asexual (p. 181)
testosterone (p. 181)
estrogens (p. 181)
sexual response cycle (p. 182)
refractory period (p. 183)
sexual dysfunction (p. 183)
erectile disorder (p. 183)
female orgasmic disorder (p. 183)
paraphilias (p. 183)
AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) (p. 184)
social script (p. 186)
sexual orientation (p. 187)
having no sexual attraction to others.
inability to develop or maintain an erection due to insufficient bloodflow to the penis.
a resting period after orgasm, during which a man cannot achieve another orgasm.
sex hormones, such as estradiol, secreted in greater amounts by females than by males and contributing to female sex characteristics. In nonhuman female mammals, estrogen levels peak during ovulation, promoting sexual receptivity.
an enduring sexual attraction toward members of one's own sex (homosexual orientation), the other sex (heterosexual orientation), or both sexes (bisexual orientation).
distress due to infrequently or never experiencing orgasm.
sexual arousal from fantasies, behaviors, or urges involving nonhuman objects, the suffering of self or others, and/or nonconsenting persons.
the most important of the male sex hormones. Both males and females have it, but the additional testosterone in males stimulates the growth of the male sex organs during the fetal period, and the development of the male sex characteristics during puberty.
a life-threatening, sexually transmitted infection caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). AIDS depletes the immune system, leaving the person vulnerable to infections.
the four stages of sexual responding described by Masters and Johnson—excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution.
culturally modeled guide for how to act in various situations.
a problem that consistently impairs sexual arousal or functioning.

Experience the Testing Effect

Test yourself repeatedly throughout your studies. This will not only help you figure out what you know and don’t know; the testing itself will help you learn and remember the information more effectively thanks to the testing effect.

Question 5.9

1. A striking effect of hormonal changes on human sexual behavior is the

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B.
C.
D.

Question 5.10

2. In describing the sexual response cycle, Masters and Johnson noted that

A.
B.
C.
D.

Question 5.11

3. What is the difference between sexual dysfunctions and paraphilias?
ANSWER: Sexual dysfunctions are problems that men and women may have related to sexual arousal and sexual function. Paraphilias are conditions, which may be classified as psychological disorders, in which sexual arousal is associated with nonhuman objects, the suffering of self or others, and/or nonconsenting persons.

Question 5.12

4. The use of condoms during sex (does/doesn't) reduce the risk of getting HIV and (does/doesn't) fully protect against skin-to-skin STIs.

Question 5.13

5. An example of an external stimulus that might influence sexual behavior is

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B.
C.
D.

Question 5.14

6. Which factors have researchers thus far found to be unrelated to the development of our sexual orientation?
ANSWER: Researchers have found no evidence that any environmental factor (parental relationships, childhood experiences, peer relationships, or dating experiences) influences the development of our sexual orientation.

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