Human Sexuality Study Guide Exam 1 PDF

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Completed study guide for Dr. Bethany Blair's exam 1...

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Week 1: The Basics VOCABULARY    

Sexuality – refers to the totality of a person’s sexual self, sexual beliefs, and sexual experiences Sex – refers to sexual behavior and activities Sexual Orientation – refers to a person’s erotic and emotional orientation toward members of his or her own gender and/or members of the other gender Intimacy – refers to emotional closeness between individuals

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Sex – refers to sexual anatomy; it is biological and binary or dichotomous Gender – refers to the state of being masculine or feminine; social construction, personally defined, on a spectrum

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Culture – the traditional ideas and values transmitted to a group which influences patterns of behavior Society – an organized community with shared laws, traditions, and values (aka culture)

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Ethnocentrism – belief that one’s own customs are standard by which other cultures should be judged

CONCEPTS/TOPICS 

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Multidimensional definition of sex o Sex referring to sexual behavior and activities o Sex referring to sexual anatomy Two primary lenses for understanding sexuality Religion provided most of the information people had about sexuality for most of human history; informs personal beliefs, cultural expectations, societal norms  Explaining the mysterious, providing societal rules and guidelines (morality), guiding healthy personal choices o Scientific study of sex began in the 19th century; informs biological facts, patterns in the population, likely outcomes  Generating knowledge, using knowledge to improve lives Sexuality across species o Sexuality beliefs  Many species, particularly mammals, have cultural norms and possible repercussions for violating norms o Sexual behaviors  Masturbation – found among many species of mammals  Same-gender behavior – found in many species (mammalian species are bisexual)  Sexual signaling – found in most species  Sexual behavior for non-reproductive purposes – found in many species of mammals o

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 Humans are not unique – sexuality is a primal part of who we are Sexuality across history o Sexuality beliefs  The earliest written laws contained many rules regarding human sexuality – largely focused on restricting respectable women’s sexuality  Sexuality manuals (sort of)  Kamasutra (Vatsyayana, 1st-6th century India)  Ars Amatoria (Ovid, 1st century Rome)  Treatise on Cohabitation (Maimonides, 11th century Jewish scholar) o Sexual behaviors  No reason to believe sexual behaviors themselves have changed over time  Sexual technology has advanced  Our openness about sexuality has varied across time  Acceptability of certain behaviors has also varied Sexuality across cultures o Sexuality beliefs  All societies think about sexuality in a particular way  All societies regulated sexual behavior in some way  Most societies today endorse: o Incest taboos (regulations prohibiting sexual interaction between blood relatives are nearly universal) o Condemnation of forced sexual relations  All societies have standards for attractiveness o Sexual behaviors  Societies respond differently to sexual techniques, masturbation, premarital sex, extramarital sex

Week 2: Research in Human Sexuality VOCABULARY  

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Evolution – a theory that all living things have acquired their present forms through gradual changes in their genetic endowment over successive generations Natural Selection – a process by which animals that are best adapted to their environment are more likely to survive, reproduce, and pass genes to the next generation Libido – sex drive or sex energy Thanatos – death drive (aka destruction drive) Oral stage (birth to one year) – child’s chief pleasure is derived from sucking and otherwise stimulating the lips and mouth Anal stage (second year) – child’s interest is focused on elimination Phallic stage (three to six years) – boy’s interest is focused on his phallus (penis); Oedipus complex develops but is resolved by castration anxiety Latency stage – sexual impulses are repressed or are in a quiescent state, lasts until adolescence Fixations – people do not always mature from one stage to the next; most adults have at least traces of earlier stages remaining in their personalities

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Comparison level of alternatives – comparing the profits one relationship provides over alternative relationships Equity – believing rewards are proportionate to costs in a relationship Heteronormativity – the belief that heterosexuality is the only pattern of sexuality that is normal and natural Sampling – identifying the appropriate population of people to be studied Random sample – each member of the population has an equal chance of being included in the sample (but we don’t know what that chance is) Probability sampling – each member of the population has a known probability of being included in the sample Problem of nonresponse – many members of the population refuse to participate Volunteer bias – the members of the population who do agree to be in the research are likely from the general population

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Evolutionary perspectives o Basic assumption: human behavior is largely the results of natural selection o How does natural selection occur?  Sexual selection:  Competition between members of one gender (usually male)  Preferential choice by members of one gender (usually female) o Evaluation of Evolutionary Perspective  Interesting perspective on WHY we do what we do  Can’t truly be tested  Focused on white, western, wealthy populations Psychoanalytic perspectives o Basic assumption: there are two major forces in opposition that motivate human behavior o Freud’s Stages of Psychosexual Development:  Oral stage (birth to one year) – child’s chief pleasure is derived from sucking and otherwise stimulating the lips and mouth  Anal stage (second year) – child’s interest is focused on elimination  Phallic stage (three to six years) – boy’s interest is focused on his phallus (penis); Oedipus complex develops but is resolved by castration anxiety  Girls feel cheated and suffer from penis envy; Electra complex develops but resolution is not as complete as for boys  Latency stage – sexual impulses are repressed or are in a quiescent state, lasts until adolescence  Sexual urges reawaken with puberty, when the child moves into the genital stage o Freud’s “Fixations”  People do not always mature from one stage to the next  Most adults have at least traces of earlier stages remaining in their personalities o Evaluation of Psychoanalytic theory  Cannot be evaluated scientifically  Data were derived from patients of Freud  Overemphasis on biological determinants of behavior and instincts

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 Male-centered theory Social exchange perspective o Basic assumption: people will choose actions that maximize rewards and minimize costs o Principles of Social Exchange Theory  Comparison level for alternatives: comparing the profits one relationship provides over alternative relationships  Equity: believing rewards are proportionate to costs in a relationship  Matching hypothesis: men and women choosing mates who match them on physical and social characteristics Critical theory perspectives o Feminist theory  Gender is a dimension of inequality  Women’s sexuality has been repressed and depressed, but rarely expressed  Gender roles restrict people  Intersectionality – an approach that says that we should simultaneously consider a person’s multiple group memberships and identities, including gender, race, social class, and sexual orientation o Queer Theory  Once a derogatory term, now re-appropriated with a positive meaning  Heteronormativity: the belief that heterosexuality is the only pattern of sexuality that is normal and natural  Social norms privilege heterosexuality and marginalize other sexual orientations Sociological perspectives o Basic assumption: society is a critical influence on human behavior o Principles:  Every society regulates the sexuality of its members  Basic institutions affect the rules governing sexuality  Appropriateness/inappropriateness of a particular sexual behavior depends on the culture in which it occurs o At the macro level, our sexuality is influenced by powerful social institutions, including  Religion, economy, family, medicine, law Challenges in sexuality research o Measuring Sex o Reliability of Measures  Issues with self-reports, direct observation, and biological measures o Sampling Problems  Problem of refusal/nonresponse: many members of the population refuse to participate  Volunteer bias: the members of the population who do agree to be in the research are likely from the general population  Skewed toward people who are interested o

Ethical Issues  Informed consent  Participants have a right to be told, before they participate, what the purpose of the research is and what they will be asked to do  They may not be forced to participate or continue

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 People may not be coerced to be in a study Protection from Harm  Investigators should minimize the amount of physical and psychological stress to people in their research 

Anonymity of response is important to ensure that participants will not suffer afterward for their participation

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Self-reports o Participants are asked questions about sexual behavior and attitudes through paper questionnaires, interviews, online o Issues with self-reports: purposeful distortion, memory, difficulties with estimates

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Behavioral measures o Direct observations: scientist directly observe behavior o Eye tracking: participants wear an eye-tracking device that measures their point of gaze as they are shown pictures on a computer o Police reports for studying illegal sexual behaviors

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Implicit measures – Implicit Association Test o Measures an individual’s strength of association between different pairs of concepts o Reaction time is measured in milliseconds

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Biological measures o Genital measures (of sexual response): measure erection in males and vaginal changes in females o Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI): looks at anatomy by using magnets to send and receive signals that give information while participants lie in the center of the magnet (scanner) o Functional MRI  Looks at the brain activity by measuring relative levels of blood flow  Measures the difference in activity across regions of the brain  An indirect measure of neural activity o Measures of Pupil Dilation: pupils dilate when individuals look at something interesting or arousing

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Alfred Kinsey o Originator of human sexuality research, known as “sexology” o Methods  18,000+ interviews  Sampling was sub-standard, but interview techniques were cutting-edge o Major Contributions  Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (1948)  Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (1953)  The “Kinsey Scale” – scale developed to put a number to how hetero- or homosexual a person is o Controversies  Had sexual relations with participants

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Had a sexual relationship with a student (male) Filmed sexual activities of participants and his co-workers in his attic Interviewed at least 9 pedophiles and never reported any of them Accused of inspiring the “homosexual agenda” Sample was biased, so statistics were skewed  i.e. 10% of men are homosexual when in reality on 6-7%

Masters and Johnson o Methods  Laboratory observations  Biological measures  Recorded “10,000 complete cycles of sexual response” (orgasms) o Major Contributions  Human Sexual Response (1966)  Human Sexual Inadequacy (1970)  Model of “Human sexual response cycle” (orgasms)  Basics of female orgasms o Controversies  Had sexual relations with participants and each other  Parts of Johnson’s original role may have been coerced  Masters left his wife and married Johnson  Began by studying prostitutes in brothels  Methods were invasive and disconcerting  Men and women were designated as ‘assigned partners’ and arbitrarily paired with each other to create ‘assigned couples’

Week 3: Anatomy and Arousal VOCABULARY

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Vulva – female external reproductive organs Clitoris – sensitive organ important in female sexual response o Tip – knob of tissue externally in front of vaginal opening and urethral opening o Shaf – consists of 2 corpora cavernosa o Crura – two longer spongy bodies that lie deep in body and run from tip to either side of vagina Mons Pubis – rounded, fatty pad of tissue, covered with pubic hair, at front of the body that lies on top of the pubic bones Labia Majora – outer lips of vagina; rounded pads of fatty tissue lying along both sides of the vaginal opening, covered with pubic hair Labia Minora – inner lips of vagina; two hairless folds of skin lying between the outer lips and running right along the edge of the vaginal opening

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Hymen – thin membrane which, if present, partially covers the vaginal opening Skene’s Gland – female prostate or paraurethral glands (G-spot?) that lies between the wall of the urethra and the wall of the vagina; ducts empty into the urethra; secretes fluid that is biochemically similar to male prostate fluid Uterus – the womb; size of a fist and is shaped like an upside-down pear Cervix – size of a fist and is shaped like an upside-down pear Fallopian Tubes – extremely narrow pathway by which egg leaves ovaries and the sperm reaches the egg; lined with hair-like projections called cilia Fimbria – fingerlike projections on the end of the Fallopian tube Ovaries – two organs that lie on either side of the uterus about the size and shape of unshelled almonds; produces eggs and manufactures estrogen and progesterone Breasts – consist of 15 to 20 clusters of mammary glands, each with a separate opening to the nipple, surrounded by fatty and fibrous tissue Nipples – where milk ducts open; at the tip of the breasts Areola – slightly darker area surrounding the nipple Penis o Glans – end or tip of penis o Meatus – opening at the end of the glans; urine and semen pass through o Shaf – main part of the penis o Corona – raised ridge separating glans from the body of the penis o Foreskin – additional layer of skin that forms a sheath-like covering over the glans; absent in circumcised penises o Corpora cavernosa – the two bodies lying on top; blood flow for erection o Corpus spongiosum – single body lying on the bottom of the penis; urethra runs through the middle o Circumcision – removal of foreskin on a male’s penis, usually done at birth Scrotum – Loose pouch of skin, lightly covered with hair that contains the testes; also known as scrotal sac Testes – the gonads or reproductive glands which manufactures sperm and testosterone Epididymus – long tube coiled into a small crescent-shaped region on the top and side of the testis that stores and matures sperm Vas Deferens – tube that goes up and out of scrotum and passes through the prostate, where it is called the ejaculatory duct Seminal Vesicles – two sac-like structures that lie above the prostate, behind the bladder, and in front of the rectum that produces 70% of the seminal fluid of the ejaculate Prostate – lies below the bladder, and is the size and shape of a chestnut that secretes a milky alkaline fluid that is part of the ejaculate Cowper’s Glands – located below the prostate, empties into urethra; produces a secretion before ejaculation (pre-cum to lubricate tubes) Vasocongestion – occurs when a great deal of blood flows into a region as a result of the dilation of the blood vessels (erection) Myotonia – occurs when the muscles contract, not only in the genitals but also throughout the body (orgasm) Orgasm – a series of rhythmic contractions of the pelvic organs at 0.8 second intervals that results in a sharp increase in pulse rate, blood pressure, and breathing rate Coitus – the insertion of the penis into the vagina Cunnilingus – mouth stimulation of the female genitals

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Fellatio – mouth stimulation of the male genitals Sixty-nine – simultaneous mouth-genital stimulation Aniligus – mouth stimulation of the partner’s anus Erogenous Zones – parts of the body that are sexually sensitive and stroking them or otherwise stimulating them produces sexual arousal o Genitals, breasts, lips, neck, stomach, thighs, back, ears, feet Masturbation – self-stimulation of genitals with the hand or some other object Dildo – rubber or plastic cylinder, often shaped like a penis, that can be inserted into the vagina or anus Vibrator – used for masturbation, some are shaped like a penis and others not, some are electric and some battery-operated

CONCEPTS/TOPICS

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Vagina vs Vulva o Vagina is inside the body, vulva is the external reproductive organs Role of the hymen o Doesn't seem to have a specific function, it's thought that hymen tissue remains as a vestige of vaginal development. Embryologically, it tended to keep germs and dirt out of the vagina Vaginal hygiene o Vagina is self-cleaning Vulva maintenance o Gentle soap and water Penis size o Taller men typically have longer penises o Hands and feet are no indicator of penis size, but a couple of studies have found that length of index finger may have a correlation o Men with a greater amount of body fat have a smaller penis size (with what is noticeable) Sexual fantasies o Sexual thoughts or images that alter the person’s emotions or physiological state o Often involve people, places, or animals with which the person has no real-world connection Masters and Johnson’s Sexual Response Cycle o Excitement  The beginning of erotic arousal (vasocongestion)  Erection is the obvious arousal response in the male  Lubrication of the vagina is an important response in the females o Orgasm  A series of rhythmic contractions of the pelvic organs at 0.8 second intervals  Sharp increase in pulse rate, blood pressure, and breathing rate during orgasm  For males, “ejaculatory inevitability” is a sensation that ejaculation is just about to happen and cannot be stopped

For women, the main feeling begins around the clitoris and then spreads outward through the whole pelvis o Resolution  Following orgasm, the body returns physiologically to the unaroused state  Men enter a refractory period during which they are incapable of being aroused again  Women do not enter into a refractory period, and some can have multiple orgasms Sexual positions o Man on top: missionary position o Woman on top o Rear entry o Side to side o Other variations 

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Week 4: Reproduction VOCABULARY 

Ovulation – egg is released from the ovary into the body cavity on day 14 of an average menstrual cycle

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Conceptus – the product of conception Zygote – the fertilized egg Embryo – first 8 weeks of gestation Fetus – 8 weeks to birth Placenta – a mass of tissue that surrounds the conceptus early in development and nurtures its growth Umbilical Cord – connects conceptus to the placenta to receive nourishment, etc.; is formed during the 5th week of embryonic development Amniotic Fluid – maintains the fetus at a constant temperature and cushions it against possible injury

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CONCEPTS/TOPICS

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Traditional vs Earner/Carer Child Rearing Public Policies o Traditional  Aims:  Cost compensation  Provide opportunity for women to stay at home  Policies:

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 Tax subsidies  Marriage subsidies  Home-care allowances  Flat-rate paid parental leave o Earner/Carer  Aims:  Encourage women’s workforce participation  Increase gender equality  Policies:  Childc...