Human Sexuality in a Changing World, 10th Edition Class Notes

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Instructor’s Resource Manual
For
Human Sexuality in a Changing World
10th Edition
Spencer A. Rathus, The College of New Jersey
Jeffrey S. Nevid, St. John’s University
Lois Fichner-Rathus, The College of New Jersey
Prepared by
Kathleen Hughes Stellmach

Table of Contents (SME/author to provide)
Chapter 1 What Is Human Sexuality? 1
Chapter 2 Female Sexual Anatomy and Physiology 26
Chapter 3 Male Sexual Anatomy and Physiology 39
Chapter 4 Gender: Identity, Roles and Differences 49
Chapter 5 Sexual Orientation 62
Chapter 6 Attraction and Love 79
Chapter 7 Sexual Response and Sexual Behavior 91
Chapter 8 Relationships and Communication 113
Chapter 9 Conception, Pregnancy, and Childbirth 122
Chapter 10 Contraception and Abortion 140
Chapter 11 Sexuality Through the Lifespan 158
Chapter 12 Sexual Problems and Solutions 184
Chapter 13 Sexually Transmitted Infections 203
Chapter 14 Atypical Sexual Variations 223
Chapter 15 Sexual Coercion 236
Chapter 16 Selling Sex 252

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Chapter 1: What Is Human Sexuality?
Learning Objectives
LO 1.1 Define the science of human sexuality.
LO 1.2 Define the value systems people use in making sexual decisions.
LO 1.3 Explain how you can become a critical thinker.
LO 1.4 Discuss various ways of looking at human sexuality.
LO 1.5 Explain the steps in the scientific method.
LO 1.6 Explain what is meant by populations and samples.
LO 1.7 Describe methods of observation, including the case-study method, the survey,
naturalistic observation, ethnographic observation, participant observation, and laboratory
observation.
LO 1.8 Describe the correlational method.
LO 1.9 Explain how experiments seek to determine cause and effect.
LO 1.10 Describe the ethical concerns that govern the ways in which professionals interact with
research participants and clients in treatment.
Chapter Outline
• The Science of Human Sexuality
o Define the science of human sexuality.
▪ One use of the term sex refers to our anatomic sex, female or male. The
words sex or sexual are also used to refer to anatomic structures called sex
organs or sexual organs, which play roles in reproduction and sexual
pleasure. We may also speak of sex when referring to physical activities
involving our sex organs for purposes of reproduction or pleasure, as in
having sex. Sex also relates to erotic feelings, experiences, or desires, such
as sexual fantasies and thoughts, sexual urges, or feelings of sexual
attraction. The use of “sex differences” is probably more correct when we
are talking about differences between anatomic males and anatomic
females. The term human sexuality refers to the ways in which people
experience and express themselves as sexual beings.
▪ The Study of Human Sexuality
• The study of human sexuality draws on the scientific expertise of
anthropologists, biologists, medical researchers, sociologists, and
psychologists. Biologists inform us about the physiological
mechanisms of sexual arousal and response. Medical science
teaches us about STIs and the biological bases of reproduction and
sexual dysfunctions. Psychologists examine how our sexual
behavior and attitudes are shaped by perception, learning, thought,
motivation and emotion, and personality. Sociologists examine
relationships between sexual behavior and religion, race, and social
class. Anthropologists focus on cross-cultural similarities and
differences in sexual behavior.
• Sexuality and Values

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o Define the value systems people use in making sexual decisions.
▪ Our society is pluralistic. It embraces a wide range of sexual attitudes and
values. People’s sexual attitudes, experiences, and behaviors are shaped to
a large extent by cultural traditions and beliefs. They influence how,
where, and with whom we become sexually involved.
▪ Value Systems for Making Sexual Decisions
• Our value systems—our sexual standards—have many sources:
parents, peers, religious training, ethnic subcultures, the larger
culture, and our own appraisal of these influences. Value systems
include legalism, situational ethics, ethical relativism, hedonism,
asceticism, utilitarianism, and rationalism. The legalistic approach
formulates ethical behavior on the basis of a code of moral laws
derived from an external source, such as a religion.
• Thinking Critically about Human Sexuality
o Explain how you become a critical thinker.
▪ Newspapers, TV shows, popular books and magazines, and the Internet
contain one feature after another about sex. Critical thinkers never say
that something is true because an authority figure says it is true. They
demand evidence. Critical thinking means being skeptical of things that
are presented in print, uttered by authority figures or celebrities, or passed
along by friends. Another aspect of critical thinking is analysis and
probing of claims and arguments. Critical thinking means scrutinizing
definitions of terms and evaluating the premises of arguments and their
logic. Critical thinkers maintain open minds. They suspend their beliefs
until they have obtained and evaluated the evidence.
• Perspectives on Human Sexuality
o Discuss the various ways of looking at human sexuality.
▪ The Historical Perspective
• History places sexual attitudes and behavior in context. It informs
us as to whether sexual behavior reflects trends that have been with
us through the millennia or the customs of a particular culture and
era. History shows little evidence of universal sexual trends.
Attitudes and behaviors vary extensively from one time and place
to another. History also shows how religion has been a major
influence on sexual values and behavior.
• Prehistoric Sexuality: From Female Idols to Phallic Worship
o Information about life among our Stone Age ancestors is
drawn largely from cave drawings, stone artifacts, and the
customs of modern-day preliterate peoples whose existence
has changed little over the millennia. By and large, men
hunted for game, and women tended to remain close to
home. Women nurtured children and gathered edible plants
and nuts, crabs, and other marine life that wandered along
the shore or swam in shallow waters. Primitive statues and
cave drawings portray women with large, pendulous
breasts, rounded hips, and prominent sex organs. Stone Age

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people may have been unaware of the male’s contribution
to reproduction. As the glacial sheets of the last Ice Age
retreated (about 11,000 bce) and the climate warmed,
human societies turned agrarian. Hunters and gatherers
became farmers and herders. Villages sprang up around
fields. Men tended livestock. Women farmed. As people
grew aware of the male role in reproduction, phallic
worship (worship of the penis) sprang into being.
Knowledge of paternity is believed to have developed
around 9000 bce, resulting from observation of livestock.
The penis became glorified in art as a plough, ax, or sword.
Phallic symbols played roles in religious ceremonies in
ancient Egypt. The incest taboo may have been the first
human taboo. All human societies apparently have some
form of incest taboo, but societies have varied in terms of
its strictness.
• The Ancient Hebrews
o The ancient Hebrews viewed sex, at least in marriage, as a
satisfying experience intended to fulfill the divine
command to “be fruitful and multiply.” Male–male and
female–female sexual behavior were strongly condemned
because they threatened the perpetuation of the family.
Although the ancient Hebrews believed that sex helped
strengthen marital bonds and solidify the family. According
to the Book of Proverbs, a good wife rises before dawn to
tend to her family’s needs, brings home food, instructs the
servants, tends the vineyards, makes the clothes, keeps the
ledger, helps the needy, and works well into the night. Even
so, a wife was considered the property of her husband and
could be divorced on a whim. A wife might have to share
her husband with secondary wives and concubines, but she
could be stoned to death for adultery—a fate still practiced
in some Islamic cultures. Men who consorted with the
wives of other men were considered to have violated the
property rights of those men and might have to pay
“damages.”
• The Ancient Greeks
o The classical or golden age of Greece lasted from about
500 bce to 300 bce. Within this relatively short span lived
the philosophers Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle; the
playwrights Aristophanes, Aeschylus, and Sophocles; the
natural scientist Archimedes; and the lawgiver Solon. Like
the Hebrews, the Greeks valued family life, but Greek men
also admired the well-developed male body and enjoyed
nude wrestling in the arena. Erotic encounters and off-color
jokes characterized the plays of Aristophanes and other

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playwrights. The Greeks viewed their gods as voracious
seekers of sexual variety. Three aspects of Greek sexuality
are of particular interest to our study of sexual practices in
the ancient world: male–male sexual behavior, pederasty,
and prostitution. The Greeks viewed people as bisexual.
Male–male sex was deemed normal and tolerated so long
as it did not threaten the institution of the family. Pederasty
means love of boys. Sex between men and prepubescent
boys was illegal, but families were generally pleased if
their adolescent sons attracted socially prominent mentors.
Prostitution flourished at every level of society in ancient
Greece. Prostitutes ranged from refined courtesans to
concubines, who were usually slaves. The women of
Athens were subject to the authority of their male next-of-
kin before marriage and to their husbands afterward.
• The World of Ancient Rome
o Much is made of the sexual excesses of the Roman
emperors and ruling families. Sexual excesses were found
more often among the upper classes of palace society than
among average Romans. Romans disapproved of male–
male sexual behavior as a threat to the integrity of the
Roman family, which was viewed as the core of strength of
the empire. Although Roman women were more likely than
their Greek counterparts to share their husbands’ social
lives, they still were the property of their husbands.
Western society traces the roots of many of its sexual terms
to Roman culture, as indicated by their Latin roots. Fellatio,
derives from the Latin fellare, meaning “to suck.”
Cunnilingus derives from cunnus, meaning “vulva,” and
lingere, “to lick.” Fornication derives from fornix, an arch
or vault.
• Christianity
o Christianity emerged within the Roman Empire during the
centuries following the death of Jesus. Early Christian
views on sexuality were largely shaped by Saint Paul and
the church fathers in the first century and by Saint
Augustine in the latter part of the fourth century. Adultery
and fornication were rampant among the upper classes of
Rome at the time, and early Christian leaders began to
associate sexuality with sin. In replacing the pagan values
of Rome, the early Christians sought to restrict sex to
marriage. They saw temptations of the flesh as distractions
from spiritual devotion. Paul preached that celibacy was
closer to the Christian ideal than marriage. He recognized
that not everyone could achieve celibacy, however, so he
said that it was “better to marry than to burn” (with passion,

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that is). Christians, like the Hebrews before them,
demanded virginity of brides. Prostitution was condemned.
Christians taught that men should love their wives with
restraint, not passion, because the goal was procreation and
not pleasure—the spirit should rule the flesh. Divorce was
outlawed. Unhappiness with one’s spouse might reflect
sinful restlessness. Dissolving a marriage might also
jeopardize the social structure that supported the church.
Masturbation, male–male sexual behavior, female– female
sexual behavior, oral–genital contact, anal intercourse—all
were viewed as abominations. Lust made any sexual
expression, even in marriage, inherently evil. Only through
celibacy, according to Augustine, could men and women
attain a state of grace. There have been two conflicting
concepts of woman in Christianity: One is of woman as
Eve, the temptress; the other is of woman as Mary, Mother
of God, virtuous and pure. Contemporary Western images
of women still show the schism between the good girl and
the bad girl—the Madonna and the whore. During the
Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther (1483–1546) and
other Christian reformers such as John Calvin (1509–1564)
split off from the Roman Catholic Church and formed their
own sects, which led to the development of the modern
Protestant denominations. Luther believed that priests
should be allowed to marry and rear children. To Luther,
marriage was as much a part of human nature as eating or
drinking. Calvin rejected the Roman church’s position that
marital sex was permissible only for procreation. He
believed that sex strengthened the marriage bond and
helped relieve the stresses of everyday life. Early European
settlers brought to North America the religious teachings
that had dominated Western thought and culture for
centuries.
• Islam
o Islam, the dominant religion in the Middle East, across
North Africa and into parts of Southern Asia, was founded
by the Prophet Muhammad. The Islamic tradition treasures
marriage and sexual fulfillment in marriage. Premarital sex
and adultery invite shame and social condemnation— and,
as noted, in some fundamentalist Islamic states, the death
penalty, by stoning. Muhammad decreed that marriage
represents the road to virtue. Islamic tradition permits a
sexual double standard, however. Men under most
circumstances may take up to four wives but women are
permitted only one husband. Public social interactions
between men and women are severely restricted in more

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conservative Islamic societies. Women are expected to
keep their heads and faces veiled in public and to avoid all
contact with men other than their husbands.
• India
o Hindu sexual practices were codified in a sex manual, the
Kama Sutra, which illustrates sexual positions, some of
which would challenge a contortionist. It also holds recipes
for alleged aphrodisiacs. This manual is believed to have
been written sometime between the third and fifth centuries
ce, when Christianity was ascending in the West. In its
graphic representations of sexual positions and practices,
the Kama Sutra reflected the Hindu belief that sex was a
religious duty, not a source of shame or guilt. Hindu deities
were often portrayed as engaging in same-sex as well as
male–female sexual activities. In the Hindu doctrine of
karma (the passage of souls from one place to another),
sexual fulfillment was regarded as one way to become
reincarnated at a higher level of existence. Indian society
grew more restrictive toward sexuality after about 1000 ce.
• The Far East
o In the cultures of the Far East, sexuality was akin to
spirituality. To the Taoist masters of China, who influenced
Chinese culture for millennia, sex was a sacred duty—a
form of worship that led toward harmony with nature and
immortality. In ancient China, the man was expected to
extend intercourse as long as possible to absorb more of his
wife’s natural essence, or yin. Yin would enhance his own
masculine essence, or yang. Moreover, he was to help bring
his partner to orgasm so as to increase the flow of energy
that he might absorb. Taoists believed that it was wasteful
for a man to “spill his seed.” Masturbation, acceptable for
women, was ruled out for men. Sexual practices such as
anal intercourse and oral–genital contact (fellatio and
cunnilingus) were permissible, so long as the man did not
squander yang through wasteful ejaculation. Same-sex
activity was not prohibited by Taoist holy writings, but
some Taoists frowned on exclusive homosexuality. The
good Chinese wife, like her Western counterparts, was
limited to domestic roles.
• The Victorian Period
o The middle and later parts of the nineteenth century in
Western civilization are generally called the Victorian
period, after Queen Victoria of England, who assumed the
throne in 1837 and ruled until her death in 1901. Her name
has become virtually synonymous with sexual repression.

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Many women viewed sex as a marital duty to be performed
for procreation or to satisfy their husbands’ cravings.
Women were assumed not to experience sexual desires or
pleasures. But the behavior of Victorians was not as
repressed as advertised. Women’s diaries of the time also
contain accounts of passionate love affairs. Prostitution
flourished during the Victorian era. Same-sex sexual
behavior was considered indecent in Victorian society.
• Beginnings of the Scientific Study of Sexuality
o The English physician Havelock Ellis (1859–1939)
published a veritable encyclopedia of sexuality between
1897 and 1910, Studies in the Psychology of Sex. Ellis
drew information from case histories, anthropological
findings, and medical knowledge. He argued that sexual
desires in women were natural and healthy. He wrote that
many sexual problems had psychological rather than
physical causes. Gay male and lesbian sexual orientations
were natural variations in sexual orientation, not
aberrations. The German psychiatrist Richard von Krafft-
Ebing (1840–1902) described case histories of people with
sexual deviations in his book, Psychopathia Sexualis
(1886). Krafft-Ebing viewed deviations as mental diseases
that could be studied and perhaps treated by medical
science. At about the same time, the Viennese physician
Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) was developing his influential
theory of personality. Freud believed that the sex drive was
our principal motivating force. Alfred Kinsey (1894–1956),
an Indiana University zoologist, conducted the first large-
scale studies of sexual behavior in the 1930s and 1940s.
Kinsey conducted detailed interviews with nearly 12,000
people across the United States attempts to provide a
comprehensive picture of American sexual behavior. The
results of his surveys were published in two volumes,
Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (Kinsey et al., 1948)
and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (Kinsey et al.,
1953). Kinsey and his colleagues made sex research a
scientifically respectable field of study and helped lay the
groundwork for discussing sexual behavior openly.
• The Sexual Revolution
o The period of the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s is often
referred to as the sexual revolution. Our society was on the
threshold of major social upheaval, not only in sexual
behavior but also in science, politics, fashion, music, art,
and cinema. The sexual revolution gained momentum from
a timely interplay of scientific, social, political, and
economic forces. The war (in Vietnam), the bomb (fear of

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the nuclear bomb), the pill (the introduction of the birth
control pill), and the mass media (especially television)
were four such forces. Popular books encouraged people to
explore their sexuality. Film scenes of lovemaking became
so commonplace that the movie rating system was
introduced to alert parents. During the sexual revolution,
sexually explicit questionnaires proliferated in popular
magazines, interviewers posed sexually explicit questions
by telephone and in person, and some pioneers, including
William H. Masters and Virginia Johnson, observed people
engaging in sexual activity in the laboratory. In the 1960s,
Masters and Johnson were condemned by many as
destroying the moral fabric of the nation—a complaint
similar to those leveled earlier against Kinsey.
• Recent Trends
o More teenagers are sexually active today, and at younger
ages, than they were a couple of generations ago. Two
other features of the sexual evolution have become
permanent parts of our social fabric: the liberation of
female sexuality and widespread willingness to discuss sex
openly. Countless pornography Web sites populate the
Internet and can be accessed by children.
▪ The Biological Perspective
• The biological perspective focuses on the roles of hormones, the
nervous system, the sex organs, genetics, and other biological
factors in human sexuality. Study of the biology of sex informs us
about the mechanisms of reproduction as well as of the
mechanisms of sexual arousal and response. We learn that orgasm
is a spinal reflex as well as a psychological event. Genes lead to
the timely development female and male sexual anatomy and
physiology and, apparently, to stereotypical mating behavior in
most species. Our physical traits, and perhaps our mating
strategies, are determined or at least influenced by genes that we
inherit from our parents.
▪ The Evolutionary Perspective
• Species vary not only in their physical characteristics but also in
their social behavior, including their mating behavior. The English
naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882) showed that current species
of animals and plants evolved from other life forms through natural
selection, or “survival of the fittest.” In each species, individuals
vary, and some are better adapted to their environments than
others. Better-adapted members are more likely to survive to
reproduce and transmit their traits to succeeding generations. They
are not necessarily the strongest or fleetest of foot, although these
traits are adaptive for some species and enhance their reproductive
success. New variations in species can also be introduced through

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random genetic changes called mutations. Although mutations
occur randomly, they are subject to natural selection. Adaptive
mutations enhance reproductive success.
▪ Evolutionary Views of Male-Female Differences in Mating Strategies
• With humans, natural selection may not only have led to the
development of our sex organs, but also to sexual and mating
strategies that promote the survival of our species. More
specifically, researchers into evolutionary processes suggest that
there may be a genetic basis to certain aspects of social behavior,
including sexual behavior, among humans and some other animals.
Some evolutionary psychologists argue that men are naturally
more promiscuous than women because they are the genetic heirs
of ancestors whose reproductive success was related to the number
of women they could impregnate. Women, by contrast, can
produce only a few offspring in their lifetimes. Thus, evolutionary
theory suggests, woman may have to be more selective with
respect to their mating partners. Women’s reproductive success is
enhanced by mating with the fittest males—not with any Tom,
Dick, or Harry who happens by. Thus the male’s “roving eye” and
the female’s selectivity may be embedded in their genes.
▪ The Cross-Species Perspective
• In an endeavor to discover what kinds of sexual behaviors are
“natural,” scientists have looked to the sexual behavior of other
animal species. A surprising variety of sexual behaviors exist
among nonhumans. There are animal examples, or analogues, of
human male–male sexual behavior, female–female sexual
behavior, oral–genital contact, and oral–oral behavior (i.e.,
kissing). Foreplay is also well known in the animal world. Most
mammals use only a rear-entry position to mate, but some animals,
such as apes, use a variety of positions. Cross-species research
reveals an interesting pattern. Sexual behavior among “higher”
mammals, such as primates, is less directly controlled by instinct
than it is among the “lower” species, such as birds, fish, or lower
mammals. Experience and learning play more important roles in
sexuality as we climb the evolutionary ladder.
▪ Sociological Perspectives
• Sociology tends to study the influences of groups of sexual
behavior. Thus sociologists consider the behavior of humans by
socioeconomic status level of education, sex (male or female), race
and ethnicity, and age. They look at the roles of families, religion,
urbanization, social movements, and nations. Sociological
perspectives, like the historical perspective, provide insight into the
ways in which cultural institutions and beliefs affect sexual
behavior and people’s sense of morality. Societies differ
in their attitudes toward childhood masturbation. Individuals in
these societies tend to accept dominant beliefs or, if they challenge

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them, to be ostracized. The members of all human societies share
anatomic structures and physiological capacities for sexual
pleasure, however. The same hormones flow through their arteries.
Yet their sexual practices, and the pleasure they reap or fail to
attain, may set them apart. If human sexuality were determined
exclusively by biology, we might not find such diversity.
▪ Psychological Perspectives
• Sigmund Freud and Psychoanalytic Theory
o Sigmund Freud, a Viennese physician, formulated a grand
theory of personality termed psychoanalysis in the latter
part of the nineteenth century. Freud believed that we are
all born with biologically based sex drives that must be
channeled through socially approved outlets if family and
social life are to carry on without undue conflict. Freud
proposed that the mind operates on conscious and
unconscious levels. The conscious level corresponds to our
state of present awareness. The unconscious mind refers to
the darker reaches of the mind that lie outside our direct
awareness. The ego shields the conscious mind from
awareness of our baser sexual and aggressive urges by
means of defense mechanisms such as repression, or
motivated forgetting of traumatic experiences. One
avenue of expression is the dream, through which sexual
impulses may be perceived in disguised, or symbolic, form.
The therapists and scholars who follow in the Freudian
tradition are quite interested in analyzing dreams, but this
view has not been supported by research evidence. Freud
introduced us to new and controversial ideas about
ourselves as sexual beings. One of Freud’s most
controversial beliefs was that children normally harbor
erotic interests. He theorized that it was normal for
children to progress through stages of development in
which the erotic interest shifts from one erogenous zone to
another from the mouth or oral cavity to the anal cavity.
According to his theory of psychosexual development,
children undergo five stages of development: oral, anal,
phallic, latency, and genital, which are named according to
the main erogenous zones of each stage. Freud believed
that it was normal for children to develop erotic feelings
toward the parent of the other sex during the phallic stage.
These incestuous urges lead to conflict with the parent of
the same sex.
• Learning Theories
o Even within the same society, family and personal
experiences can shape unique sexual attitudes and
behaviors. Behaviorists such as John B. Watson (1878–

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1958) and B. F. Skinner (1904–1990) emphasized the
importance of rewards and punishments in the learning
process. Children left to explore their bodies without
parental condemnation will learn what feels good and tend
to repeat it. Observational learning refers to acquiring
knowledge and skills by observing others. Observational
learning includes seeing models in films and on television,
hearing about them, and reading about them. According to
social–cognitive theory, children acquire the gender roles
deemed appropriate for people of their anatomic sex
through reinforcement of what society considers to be
gender-appropriate behavior and through observing the
gender-role behavior of their parents, their peers, and other
models.
• Cognitive Theories
o Cognitive psychologists emphasize the importance of
cognitive activity (problem solving, decision making,
expectations, attitudes and beliefs, and so on). They
recognize that the beliefs and attitudes taught to children
can serve as cognitive anchors for a lifetime.
▪ Feminist Theory
• The Greek philosopher Aristotle is said to have described a female
as a deformed male. Feminism and feminist theory are born of
protest against ideas such as those of Aristotle’s—ideas that
remain with us today in many if not most parts of the world.
Definitions of feminism and of feminist theory are controversial,
but it is clear enough that feminist theory focuses on the
subordination of women to men; analyzing the relationships
between sexism, heterosexism (prejudice or discrimination against
homosexuals by heterosexuals), racism, and class oppression; and
exploring means of resistance—on individual and societal levels.
Among other things, feminist theory challenges:
▪ Traditional views of men as breadwinners and
women as homemakers
▪ Traditional views of men as political policymakers,
especially because those policies affect women and
children
▪ Traditional views of men as sexual “aggressors”
and women as sexual “gatekeepers”
▪ Traditional gender roles that view men as objective
and rational, and women as emotional and irrational
Some feminists challenge the concepts of femininity and
masculinity because their existence tends to suggest that there is
some sort of biological or “actual” basis to the distinction. They
argue, instead, that femininity and masculinity might be purely
social constructions that have the effect of giving women second-

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class citizenship—or, in many historic eras and parts of the world,
no citizenship whatsoever.
▪ Queer Theory
• The word queer was initially used as an insult to describe
homosexuals. After approximately two centuries, the term became
gradually replaced by the word gay. However, homosexuals have
reappropriated the word queer as a sign of pride, as shown by the
title of the former TV show, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. As
one result of this reappropriation, a widely cited theory of the
psychology and sociology of gender roles and sexual orientation is
termed queer theory. Queer theory challenges heteronormativity—
the assumptions that heterosexuality is normal and superior to
homosexuality. Queer theory also challenges the assumption that
people are naturally divided into heterosexuals and homosexuals.
According to queer theory, the concepts of heterosexuality and
homosexuality are social constructs that ignore commonly
experienced mismatches among people’s anatomic sex, society’s
gender roles, and individuals’ sexual desires. Queer theory asserts
that human sexuality has always been more varied than those in
power—particularly male heterosexuals—are willing to admit.
▪ Multiple Perspectives on Human Sexuality
• Each perspective—historical, biological, cross-species,
sociological, psychological, feminist, and queer—has something to
teach us. First, human sexuality appears to reflect a combination of
biological, psychological, and social factors that interact in
complex ways. Second, there are few universal patterns of sexual
behavior, and views on what is right and wrong show great
diversity. Third, although our own cultural values and beliefs may
be deeply meaningful to us, they may not indicate what is normal,
natural, or moral in terms of sexual behavior. The complexity of
human sexuality—a complexity that causes it to remain somewhat
mysterious even to scientists—adds to the wonder and richness of
our sexual experience.
• Research Methods in Human Sexuality
o Explain the steps in the scientific method.
▪ Scientists who study sex take an empirical approach. They base their
knowledge on research evidence, rather than on intuition, faith, or
superstition. Critical thinking and the scientific approach share the
hallmark of skepticism. Scientists question prevailing assumptions and
theories about sexual behavior. They are willing to dispute the assertions
of authority figures such as political and religious leaders—even other
scientists. Scientists are involved in the continuous quest for truth, but
they do not see themselves as experiencing revelations or defining final
truths. The scientific method is a systematic way of gathering scientific
evidence and testing assumptions. It has a number of elements:

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• 1. Formulating a research question. Scientists formulate research
questions on the basis of their observations of, or theories about,
events or behavior. They then seek answers to such questions by
conducting empirical research.
• 2. Framing the research question in the form of a hypothesis.
Experiments are usually undertaken with a hypothesis in mind—a
precise prediction that is tested through research.
• 3. Testing the hypothesis. Scientists then test hypotheses through
carefully controlled observation and experimentation.
• 4. Drawing conclusions. Scientists then draw conclusions or
inferences about the correctness of their hypotheses, based on their
analyses of the results of their studies. If the results of well-
designed research studies fail to bear out certain hypotheses,
scientists can revise the theories that served as the frameworks for
the hypotheses. Research findings often lead scientists to modify
their theories, and in turn, generate new hypotheses.
▪ Goals of the Science of Human Sexuality
• The goals of the science of human sexuality are congruent with
those of other sciences: to describe, explain, predict, and control
the events (in this case, the sexual behaviors) that are of interest.
Scientists attempt to be clear, unbiased, and precise in their
descriptions of events and behavior. Researchers attempt to relate
their observations to other factors, or variables, that can help
explain them. The variables that are commonly used to explain
sexual behavior are biological (age, health), psychological
(anxieties, skills), and sociological (educational level,
socioeconomic status, ethnicity). The concept of “controlling”
human behavior does not mean coercing people to do the bidding
of others. Rather, it means drawing from scientific knowledge to
help people create their own goals and marshal their resources to
meet them. Reputable scientists are held to ethical and professional
standards that safeguard the rights of participants in research.
o Explain what is meant by populations and samples.
▪ Researchers seek to learn about populations—complete groups of people,
animals, or events. Because of the difficulty in studying all members of a
population, scientists select individuals from the population and study
them. The individuals who participate in research are said to compose a
sample. However, that sample must represent the target population.
▪ Sampling Methods: Does Size Matter?
• Researchers use random samples, when possible, because every
member of the target population has an equal chance of
participating. In a stratified random sample, known subgroups of a
population are represented in proportion to their numbers in the
population. Random samples can be hard to come by, especially
when it comes to asking people about their sexual attitudes or
behavior. Volunteers tend to differ from people who refuse to

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participate by being more open about their sexuality. The refusal
of people who have been randomly selected to participate in a
survey can ruin the representativeness of the sample, yet
researchers cannot coerce people to participate in research.
Therefore, researchers must use samples of volunteers, rather than
true random samples. A low response rate to a voluntary survey is
an indication that the responses do not represent the people for
whom the survey was distributed. Some samples, such as the
Kinsey sample, are “samples of convenience.” They consist of
individuals who happen to be available to the researcher and do not
represent the population at large. Convenience samples often
consist of European American, middle-class college students who
volunteer for studies conducted at their schools. They may not
even be representative of students in general.
o Describe methods of observation including the case-study method, the survey,
naturalistic observation, ethnographic observation, participant observation, and
laboratory observation.
▪ The Case-Study Method
• A case study is a carefully drawn, in-depth biography of an
individual or a small group. The focus is on understanding one or
several individuals as fully as possible by unraveling the interplay
of various factors in their backgrounds. In most case studies, the
researcher comes to know the individual or group through
interviews or other extended contacts. Researchers also conduct
case studies by interviewing people who have known the
individuals being studied, or by examining public records. Some
case studies have been carried out on people who are dead. Reports
of innovative treatments for sexual dysfunctions often appear as
detailed case studies. A clinician may report the background of the
client in depth, describe the treatment and the apparent outcomes,
and suggest factors that might have contributed to the treatment’s
success or failure. Case studies or multiple case studies (reports
concerning a few people) that hold promise may be subjected to
experimental studies involving treatment and control groups.
Despite the richness of material that may be derived from case
studies, they are not as rigorous a research design as an
experiment. People often have gaps in memory, especially
concerning childhood events. There is also the potential of
observer bias; that is, clinicians and interviewers may
unintentionally guide people into saying what they expect to hear.
▪ The Survey Method
• Researchers may survey respondents by interviewing or
administering questionnaires to thousands of people from
particular population groups to learn about their sexual behavior
and attitudes. Face-to-face interviews such as those used by Alfred
Kinsey and his colleagues (1948, 1953) give the interviewer the

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opportunity to probe—to follow up on answers that seem to lead
toward useful information. A skilled interviewer may be able to
establish a sense of trust or rapport that encourages self-disclosure.
Many surveys have something to contribute to our understanding
of human sexuality, but none perfectly represents the American
population at large. People who agree to be polled on political
matters may resist participation in surveys about their sexual
behavior. Even the best surveys suffer from volunteer bias.
▪ The Kinsey Reports
• Alfred Kinsey and his colleagues (1948, 1953) interviewed 5,300
males and 5,940 females in the United States between 1938 and
1949. They posed questions about sexual experiences, including
masturbation, oral sex, and intercourse before and in marriage.
Kinsey did not try to obtain a random sample. He believed that a
high refusal rate would wreck his chances of representing the
general population. Instead, he used group sampling. He recruited
participants from the organizations and community groups to
which they belonged, such as college fraternities and sororities. He
contacted representatives of groups in diverse communities and
tried to persuade them to secure the cooperation of fellow group
members. If he showed these individuals that they would not be
subjected to embarrassment or discomfort, Kinsey hoped that they
would persuade other members to participate. In some cases he
obtained the full participation of a group. Yet, people of color,
people in rural areas, older people, poor people, and Catholics and
Jews were underrepresented in Kinsey’s research. It is thus
unlikely that Kinsey’s results accurately mirrored the U.S.
population at the time. But some relationships Kinsey uncovered,
such as the positive link between level of education and
participation in oral sex, are probably generalizable.
▪ The National Survey of Adolescents and Young Adults
• This study tried to obtain a nationally representative sample of 13-
to 24-year-olds by selecting telephone numbers at random and
conducting telephone interviews with 1,854 young people either in
English or Spanish. They purposefully oversampled people in
ethnic minority groups—African Americans, Latin Americans, and
Asian Americans—because most studies do not generate enough
information about them. Parents provided permission to interview
minors (respondents younger than age 18). The response rate was
55%. Note some of the study’s major findings:
o About one adolescent in three reported being pressured into
sex.
o Sixty percent of the sample agreed with the statement that
“Waiting to have sex is a nice idea but nobody really does.”
o One adolescent in three has engaged in oral sex, often to
avoid intercourse.

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o Seventy percent of sexually active young adults and 40% of
sexually active adolescents reported that they or their
partner had taken a pregnancy test.
o Four out of five adolescents reported that adolescents tend
to drink or use drugs before sex.
o Although 90% of adolescents say that using condoms is a
sign of respect and caring for one’s partner, about half were
reluctant to discuss condoms with their partners, fearing,
that raising the subject would be embarrassing or suggest
that one is suspicious of one’s partner.
▪ The National Surveys of Family Growth (NSFG)
• The National Surveys of Family Growth are conducted by the
CDC as a means of assessing sexual behavior “relevant to
demographic and public health concerns” One survey was run
primarily in 2002, and results were published over the following
years. It involved face-to-face interviews in the homes of 12,571
people, including 4,928 men and 7,643 women aged 15 to 44. A
more recent survey, published in 2011, reported the results of
interviews with 22,682 face-to-face interviews of people aged 15
to 44, 12,279 with women and 10,403 with men over the years
from 2006 to 2010. In the 2002 study, the interviewees responded
to questions about their sexual behavior on laptop computers, to
ensure their privacy and encourage honesty. The researchers who
published in 2011 drew their sample from 110 locales across the
United States and sampled randomly within those locales. All in
all, the National Health and Social Life Survey (NHSLS) and
NSFG may be the only surveys since Kinsey’s day to offer a
reasonably accurate—if not perfect—snapshot of the sexual
behavior of the general population of the United States. There have
been some interesting findings about male–male and female–
female sexual behavior. In the study published in 2005, 5.7% of
the males had had oral sex with another male, and 3.7% had had
anal sex with another male. In the study published in 2012, the
figure was 5.5% for oral sex, and 5.7% reported oral or anal sex
with another male—not exactly comparable. There was more
comparability among females: in the 2005 study, 11% said yes
when asked “Have you ever had any sexual experience of any kind
with another female?” That figure rose to 17.4% in the study
reported in 2012. Either female–female sexual activity has been
increasing or there were differences in sampling or data collection
and analysis between 2005 and 2012.
▪ Magazine Surveys
• Readership surveys have also been conducted by popular
magazines, such as Psychology Today, Glamour, Ladies’ Home
Journal, and Cosmopolitan. Although these surveys may obtain
large numbers of respondents, their sampling techniques raise

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questions. Each sample represents, at best, the readers of the
magazine in which the questionnaire appears.
▪ Limitations of the Survey Method
• One limitation of surveys involves the fact that they are self-
reports of behavior and attitudes. Self-reports are subject to
inaccuracies or biases because of factors such as faulty memory
and tendencies to distort or conceal information resulting from
embarrassment, shame, or guilt; or attempts to present a favorable
image. People may not recall the age at which they first engaged in
petting, or masturbated to orgasm. People may have difficulty
recalling or calculating the frequency of certain behaviors, such as
the weekly frequency of marital intercourse. Survey data may also
be drawn from haphazard or nonrepresentative samples and not
represent the target population. Participants in surveys of sexual
behavior may feel pressured to answer questions in the direction of
social desirability. Some try to ingratiate themselves with their
interviewers by offering what they believe to be socially desirable
answers. Even though interviewers may insist that participants will
remain anonymous, respondents may fear their identities could be
exposed someday. Some respondents exaggerate the bizarreness of
their behavior or attitudes to draw attention to themselves or to
foul up study results. Because many people refuse to participate in
surveys, samples are biased by large numbers of volunteers.
Volunteers tend to be more sexually permissive and liberal-minded
than nonvolunteers.
▪ The Naturalistic-Observation Method
• In naturalistic observation, also called the field study, scientists
directly observe the behavior of animals and humans where it
happens. Scientists try to observe their subjects unobtrusively; that
is, they try not to influence the behavior of the individuals they
study. Naturalistic observers sometimes find themselves in ethical
dilemmas. They have allowed sick or injured animals to die, rather
than intervene, when medical assistance could have saved them.
They have allowed substance abuse and illicit sexual behavior to
go unreported to authorities. The ethical trade-off is that
unobtrusive observation may yield data that will benefit large
numbers of people—the greatest good for the greatest number.
▪ The Ethnographic-Observation Method
• Ethnographic observation provides data concerning sexual
behaviors and customs that occur among various ethnic groups—
those that vary widely across cultures and those that are limited to
one or few cultures. Anthropologists are the specialists who
typically engage in ethnographic research. They have lived among
societies of people in the four corners of the earth in order to
observe and study human diversity. Margaret Mead (1935)
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New Guinea. Bronislaw Malinowski (1929) studied the Trobriand
Islanders, among others. Even so, ethnographic observation has its
limits in the study of sexual behavior. Sexual activities are most
commonly performed away from the watchful gaze of others,
especially visitors from other cultures. Ethnographers may thus
have to rely on methods such as interviewing. The ethnographer
who studies a particular culture or subgroup within a culture tries
to do so unobtrusively. Falling prey to social desirability, some
people may “straighten out their act” while the ethnographer is
present. Other people may try to impress the ethnographer by
acting in ways that are more aggressive or sexually provocative
than usual. In either case, people supply distorted information.
▪ The Participant-Observation Method
• In participant observation, investigators learn about people’s
behavior by directly interacting with them. Participant observation
has been used in studies of male–male sexual behavior and mate-
swapping. In some cases, researchers have engaged in coitus with
participants during “swinging parties,” which raises questions as to
what is permissible “for the sake of science.”
▪ The Laboratory-Observation Method
• Rather than study individuals in their natural settings, laboratory
observation brings them into the laboratory, where their behavior
can be more carefully monitored. In Human Sexual Response
(1966), William Masters and Virginia Johnson were among the
first to report direct laboratory observations of individuals and
couples engaged in sex acts. In all, 694 people (312 men and 382
women) participated in the research. The women ranged from ages
18 to 78; the men were from 21 to 80 years old. There were 276
married couples, 106 single women, and 36 single men. The
married couples engaged in intercourse and manual and oral
stimulation of the genitals. The unmarried people participated in
studies that did not require intercourse, such as measurement of
female sexual arousal in response to insertion of a penis-shaped
probe, and male ejaculation during masturbation. Direct laboratory
observation of biological processes was not invented by Masters
and Johnson, but they were confronting a society that was still
unprepared to speak openly of sex. Masters and Johnson were
accused of immorality and voyeurism. Nevertheless, their methods
offered the first reliable set of data on what happens to the body
during sexual response. Their instruments—the penile strain gauge
and the vaginal plethysmograph—permitted them to directly
measure vasocongestion (blood flow to the genitals), myotonia
(muscle tension), and other physiological responses. One
confounding factor in Masters and Johnson’s research is that
people who participate in laboratory observation know that they
are being observed and that their responses are being measured.

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Researchers have since developed more sophisticated
physiological methods of measuring sexual arousal and response.
▪ What Does a Woman Want? Using Objective and Subjective Measures to
Find Out
• Research using a variety of methods suggests that men’s sexual
responses are more predictable, and that what goes on in men’s
bodies is more likely to correlate with what they are thinking..
Meredith Chivers and her colleagues showed erotic videos to men
and women, both heterosexual and homosexual; the videos showed
male–female sex, male–male sex, female–female sex, a man
masturbating, a woman masturbating, a muscled man walking nude
on a beach, and a well-toned nude woman doing calisthenics. The
subjects watched on recliners while Chivers measured their arousal
objectively and subjectively. The objective measures were made
possible by plethysmographs connected to the viewers’ genitals.
Men wore an apparatus on the penis that gauged its swelling (that
is, erection). Women inserted a tampon-shaped probe in the vagina
that bounced light off the vaginal walls, providing a gauge of
genital blood flow. In men, genital engorgement with blood
produces erection. In women, it spurs lubrication—the seeping of
moisture through the vaginal walls. The participants could rate
their subjective feelings of arousal with a keypad. Self-labeled
heterosexual (“straight”) men achieved erection while watching
male– female or female–female sex, and while gazing at the
masturbating and the exercising women. They were generally
unresponsive when they watched a man masturbating or male–
male sex. Gay males showed the opposite pattern of sexual arousal.
For both straight and gay males, the subjective ratings matched the
numbers provided by the plethysmograph. The men’s subjective
rating were congruent with their body’s responses. Not so with the
women. Regardless of whether the women labeled themselves as
heterosexual or lesbian, they responded with genital arousal when
they viewed male–male sex, female–female sex, and male–female
sex. Their genitals were more responsive to the exercising woman
than the nude man. However, their self-reported arousal did not
particularly match their body’s responses. Chivers suggests that
women are genitally aroused by a wider range of stimuli than men
because these differences might reflect innate, evolutionary forces.
In the Chivers studies, both heterosexual and lesbian women
showed greater sexual arousal in response to stimuli depicting
female targets than to stimuli showing male targets. One possibility
is that the women observers identify with the depicted female
targets, imagining themselves in the place of the women receiving
pleasure, whereas the men are more likely to attend to the physical
attributes of the actors. Sexologist Lisa Diamond suggests that the

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response of women to a wider range of sexual stimuli allows for
quite a bit of plasticity in sexual response.
o Describe the correlational method.
▪ The correlational method describes the relationship between variables in
numerical terms, and as positive or negative. A correlation is a statistical
measure of the relationship between two variables. In correlational studies,
two or more variables are related, or linked to, one another by statistical
means. The strength and direction (positive or negative) of the relationship
between any two variables is expressed with a statistic called a correlation
o Explain how experiments seek to determine cause and effect.
▪ The best method for studying cause and effect is the experiment.
Experiments permit scientists to draw conclusions about cause-and-effect
relationships because the experimenter directly manipulates the variables
of interest and observes their effects. In an experiment on the effects of
alcohol on sexual arousal a group of participants would receive an
intervention, called a treatment, such as a dose of alcohol. The
participants would then be carefully observed to learn whether this
treatment made a difference in their behavior—in this case, their sexual
arousal. In an experiment, the variables (treatments) that are hypothesized
to have a causal effect are manipulated or controlled by the researcher.
The measured results are called dependent variables because changes in
their values are believed to depend on the independent variable or
variables. Dependent variables are outcomes; they are observed and
measured by the researchers, but not manipulated.
▪ Experimental and Control Groups
• True experiments randomly assign subjects to experimental and
control groups. Subjects in experimental groups receive the
treatment. Subjects in control groups do not. All other conditions
are held constant for both groups. By using random assignment
and holding other conditions constant, researchers can be
reasonably confident that the independent variable (treatment), and
not extraneous factors (such as the temperature of the room in
which the treatment was administered or differences between
subjects in the experimental and control groups), brought about the
results. Although scientists agree that the experimental method
provides the best evidence of cause and effect, experimenters
cannot manipulate many variables directly. Societal prohibitions
and ethical standards preclude experimenters from exposing
children or adolescents to erotic materials.
• Ethics in Research on Human Sexuality
o Describe the ethical concerns that govern the ways in which professionals interact
with research participants and clients in treatment.
▪ Sex researchers are required to protect the people being studied. People
cannot be subjected to physical or psychological harm and must
participate of their own free will. In colleges, universities, hospitals, and
research institutions, ethics review committees help researchers weigh the

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potential harm of proposed studies in light of ethical guidelines. If the
committee finds fault with a proposal, it may advise the researcher how to
modify the research design to comply with ethical standards and withhold
approval until the proposal has been modified. What kinds of ethical
issues are raised concerning sex research?
• Exposing participants to harm. Individuals may be harmed if they
are exposed to pain or placed in stressful situations. Nor would
researchers expose children to erotic materials to determine their
effects.
• Confidentiality. Sex researchers keep the identities and responses
of participants confidential to protect them from possible harm or
embarrassment.
• Informed consent. The principle of informed consent requires that
people freely agree to participate after being given enough
information about the procedures and purposes of the research, and
its risks and benefits, to make an informed decision. Once the
study has begun, participants must be free to withdraw at any time
without penalty.
• The use of deception. Ethical conflicts may emerge when
experiments require that participants not know all about the
experiment’s purposes and methods.
Chapter Summary
The chapter begins by discussing the need for studying human sexuality as opposed to
learning about it just by experience. The breadth of information provided will permit the student
to understand the psychological, biological, and sociological aspects of this fascinating behavior.
Sexual behavior is defined as physical activities that involve the body in the expression of erotic
or affectionate feelings.
The study of human sexuality is interdisciplinary. While information regarding sexual
behavior may come from many sources, individuals must consider their personal values in
making sexual choices. The authors then describe different value systems used in making various
choices. The importance and basic principles of critical thinking are presented.
The authors then present the historical, biological, evolutionary, cross-species,
psychological, sociological, feminist, and queer theory perspectives on human sexuality. The
historical approach provides an understanding how the societal context determines values,
beliefs, and accepted behaviors. It also implies that our ancestors have shaped our own values
and beliefs. Issues such as bisexuality, homosexuality, pederasty, and gender roles are described
in light of the social and political context of these different societies. The section ends with a
brief introduction to the pioneers of the scientific study of human sexuality. The biological
perspective informs us of the mechanics of reproduction, including the nervous, endocrine, and
circulatory systems, as well as genetic influences. The evolutionary perspective, which states that
current behaviors are driven by evolutionary forces, is explained. From this perspective, sexual
behavior is interwoven with reproductive success. Males tend to be more promiscuous because
their reproductive success is related to the number of women they can impregnate. Women’s
reproductive success, since they can produce only a few offspring in their lifetime, is related to
mating with the fittest males. The cross-species perspective provides the opportunity to take a

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critical look at certain “myths” related to what is considered “natural” in sexual behavior. It also
points out to the fact that as we climb the “evolutionary ladder,” psychosocial factors start
acquiring a greater relevance in determining the occurrence and “quality” of the response.
Psychological perspectives include psychoanalysis, which focuses on the hypothesized inner
conflicts between sexual drives and social constraints, and learning theories that emphasize the
reciprocal determinism of person, behavior, and environment. The sociological perspective
asserts that social factors such as socioeconomic status and gender will affect our sexual values,
beliefs, and behaviors. The focus of feminist theory is often on forms of prejudice, such as
sexism or racism, due to majority versus minority relationships. Feminist theory also
concentrates on ways to resist oppression. Finally, queer theory challenges the dichotomous
assumptions about sexuality and gender, noting that there is more variability in our sexual
interests and gender identities.
The second half of the chapter states the need for an empirical approach to the study of
human sexuality. This systematic way of gathering evidence is provided by the scientific
method. The different steps in the method are then described: formulating a question,
formulating a hypothesis, testing the hypothesis, and drawing conclusions. The goals of
science—description, explanation, prediction, and control—are then presented as they apply to
the study of human sexual behavior. The authors caution not to confuse description with
inference and then introduce the concepts of variables, correlation, and theories. Ethical issues
are discussed in light of the concept of control.
The use of operational definitions is essential to the scientific method and is relevant in
our ability to compare and generalize from one study to another. The different definitions of
sexual arousal are used to illustrate the point.
Because of the impracticality of studying all the members of a population of interest (a
target population), researchers try to select a representative sample. Probability sampling
(random and stratified random) and convenience samples are the methods most frequently used.
The issue of volunteer bias is discussed.
Different observation methods, their advantages and limitations are described. The case-
study method, an in-depth observation of individuals or small groups, is frequently used in the
report of innovative treatment approaches. Survey methods employ interviews or questionnaires
to gather data. The most relevant surveys on sex research are introduced to discuss issues of
sampling. The section ends with a discussion on the limitations of survey methods. Naturalistic
observations (field studies) are described and their ethical implications are pointed out. The
ethnographic approach is limited because of the usually private nature of sexual behavior. The
participant-observation method requires a direct interaction between the researchers and the
participants of the study; a controversial study on “spouse swapping” was conducted using this
method. The laboratory-observation method is illustrated in reference to the work of Masters and
Johnson, who observe participants as they engage in different sexual activities.
A correlation describes the association between variables. Although useful in predicting
behavior, correlations do not provide proof of causal relationships. This can be achieved only
through the experimental approach. The different aspects of the experimental method
(independent and dependent variables, experimental and control groups, and random assignment)
and its limitations (artificiality and practical and ethical concerns) are presented.
The chapter concludes with a discussion of ethical issues in research. Benefits exceeding
harm, confidentiality, informed concern, and the use of deception are discussed.

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Lecture Launchers
Lecture Launcher 1.1: Introductory Topics Activity and Creating a Good Learning Space
This is a good activity to do on the first day of class.
Ask students to get a piece of paper and pen/pencil and make a list of sexual topics that they
think might be covered during the entire course. Each student makes their own list.
• Ask them to shout out their topics. You can list each topic on the board or have students
write them up. Note the degree to which students use the word “sex” or “sexual” (e.g., do
they say “dysfunctions” or “sexual dysfunctions”). Note any topics that students might be
forgetting—or topics/words that they might be avoiding.
• There might be laughter in the beginning of this activity, although this will taper off and
by the end there shouldn’t be much laughter.
• After you have a good list, ask students to openly indicate what emotions might arise
when discussing these topics. List these emotions on the board in a new color. Consider
having students tie each emotion to a topic (e.g., “A person might experience anxiety
when discussing which topic?”).
• As a group, analyze the emotions listed. Some common themes are that most of the
feelings are “negative.” Discuss the meaning behind this. Also, note that two people can
have different emotional responses to the same topic.
• Explain to class how this can make teaching a class in human sexuality challenging. Ask
them to make a list of rules that everyone in class can follow to create a good learning
space (e.g., what can be done to make the class a safe place where people can make
comments and ask questions openly).
An alternative to this lecture launcher is to ask students to get in teams and to brainstorm terms
that relate to sexuality. They can list terms for anatomy, activities, names that people are called,
etc. State that you know that some of the words may be considered profanity and that is fine.
Some words may be nicknames or slang. Just as with the list above, there will likely be
discomfort and laughter. Once the teams have completed writing down their terms, ask the
teams to take turns sharing the words that they generated. Each group should cross out a term if
another team listed it. At the end of the exercise, you want to see what terms were unique to the
teams and see if any teams used or accurate terms for anatomy. Ask why people tend to use
slang instead of the technical terms.
Lecture Launcher 1.2: Value Clarification Exercise
This is another activity that is good for the first day of class.
Psychologists use value clarification exercises to assist people with goal setting and decision-
making. Specifically, the more clear students are about what values and roles are core to
their identity, the more they can evaluate the decisions they make about sexuality.
Present the following list (or have students generate their own) to identify their top five
values and roles:
• Being a good student
• Loyalty
• Respectability

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• Discipline
• Being a good parent, friend, daughter, son, etc.
• Responsibility
• Social consciousness
• Being a good Christian, Jew, Muslim, etc.
• Success
• Independence
• Vitality
• Integrity
• Being a good community member/responsible citizen
• Health consciousness
• Spirituality
Once students have identified their top five values and/or roles, use the following discussion
questions:
• How do these values and roles impact the sexual decisions you make?
• What values are compatible with your sexual decisions? What values conflict? How
do you understand the discrepancies?
• What changes would you have to make to align your sexual decisions with your core
values?
• How may your beliefs have to adjust to be consistent with your behavior?
Lecture Launcher 1.3: Critical Thinking Activity
Have your students use their critical thinking skills to evaluate the following statements:
“Rap music causes adolescents to engage in sexual activity.”
“Young adults are having sex more often today than 10 years ago.”
“Having a threesome is a common sexual fantasy among males.”
“You can have oral sex without losing your virginity.”
Questions to ask:
• What value assumptions held by the author underlie this argument?
• What fallacies in reasoning have you found?
• Who is making this statement?
• What assumptions are being made in each statement?
• What evidence would be needed to support this statement?
• How is “sex” being defined?
• What ambiguous terms do you find? What terms need to be further defined?
• Does each statement reflect an oversimplification or overgeneralization?
Lecture Launcher 1.4: Discussion on Changing Sexual Attitudes
Discuss how various aspects of sexuality have changed over time. What important changes have
occurred in your students’ lifetimes (i.e., the past 20 years) and what are some of the factors that
might have led to these changes? Some questions to consider:
• Over the past 20 years, is there more or less sex portrayed on television? In the
movies? Give examples.

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• How have society’s views on sexuality changed with regard to age? Gender?
Orientation?
• What events have led to changes in the way issues related to sexuality are viewed?
Why did these events cause these changes?
Lecture Launcher 1.5: Discussion of the Evolutionary Psychology Perspective
• Map out differences in male and female reproductive strategy for both long-term mating
and for short-term mating encounters.
• Discuss the study by Townshend and Levy* on the effects of status and attractiveness on
female willingness to engage in romantic relationships as an example.
• Discuss sociobiological explanations for the following phenomena:
o The different acceptance of promiscuity in males and in females
o The acceptability of relationships in which the man is much older than the
woman, but not the other way around
o Women wearing makeup
Lecture Launcher 1.6: Populations and Samples
Consider your classroom population.
• How closely does your classroom form a representative sample of the population of the
United States?
• In what ways does your classroom population conform to a stratified sample?
• If a survey of sexual attitudes were given to your class, how would these results compare
to a more representative sample?
• How closely does your college or university form a representative sample of the
population of the United States?
• Revisit the aforementioned questions with respect to the college or university.
Lecture Launcher 1.7: Discussion of Different Methods of Observation
Students are given a particular question about sexual behavior, for instance, the incidence of
homosexuality in the United States. Split the class into groups. Each group will discuss how they
would investigate the question by using one of the following observational methods:
• Case studies
• Surveys
• Participant-observant method
• Laboratory-observation method
Each group is to present to the rest of the class the design of their study and discuss the
advantages and disadvantages of each method of observation. In your discussion, remind
students to consider such aspects as veracity, volunteer bias, sample size or representation,
assumptions and definition of terms, control groups, and observer effect.
One problem with determining the veracity when interviewing subjects is that many people tell
researchers what they think he or she wants to hear.
As an alternative, have students focus on the research of Katherine Frank. What are the strengths
and weaknesses to Katherine Frank’s method of studying strip clubs? What biases might be

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27
operating in this research? How might her questions to participants be different if she had a
background in clinical psychology as opposed to anthropology? Challenge students to design the
same study using other methods of observation.
Lecture Launcher 1.8: Analysis of Sexual Research
Compare and discuss the research method used by Sigmund Freud, Masters and Johnson, Alfred
Kinsey, and Margaret Mead. Analyze the pros and cons of each method of investigation. For
each researcher, redesign their research using another method of observation. Discuss how this
might have altered their results. What were their respective views on human sexuality? What
were their contributions to our understanding of sexuality? How were their findings different
from previous views on sex? How do they compare to societal views on sex today?
In addition to or instead of this discussion, this activity can also be used to analyze the work of
more recent sex researchers. What are the pros and cons of the National Health and Social Life
Survey as well as the National Survey of Family Growth projects?
Online Discussion Topics
Discussion Starter 1.1: Sexual Attitudes
Ask your students to reflect on their own values, attitudes, and experiences related to sex.
Discussion questions:
• What are the top three things in your life that have most influenced your viewpoints
(some things to consider: religion, friends, family, age, hometown, TV and movies, etc.)?
• How would you describe your values and attitudes toward sexuality?
• Do you have any prejudices regarding sexuality? Why do you feel you have these?
• What do you think of how the media portrays sexuality? What do you think of the
messages religious or government institutions send about sexuality?
• Would you be able to stay friends with someone who held very different values related to
sexuality? Why or why not?
Discussion Starter 1.2: Value Discussion
What are examples of ways that these values and roles can impact sexual decisions? What are
some examples of common conflicts that people may experience between their apparent values
and sexual attitudes and behavior? How do you understand the discrepancies? What do people
experience when their behavior is in conflict with their purported values? What makes it difficult
to align values to behavior?
Student Activities
Student Activity 1.1: How Much Do You Know About Sex?
Distribute copies of this 18-item questionnaire used by the Roper Organization and the Kinsey
Institute in a nationwide survey of “sexual literacy.” The questionnaire, scoring key, and national
comparisons are included below.
The Kinsey Institute/Roper Organization National Sex Knowledge Test

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How much do you know about sex? A recent survey conducted by the Kinsey Institute and
the Roper Organization gave Americans poor marks in general. This nationwide survey, which
polled a cross section of 1,974 adults on 18 questions concerning sex and reproduction,
represented the first national effort to assess the sexual knowledge of people in the United States
(Reinisch, 1990)1. The questions tapped knowledge about such topics as sexual physiology,
contraceptives, American sexual practices, and reproductive biology. The answers to questions
about sexual practices were based on research conducted by the Kinsey Institute over the past
two generations.
How did Americans fare on the national sex test? Less than half (45%) of the respondents
received “passing grades” of 10 or more correct (out of 18). Fewer than one in five were able to
answer 12 correctly.
To be fair, some of the questions test familiarity with the results of sex surveys rather than
general knowledge about human sexuality. Some questions, for example, asked for the
percentage of Americans who have had extramarital affairs, homosexual encounters, or engaged
in anal intercourse. Other questions asked about the average age of first intercourse and the
length of the average man’s erect penis. Still, our society needs to do a better job educating the
public about sex. We need to know more if we are to deal effectively with social problems like
preventing teenage pregnancy and AIDS.
You may evaluate your own knowledge by completing the 18-item Kinsey Institute/Roper
Organization National Sex Knowledge Test. Then you can compare your results to those of the
nationwide sample.
An alternative activity would be to ask students to analyze the questionnaire critically and
replace those items that are considered “unfair” with new ones that would really measure
knowledge of human sexuality. The same activity can be repeated at the end of the semester to
determine whether students change these items.

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Human Sexuality in a Changing World, 10th Edition Class Notes

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