Transcript Psyc 3533: Sexual Behaviour - Memorial University of

Midterm 1 Tutorial
 Sex = Male/Female
 Gender is a socio-cultural construct
 Sexual behaviour includes:
 Thoughts
 Feelings
 Actions (sex)
 Sensual ≠ Sexual
 Pleasure through sensory input
 Christian view of sex:
 Women inferior
 Positive at first (400 years)
 Jesus probably was married
 Apostles all married
 All priests married
 5th century: drive for celibacy for heads of the church
 St. Augustine declared sexual pleasure evil, women
temptresses
 Christian view of sex (Cont’d)
 Many restrictions in married sex:
 Instilled shame and guilt
 For common people sex OK
 Only for procreation but mustn’t feel pleasure! (sin)
 Penitence and fines
 Role model for women: Virgin Mary
 Immaculate conception
 Attracted misogynists to the church
 Hatred of or contempt for women or girls
 Medicalization of Sex
 Pharmaceuticals
 Pills, suppositories, lotions, creams, etc.
 Identification of “medical” problems
 Millions affected.
 Reducing sex to a “hydraulic response in a few inches of
men’s anatomy”.
 Koro syndrome
 Far East countries
 Young men convinced that genitals shrinking and
retracting into abdomen
 Fatal trajectory
 Epidemics going back thousands of years till the present.
 Dhat syndrome
 Affects young Indian males
 Fear of loss of seminal fluid in nocturnal emissions. Or
that semen mixes with urine and is eliminated.
 Loss of semen
 Depletes mental and physical energy
 Cultural beliefs about the importance of semen
 Guarantee health and longevity.
 Virginity Testing
 Very important marriage custom in Sri Lanka
 A bride who cannot prove her virginity to her husband and
her in-laws suffer consequences
 Determined a virgin if hymen is intact
 A woman's hymen can be broken or eroded by
masturbation and also a number of nonsexual activities
• Problems with Self-Reports
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Social Desirability
Memory
Estimation Error
Wording of Questions Important
• Direct Observations: Sampling Bias?
▫ (Masters and Johnson)
• Problems with Direct Observation
▫ Expensive and time consuming
 Interview
 Rapport
 Flexible
 Questionnaires
 Inexpensive
 Anonymity
 CASI (Computer-Assisted Self-Interview)
 Ethical Considerations
 Free and Informed Consent
 Protection From Harm
 Justice
 Harms vs Benefits
 Field Experiment
 Researcher Controls Independent Variable
 Real Life Setting
 Quasi Experiment
 Researcher Has No Control Over Independent Variable
 Uses “Natural” Events As Independent Variable
• Kinsey Report
• Sampling issues
• Highly regarded interviewing techniques
• Major Concerns
• Generally high levels of sexual activity and homosexuality
• National Health and Social Life Survey (NHSLS)
• Gold standard
• Probability sample
• High response rate
• Low rates of homosexuality
• The Canada Youth, Sexual Health, and HIV/AIDS Study4
Canadian universities
• Excellent sampling
• Enough to report for provinces)
• Many youth engaging in sex at 14
• 23% boys; 19% girls in grade 9)
• 5-10% did not use birth control
• Ontario First Nations AIDS and Healthy Lifestyle Survey
• Face-to-face interviews
• Many had engaged in high-risk behaviors
• 60% did not use condoms
• Presents special challenges
• Interviewer should be same sex and ethnicity (rapport)
• Canadian Survey of Gay and Bisexual Men
• Recommendations about prevention of HIV/AIDS among
gay and bisexual men
• Avoided terms gay and bisexual – sampling
• Excellent response rate
• More knowledge about transmission of HIV associated
with less unprotected sex
 Masters and Johnson
 Physiology of sexual response
 Behavior and physiological responses measured and observed
in lab
 Assumed the processes they were studying were
normative
 Artificial Coition
 Clear plastic penis with sensors
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Schultz, Andel, Sabelis, & Mooyaart, (1999)
• Humphries “Tea Room Trade”
• Acted as lookout
• Got licence plates and later interviewed under false
pretence
• Serious ethical issues
 Experimental Studies
 Control of extraneous variables
 Manipulation of independent variable
 Measurement of dependent variable
 Random assignment of participants to conditions
• Correlational Designs
• Imply only an association between variables
• Experimental Designs
• Can infer that changes in one variable cause changes in
another variable.
 Romer et al., 1997
Computer
Face-to-face
Boys
76%
50%
Girls
48%
25%
 Can only say that the type of interview (computer
or human) influenced the amount of reporting.
 Meredith Chivers
 DV1: plethysmograph readings
 DV2: subjective ratings of arousal on a keypad
Bonobos Hetero Sex Male/Male Female/Female Man Masturbate Woman Masturbate Naked Man Naked Woman
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Hetero Males
Homo Males
Females
(Regarless of Orientation)
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 Females subjective and physiological measures at odds
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 Clitoridectomy
 Surgical removal of the clitoris
 Infibulation
 Surgical removal of clitoris and labia, closing of the
introitus.
 Endometriosis
 the growth of endometrial cells in a location outside of
the uterus.
 Pubococcygeus muscle
 Contracts during orgasm
 Kegel exercises
 Contract PC muscle voluntarily
 A stronger PC muscle leads to better orgasms.
 Fimbria
 A fringe of tissue near the ovary leading to the fallopian tube
 Follicle
 A capsule that surrounds and egg
 Produce estrogen, progesterone.
 Hysterectomy
 Surgical removal of uterus.
 Oophorectomy
 Surgical removal of ovaries
 Surgical complications (short and long term) but
also cervix and uterus important for sexual
enjoyment, arousal and orgasm.
 PID (pelvic inflammatory disease)
 Can affect internal reproductive organs
 Different pathogens, most often STDs
 Infertility
 Breast augmentations
 Health problems
 Compromises breastfeeding.
 Reduction
 For comfort
 Can also compromise breastfeeding.
 Circumcision
 Surgical removal of the foreskin
 Controversial.
 Better genital health (partners too).
 associated with lower incidence of HIV and of penile
cancer
 Newborns feel pain (anesthetic)
 Surgical accidents.
 No evidence of decreased sensitivity.
 Testes descend prenatally from pelvis to scrotum
 Need to be about 2°C cooler than body
 Cremaster muscle
 Functions to raise and lower the testes in order to
regulate temperature
 Cryptorchidia
 leads to infertility – can be corrected surgically.
 Sperm count can decrease (infertility?) if:
 long hot baths
 prolonged fever
 long distance truck drivers, any long sitting
 steel workers close to furnaces
 jockey shorts, tight jeans
 Testicular cancer:
 Age range: 15-35
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Higher incidence
a) Family history
b) Cryptorchidia (undescended testicles)
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Very treatable, 98% success rate when discovered early
 Cancer of the penis
 Rare can be fatal if not treated early
 Risk factors
 Over 50
 History of multiple sex partners
 History of STDs
 Poor genital hygiene
 Smoking
 Priapism
 Prolonged erection
 Due to:
 Constant vibration (e.g. snowmobile),
 Some pathological conditions
 Use of drugs like Cialis. Painful.
 Females:
 Vaginal lubrication
 Glans clitoris enlarges (similar to penile erection)
 Nipples erect (myotonia: muscle contraction)
 Breasts enlarge (vasocongestion
 Inner lips of vulva swell and open, change in colour (darker)
 Upper 2/3rds of vagina balloons
 Cervix and uterus stand up: tenting effect
 Angle of cervical opening more receptive to sperm
 Masters and Johnson: four phases
 Excitation
 Sex flush (can happen later)
 Heart rate, respiration rate gradually increase
 Generalized myotonia
 Vasocongestion
 Pelvic area receives more blood in general, in particular to genitals.
 Males:
 Penile erection
 Scrotal sac thickens, elevates
 Plateau:
 Both males and females continue
vasocongestion to max
 Heart rate, respiration rate and blood
pressure continue to increase
 Copious perspiration
 Increased myotonia
 Plateau
 Females:
 Orgasmic platform
 Outer third of vagina thickens, swells
 Without it, no orgasm
 Tenting complete
 Clitoris erect
 Plateau
 Males:
 Cowper’s glands secrete fluid through tip of penis
 May contain live sperm!
 Scrotum even higher and testicles bigger
 Orgasmic:
 Both:
 very high heart rate, blood pressure and breathing
 intense myotonia
 Males: Two stages:
 Contraction of seminal vesicles, vas and prostate
 Contraction of urethra and penis: ejaculation
 Orgasmic:
 Females:
 Contractions of orgasmic platform
 Contractions of uterus
 Several orgasms possible if stimulation continues
 Oxytocin
 Health Benefits Associated With Orgasm
 General Health
 An orgasm at least once or twice per week appears to strength
the immune system’s ability to resist flu and other viruses
 Pain Relief
 Some women find that an orgasm’s release of hormones and
muscle contractions help relieve the pain of menstrual cramps
and raise pain tolerance in general.
 Health Benefits Associated With Orgasm (Cont’d)
 Lower Cancer Rate
 Men who have more than five ejaculations per week during
their 20s have a significantly lower rate of prostate cancer
later in life
 Mood Enhancement
 Orgasms increase estrogen and endorphins, which tend to
improve mood and ward off depression in women
 Health Benefits Associated With Orgasm
 Greater Feelings of Intimacy
 The hormone oxytocin, which may play a role in feelings of love
and intimacy, increases fivefold at orgasm
 Better Sleep
 The neurotransmitter dopamine, released during orgasm,
triggers a stress-reducing, sleep-inducing response that may
last up to two hours
 Resolution:
 Return to normal, muscles relax, breathing etc. back to
normal, blood back to circulation from genitals.
 Males
 refractory period
 EACH PHASE MUST BE FULLY COMPLETED IN ORDER
TO REACH THE NEXT ONE
 SOME GENDER DIFFERENCES:
 Excitation
 Women slower
 Three types of female orgasm have been identified by
some researchers:
1. Clitoral stimulation,
 Via pudendal nerve
2. G-spot stimulation
 Via pelvic nerve
3. A blend of both
 Each phase shows age changes.
 Excitation:
 Men:
 Fastest 16-20 years, then slow decline
 Women:
 Slower in teens, early 20s
 Faster 30’s on
 Plateau:
 Men:
 Capacity for longer with age
 Women:
 Same, but never a big problem
Orgasmic:
 Men:
 Intensity lessens from mid- to late 20s
 Middle Age:
 Really noticeable
 Ejaculate less volume, less forceful
 Resolution:
 Refractory period increases
 Cognitive models:
 Kaplan’s triphasic model:
 Sexual desire
 Vasocongestion
 Muscular contraction
 Walen and Roth’s model:
 Emphasis on perception and evaluation
 8 steps, necessary for the arousal cycle to be completed
 Neural and hormonal involvement in sexual responses:
 Parasympathetic:
 arousal
 Sympathetic:
 Orgasm
 Women’s Neural Mechanisms:
 Not yet well known
 One recent study found that sexual sensations can be
transmitted to the brain via the vagus nerve, which is
normally used for digestive processes.
 Experiments using electrical stimulation:
 Erection centers found in the limbic system, both in
monkeys and humans.
 Hormonal Influences on Sex:
 Hormone:
 substance produced by endocrine glands (internal secretion)
which affect specific organs via the blood stream
 Exocrine Gland:
 substance produced by a gland that goes to the ‘outside’, e.g.,
sweat, tears
 Most Studied Sex Hormone:
 Testosterone
 Produced by testes, ovaries and adrenal glands
 Important for sexual desire in both sexes Hormonal
 Women have 1/10th the amount but are ten times more
sensitive to it.
 More testosterone in a normal person will not increase desire
or response.
 Most testosterone is ‘bound’, not available in this regard, ‘free’
testosterone is 2-5%.
 DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone)
 Secreted by adrenal glands (weak androgen)
 Same amount for males and females in bloodstream
 Pro-hormone - Most sex hormones and pheromones derived from it.
 Pheromones
 Sexual signals for both sexes
 Sensed by the vomeronasal organ
 Oxytocin
 Released by the pituitary when touching or being touched by
loved ones
 Important for attachment, also involved in parental behaviours.
 PEA (phenylethylamine)
 Called “the molecule of love”
 Produce euphoria
 Amphetamine-like substance produced in brain
capillaries and in catecholaminergic terminals.
 Low PEA levels associated with depression (some
depressions successfully treated with PEA).
 Some people become addicted to the PEA “high” and
change partners frequently to get it
 More abundant early in a relationship
 Estrogen
 Makes women sexually attractive and receptive. Skin,
lips, hair, fatty padding (curves), breasts, hips.
 Testosterone
 Increases sex drive in both sexes, too much is
counterproductive.
 Progesterone
 Testosterone antagonist
 Lowers sex drive
 Mild sedative, calming effect.
 Serotonin
 Neurotransmitter
 At low levels intensifies sex drive
 At high levels decreases it
 Antidepressants elevate serotonin, decrease sex drive
 Dopamine
 Neurotransmitter associated with all pleasures
 Increases sex drive, promotes action
 Prolactin
 Decreases sex drive, especially in men
 Vasopressin
 Hormone produced by the pituitary
 Antidiuretic (water retention)
 Increases blood volume and blood pressure
 “monogamy molecule”
 Modulates testosterone, levels extremes of feelings,
increases focus in lovemaking
 Effective Communication
 Unconditional Positive Regard
 Conveying that you love the person no matter what they reveal
 Intent
 What you mean to say
 Impact
 What the other hears
 Effective Communication (cont)
 Documenting
 Giving specific examples of the issue being discussed
 Levelling
 Telling your partner what you are feeling by stating your
thoughts clearly, simply, and honestly
 Editing
 Censoring or not saying things that would be deliberately
hurtful to your partner or that are irrelevant
 Active Listening:
 Attentive body language
 Appropriate facial expressions
 Asking questions
 Making brief comments
 Paraphrasing
 Show true understanding of the message
 Rephrasing in own words what the listener heard
 Opportunity to clarify misunderstandings
 Validation
 Telling your partner that, given his or her point of view,
you can see why he or she thinks a certain way
 Non-verbal communication
 Important cues
 The purpose of marriage: meet the needs of the group by forming
alliances with other groups.
 Factors that helped usher the love marriage:
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industrialization: individual has more value
affluence: less dependence on family
literacy: romantic novels
later, movies
increased longevity
secularization
women financially independent
lower birth rate
 Attraction
 Mere-exposure effect
 Tendency to like a person more if we have been exposed to him or
her repeatedly
 Propinquity
 Familiarity
 Complementarity?
 Homophily
 The tendency to have contact with people who are equal in social
status
 Matching phenomenon
 Tendency for individuals to choose partners who are similar
 Intimacy
 Physical:
 Sensual
 Emotional:
 Trust
 Self-disclosure (mutual)
 Vulnerability
 Security
 Passionate Love
 A state of intense longing for union with the other person
and of intense physiological arousal
 Companionate Love
 A feeling of deep attachment and commitment to a
person whom one has an intimate relationship
 Eros:
 romantic, passionate love, physical chemistry, instant attraction, intense,
satisfying
 Ludus:
 game-playing love, having two or more loves concurrently, dangling on a string,
not serious
 Storge:
 friendship love, friends that over time become a couple, friends even if they
break up
 Pragma:
 logical, “shopping list”, planned choice based on logic and practical
considerations
 Mania:
 Possessive and dependent love, unable to sleep or eat, frantic if loved one out of
range, can’t concentrate on anything else.
 Agape:
 Self-sacrificing love, spiritual, selfless.
 Sociobiology
 The purpose of attraction is to propagate the species,
transmission of genetic material
 Byrne’s Law
 More reinforcements than punishments
 Berscheid and Walster’s Two Component Theory
 Physiological arousal
 Cognitive attribution
 Sternberg’s Triangular Theory
 Passion
 Intimacy
 Commitment
 Best match: partners similar in all three
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Clitoridectomy
Limbic
Experimental
Pubococcygeus
Frenulum
Spongiousum
Interstitial Cells
Cryptorchidia
Priapism
Orgasmic Platform
Oxytocin
Pudendal nerve
Parasympathetic / Sympathetic
Exocrine
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Testosterone
Dhat Syndrome
Quasi-experimental
Progesterone
Oophorectomy
Vomeronasal
Agape
Passionate Love
Homophily
Leveling
DHEA