Transcript Let`s Talk About Sex

AP PSYCHOLOGY





-Both nature and nurture play are role in
gender
Biological and socially constructed
Gender Roles- set of expectations(norms)
about a social position, how one acts
Gender Identity- our sense of being
male/female
Gender Typing- popular culture determines
roles



Nature- sex is determined by our 23rd
chromosome pair
XX=Girl
XY=Boy





Turners Syndrome:
Kleinfelters Syndrome
Double Y Syndrome
Fragile X Syndrome
Intersexed- socially constructed
term/category born with a reproductive or
sexual anatomy that “doesn’t fit” into
classifications of male/female “sex spectrum”

Assumes that children learn by genderobserving and imitating. Being rewarded or
punished…

operant and classical conditioning..


Lenses through which we see the world
Combination of SLT and cognition
Unit 8 : Sexual Motivation Pages 348 -354
Human Sexuality
 refers to the ways in which people experience
and express themselves as sexual beings; the
awareness of themselves as males or
females; the capacity they have for erotic
experiences and responses.



Complete Activity 3-5.
Cross cultural study including 37 countries.
Do females and males differ in regards to
their mate selection/preference?
 What factors play a role in one’s mate preference?

How does your preference measure up to the
research findings.
Characteristics Preferred by Males
Characteristics Preferred by Females
1. Kindness & Understanding
1. Kindness & Understanding
2. Intelligence
2. Intelligence
3. Physical Attractiveness
3. Exciting personality
4. Exciting Personality
4. Good Health
5. Good Health
5. Adaptability
6. Adaptability
6. Physical Attractiveness
7. Creativity
7. Creativity
8. Desire for Children
8. Good Earning Capacity
9. College Graduate
9. College Graduate
10. Good Heredity
10. Desire for Children
11. Good Earning Capacity
11. Good Heredity
12. Good Housekeeper
12. Good Housekeeper
13. Religious Orientation
13. Religious Orientation
Inis Beag, a small island off the Coast of Ireland –
one of the most naïve and sexually repressive
societies in the world.
Mangaia, an island in the South Pacific have an
abundance of sexual experiences in sharp
contrast to Inis Beag.
Mehinaku, Brazil
Sexual Expression
 varies dramatically with time and culture.
http://globalnews.ca/news/1613505/candidate-forburnaby-mayor-promises-to-ban-kissing-inpublic/
Sex is a natural desire…from an evolutionary perspective…that’s how and
why we are all here!!!!
What is Sex?
a physiologically based motive, like hunger, but it is more affected by
learning and values
however, sex is NOT a need like hunger…the sex drive can be
suppressed, until the urge subsides, which would be unwise in the case of
hunger. Related to the concept of delayed gratification.
What is the difference then between a NEED and a DRIVE?
A need is a psychological feature that arouses an organism to action
toward a goal, giving purpose and direction to behavior.
A drive is based on the principle that organisms are born with
certain psychological needs and that a negative state of tension is created
when these needs are not satisfied.
The Sexual Response Cycle
N=382 females & 312 Males
Sexual Response Cycle
the four stages of sexual responding described by Masters and Johnson
Excitement – genitals become engorged with blood.In women, the vagina
expands and secretes lubricant and her breasts and nipples enlarge/harden.
In males, the penis becomes slightly erect.
Plateau – Excitement peaks. Breathing, pulse and blood pressure rates
continue to increase. Orgasm feels imminent.
Orgasm – Muscle contractions appear all over the body and the
sympathetic nervous system is still increasing. Pleasurable feelings of sexual
release occur.
Resolution – Blood is slowly released from engorged areas and gradually
returns to its normal state…unaroused state.

Resolution Phase
 resting period after orgasm, during which a man
cannot achieve another orgasm
 AP Students….remember the refractory phase of
neural firing…once a neuron has fired it needs
time to repolarize/recover to fire again…its all or
nothing…
Differences between the sexes…


Estrogen
 a sex hormone, secreted in greater amounts by females than by males known as the female sex
hormone.
 Women are “in heat” so to speak during ovulation.
 Ovulation is when the ovaries discharge an egg down the fallopian tube where it might be met by a
sperm and become fertilized.
Testosterone
 Main sex hormone in males.
Hormones influence us throughout our lives…
Prenatal environment = development of male vs. female.
Puberty = surge in hormones ushers in adolescence. Menarche – first period.
Late adult years = sexual behavior.
Surgery, child birth and drugs can cause hormonal shifts.
Sexual Maturation for girls is around 12 years old, for boys it is harder to collect data – usually around age 13.
Across cultures, researchers have found a point at the end of male adolescence when mortality suddenly
shoots up. This peak, called the "accident hump," correlates with the time of peak testosterone production in
men. With high testosterone, young men are more likely to engage in risky shows of machoism and
recklessness, increasing their death rate noticeably.
1. Men
show greater sexual desire than
women do. (men think more about sex,
report more frequent fantasies and rate
the strength of their sex drive higher than
women do).
2.Women tend to emphasize committed
relationships as a context for sexuality more
than men do. Ie. Women prefer a familiar
partner, affection and commitment.
3.Aggression is more closely linked to sexuality to men
than to women. Ie. Shades of Grey & Gomeshi
4. Women’s sexual beliefs and behavior are more easily shaped by
cultural, social and situational factors.
http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/general-adaptation-syndrome-definitionphases-changes.html
Unit 8B on Stress & Health (page 387) includes Hans Selye described three predictable
stages the body uses to respond to stressors. The first stage is the alarm stage, which
provides a burst of energy.(like the EXCITEMENT PHASE) In the second stage, known as
the resistance stage, the body attempts to resist or adapt to the stressor.(like the
PLATEAU PHASE) The last stage is known as the exhaustion stage because energy is
depleted. (like the ORGASM & RESOLUTION PHASES)

Involves physical (biological), psychological
and interpersonal causes.
 Physical Causes – both organic factors & drugs
▪ Relationship between erectile dysfunction & diabetes.
▪ Diseases of the heart & circulatory system are
particularly likely to cause erectile dysfunctions.
▪ Anxiety
▪ Alcoholics experience erectile disorder, orgasmic
disorder and the loss of desire.
▪ Morphine and heroine also supress sexual desires.

Psychological Causes
 Anxieties such as fear of failing. “Stage fright” or
“performance anxiety”.
 Cognitive interference – “spectatoring” – the
person is distracted from the erotic experience
itself and steps outside the sexual act to evaluate
how he or she is doing.
 Failure to communicate – many people do not
convey their sexual desires.
 Prior learning – sexual abuse.

Interpersonal Causes
 Disturbances in a couple’s relationship can
produce disorders.
 Anger, resentment and conflict. Ie. Infidelity.
 Fear of intimacy.

Same drives, different attitudes

Births to
unwed
parents
What’s the difference between Gender Identity & Sexual
Orientation?

Gender Identity
 is a person's private sense, and subjective experience, of their own
gender. This is generally described as one's private sense of being a
man or a woman, consisting primarily of the acceptance of
membership into a category of people: male or female.

Sexual Orientation
 an enduring sexual attraction toward members of either one’s
own gender (homosexual orientation) or the other gender
(heterosexual orientation)





Lesbian – homosexual women
Gay – homosexual men
Bisexual – men and women who prefer sex with
both females and males.
Questioning – those who are questioning their
sexual orientation – undecided as to where they
sit on the Sexual Spectrum.
Transgendered – people who have undergone
sexual transformation or who believe
themselves to be a different gender than the
one they inhabit currently.
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/06/10/ca
nada-homosexuality_n_3412593.html

Sexually Transmitted Infections
 Rates are on the rise. 2/3 of new infections are those under 25.
 Teenage girls are more susceptible because of their less mature
biological development and lower levels of protective
antibodies.
 Condoms offer no protection against skin to skin STIs and only
partial protection against HPV (vaccination can be used as a
preventative measure)
 HIV transmission can be reduced by condom use. Womens’ AIDs
rates are increasing as transmission between male to female is
higher and more likely.
http://life.nationalpost.com/2013/10/22/sex-survey-reveals-nearly-a-quarter-of-canadian-universitystudents-abstain-but-many-others-avoid-condom-use/
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2011/11/11/sexually-transmitted-infections-university-_n_1088144.html

Why does it happen?





Ignorance of birth control.
Guilt related to sexual activity.
Minimal communication about birth control.
Alcohol and drug use.
TV and movies which model unsafe sex or
glorify/hollywoodize teen pregnancy. Ie. Sixteen &
Pregnant.
#1 quality leading to sexual restraint?
Engagement…those that are engaged in school (learning),
their religion, their families or prosocial projects buffer
themselves against early sexual experiences.




Find your group
Pick an article (find it in my pile or on your
own)
Read it and plan your presentation
Presentations will take place next
Wednesday! You will have time today and
maybe on Monday! We will be moving on to
Sensation and Perception on Monday