Ch. 2 - Theoretical Perspectives on Sexuality

Psychology 160 with Hyde at University of Wisconsin - Madison

About this deck

By: Whitney Beilke
Textbook:

Hooking Up: Sex, Dating, and Relationships on Campus

Sexual Fluidity: Understanding Women's Love and Desire

The Wisdom of Whores: Bureaucrats, Brothels and the Business of AIDS

Understanding Human Sexuality
Created: 2011-01-28
Size: 54 flashcards
Views: 17

About StudyBlue

STUDYBLUE makes things that make you better at school. Things like online flashcards with photos and audio. Things like personalized quizzes and friendly reminders about when (and what) to study next. Think of it as a digital backpack™: access to all of your study materials online and on your phone. STUDYBLUE exists to make studying efficient and effective for every student, for free. Join us.

“I have used this website for three exams, and I see a huge difference in my test results.”
Naj

Sign up (free) to study this.

libido

biological sex drive

sociobiology

application of evolutionary biology to understanding the social behavior of animals, including humans

evolution

theory that all living things have acquired their present forms through gradual changes in their genetic endowment over successive generations

evolution occurs via what?

natural selection

process in nature resulting in greater rates of survival of those plants and animals that are adapted to their environment

why do we choose mates based on physical attractiveness?

because it indicates health, vigor, in turn indicating reproductive success

sexual selection

specific type of selection that creates differences between males and females

two things involved in sexual selection.

1. competition among members of one gender (usually males) for mating access to memebers of the other gender
2. preferential choice by members of one gender (usually females) for certain members of the other gender

evolutionary psychology

study of psychological mechanisms that have been shaped by natural selection

flaw of evolutionary psychology

assumes that every characteristic has some adaptive significance

who came up with the psychoanalytic theory?

Freud

Freud believed that what were the two major forces motivating human behavior?

1. the libido

2. desire to survive

human personality is divided into what three parts?

1. id
2. ego
3. superego

basic part of the personality that is present at birth and includes psychic energy and the libido, operates the pleasure principle

ego

operates on a reality principle; helps a person have realistic rational interactions

superego

contains the conscience, contains values and ideals of society; operates on idealism

erogenous zones

areas of the body that are particularly sensitive to sexual stimulation

examples of erogenous zones

lips, mouth, genitals, anus and rectum

what are the 5 stages of psychosexual development?

1) Oral Stage
2) Anal Stage
3) Phallic Stage
4) Latency
5) Genital Stage

Oral Stage - when? description.

from birth to one year
- pleasure derived from sucking

Anal Stage - when? description.

year 2
- child focues on elimination from the body

Phallic Stage - when? description.

age 3 to 6
interest is focused on the penis, pleasure from masturbation

during what stage do the oedipal/electra complex occur?

Stage 3 - the Phallic Stage

oedipus complex

Freud, Sexual attraction of a little boy for his mother

electra complex

sexual attraction of a little girl for her father

latency stage - description

follows resolution of electra/oedipus complexes, sexual impulses are repressed, and it is prolonged until adolescence

genital stage - when? description?

during puberty
-- sexual urges become more specifically genital, and there is biological function of reproduction

in the psychosexual development, do people always progress from one stage to the next?

no, they can remain permanently fixated in one stage

criticisms of Freud's psychoanalytic theory?

- it cannot be evaluated scientifically
- this data is from Freud's therapuetic patients (biased, not representative of the general public)
- feminists criticize idea of Penis Envy and inferiority of women

classical conditioning -- who's theory? what?

PAVLOV -- learning process in which a previously neutral stimulus (conditioned stimulus) is repeatdly paired with an unconditioned stimulus that reflexively elicits an unconditioned response, eventually the conditioned stimulus itself will evoke the response.

operant conditioning - who's theory?

SKINNER - the process of changing the prequency of a behavior (the operant) by following it with positive reinforcement or punishment

behavior modification

a set of operant conditioning techniques used to modify human behavior

self-efficacy

a sense of competence at performing an activity

social learning involves what two things?

imitation and identification

social exchange theory

theory based on the principle of reinforcement that assumes that people will chosse actions that maximize rewards and minimize costs

matching hypothesis

people will choose mates that match them on physical and social characteristics

what does the cognitive theory involve?

belief that happy positive thoughts promote feeling better, and a belief that how we perceive and evaluate a sexual event makes a big difference

schema

a general knowledge framework that a person has about a particular topic

Gender Schema Theory - who? what?

Sandra Bem -- she believes we possess gender schema and tend to filter out sterotype-inconsistant info so that we don't even remember it

procreational ideology

sex is ligtimate only within traditional hetersexual marriage and with the goal of having children

how did the industrial revolution affect sexuality?

allowed family members to leave the home, led to less surveillance on sexuality, extramarital affairs and same-gender sex

relational ideology

idea that sex outside of marriage, if in the context of a loving relationship was permissible

socialization of children

parents teach them appropirate norms for behavior

therapeutic ideology

doctors encourage sexual expression

medicalization of sexuality

the process by which certain sexual behaviors or conditions are defined in terms of health and illlness, and problematicexperiences or practives are given medical treament

how does law influence sexual behavior?

because they determine the norms of society

symbolic interaction theory

a theory based on the premise that human nature and the social order are products of communication among people

criticism of symbolic interaction theory

it emphasizes rational, conscious thought which is not always the case, we don't always consciously role take and communicate in an effort to achieve agreement

sociobiology implies what?

that our sexual behaviors are under biological control

Sexual Strategies Theory -- who? what?

Buss ---- idea that we have long-term mating strategies: females select males with resources/commitment and males want faithful females to ensure paternity -- that are different from short term mating strategies: men want promiscuous women

Fetishes are an example of what theory?

classical conditioning

scripted

sexual behavior is a result of elaborate prior learning that teaches us an etiquette of sexual behavior (little sex behavior is spontaneous)

what two reasons does Reiss give for the universal importance of sexuality?

1. it is associated with great physical pleasure
2. interactions are associated with personal self-disclosure , of body, throughts, and feelings as well

Reiss says sex is linked to social structure in what 3 areas?

1) Kinship (define what is acceptable, jealousy)
2) Power Structure (powerful groups in society try to control sexuality of less powerful groups)
3) Ideology of Society (assumptions about human nature- ex. homosexuality)