Download Sexual Motivation

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PINEAPPLE
CLITORIS
TEXTBOOK
PENIS
ORANGE
VAGINAL LUBRICATION
ORANGE WHO?
CLITORAL ENGORGEMENT
ORANGE YOU GLAD I DIDN’T SAY PENIS
SEMEN
WHEN
EJACULATE
IS THIS
ERECTION
OVER?
Now…
Sexual Motivation
I. Sexual motivation: desire to have
pleasurable erotic experiences
A. Distinction between sexual desire and
romantic love
1. Evolutionary roots vs. attachment
2. Distinct brain and hormonal mechanisms
3. Sexual desire linked to cognitive, behavior, and
emotional processes
B. Neuro-endocrine factors
1. Role of the brain
(hypothalamus, pituitary
gland)
2. Role of hormones from
gonads and adrenal
glands (androgens,
estrogens)
The Human Sexual Response:
Physiologically Speaking…
1. Excitement phase: level of physical arousal
usually rises rapidly
•
Which nervous system is at work?
Vasocongestion: engorgement of blood vessels
Males – penile erection and swollen testes
Females – swelling and hardening of clitoris,
expansion of vaginal lips, and vaginal
lubrication
2. Plateau Phase: physiological arousal continues to build,
but at a slower pace
• Vasocongestion still underway, but may change due to
time and amount of foreplay
– Changes in male erections and amount of vaginal lubrication
Men: secrete a bit of fluid at the tip of penis (contains
sperm, but is not technically ejaculate)
Women: tightening of vaginal entrance, clitoris withdraws
under the clitoral hood
3. Orgasm phase: sexual arousal reaches
peak intensity and is discharged in a
series of muscular contractions that
pulsate throughout pelvic area
• Males: ejaculation of seminal fluid
• Women: subjective (physical vs.
psychological)
• Women have a larger tendency to be
multiorgasmic
– able to experience more than one climax in a sexual
pattern
– Tend to engage in intercourse without experiencing
orgasm
• Men?
– Climatic expectation
– Tendency to be limited in orgasm experiences
BUT WHY?!?!
• Men experience a refractory period
– Time following orgasm during which males
are largely unresponsive to further stimulation
(varies)
• So what does the cycle look like,
graphically speaking?
C. Behavioral factors
1. Animals seek pleasure and repeat
behaviors leading to it
•
(OC/reward stimulus)
2. Stimuli associated with sexual arousal
become rewarding
•
•
Animals and masturbation
Humans and masturbation
D. Socio-cultural factors
1. Society influences
what is sexually
attractive
2. All cultures have rules
about acceptable
sexual partners and
practices
E. Evolutionary factors
1. Sexual desire rooted in reproductive success
2. Cross-cultural consistencies in sexual partner
preferences
•
Incest avoidance, waist-to-hip ratio
3. Sexuality is more loosely linked to reproduction
in humans than in most animals
•
Complex aspect of identity, relationships, social life
Parental investment
• Refers to what each sex has to invest in
terms of time, energy, survival risk, and
forgone opportunities to produce and
nurture offspring
– Efforts required to guard eggs, build nests
– What’s the human conclusion?
males
females
Biological reality
Evolutionary significance
Behavioral outcome
Reproduction involves
minimum investment
of time, energy, risk
Maximize reproductive
success by seeking
more sexual partners
with high reprod.
potential
?????
Reproduction involves
substantial investment
of time, energy, risk
Maximize reproduction
success by seeking
Partners willing to
invest material
resources in your
offspring
??????
Respondents who rated importance of sex 6 or above
on a 10-pt scale (%)
70
60
50
40
30
Males
Females
20
10
0
25-54
55-64
65-74
Gender Differences in Mate Preferences
• Evolutionary theory of preferences =
subconscious preferences
– NOT CONSCIOUS STRATEGY
Can women judge men’s mate
potential in just one glance?
• University of Chicago study
Results
• Women’s ratings of masculinity and actual testosterone
levels correlated at .34
• Degree to which women rated male’s interest in infants
correlated with male’s scores on interest inventory at .38
• Higher ratings of masculinity fostered higher estimates of
short term mate potential
• Conclusions: yes, women can meaningful inferences
about male’s parental interest based on brief exposure to
one photograph
F. sexual orientation: enduring sexual attraction
to people whose gender is the same
(homosexual) or different from (heterosexual)
oneself or to both (bisexual)
1. Strong evidence for prenatal and genetic
influences
2. Development, nature, and fluidity of orientation
differ between genders and individuals
Sexuality as a spectrum
• Desires vs. actions
• Classifications and hard lines
• “in the closet” vs. “out the closet”
Outdated Behaviorist theories
• Sexuality based on nurture
– Disproved by lack of correlative evidence
– No evidence linking parent’s sexual orientation to that
of their children
• Femininity in early males and masculinity in
early females = transition to homosexual life
– Totally false, sexual exploration prior to education
– Conformity vs. nonconformity
Biological Theories
• 1990’s saw genetic predispositions
– Twin studies
• Today’s theory focuses on prenatal
environment
– Hormonal secretions during prenatal
development in a critical period
Socio-cultural factors
• Studies have shown homosexuality in men
vs. women can be different
– Women and sexual plasticity
Truth?
• No one really knows – scientific and
observational opinions fluctuate
• Trends in research change over time
• Nature vs. nurture debate continues…
II. Pornography
• Due to the internet, recent studies of young
adults show that 87% of males and 31% of
women have viewed pornography
• 67% of males and 49% of females believed
using porn was “acceptable way to express
one’s sexuality”
• Men are more likely to admit to find erotic
materials enjoyable and arousing than women…
why is that?
Porn and Sex Crimes
• Is there a correlation between increase in
amount of pornography and increase in
sex crimes in the US?
• No.
• During the last 15-20 years, internet porn
has grown exponentially while rates of
reported rapes have declined
– Criticism… “reported” rapes
• They do however ALTER attitudes that
may influence sexual behavior
– University students in a study were exposed
to porn 3-6 times a week reported more liberal
attitudes towards sex
– Liberal attitudes about casual sex and
multiple partners
– Danish studies show self-perception of
happiness in sex-life correlated to amount of
porn (more porn, happier sex life)
Sexual Aggression
• Aggressive pornography has concerning
correlations
– Promotes myth that women enjoy being raped
– Studies show increased aggressive behavior
following the viewing of aggressive porn
– “they asked for it” theory
– Viewing aggressive pornography when
already at high risk for sexual aggression may
produce further sexual coercion
Effects on Rape/Rape Identity
• ¼ of young women in US may be victims
of rape or attempted rape
• Only a minority of rapes are committed by
strangers
• Date rape
– 1 in 12 men admitted to either having forced a
date into sex or having tried to do so
– None of these men admitted to being a rapist