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Human Sexuality
Chapter 2: Studying Human
Sexuality
Research in Human Sexuality
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Widely reported in the popular
press/media
Little mention of the methods used,
sample size, and sampling information
Importance of critical thinking
Looking Critically at
Statistical Research
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Subsequent studies: were the results
reproduced or contested
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Medical journals from 1990-2003: 1/3 of
results did not hold up when studies were
replicated
Looking Critically at
Statistical Research
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There may be mediating variables: the
behavioral picture may be more
complex
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Alcohol and risky sex: need to consider a
host of risk behavior patterns (Coleman,
2001)
Looking Critically at
Statistical Research
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Sampling: is the sample random and
representative?
Random sampling: all have an equal chance
of being selected
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Representative: the sample represents the
broader population (race/ethnicity, SES, etc.)
The Question of
Objectivity
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Commitment to the scientific method
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Feelings, beliefs, prejudices, biases
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How can researchers ensure objectivity?
Schema Theory
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Schema: a mental framework used to
organize knowledge; used as a
cognitive “short cut”
We often reject or ignore information
inconsistent with our schemas:
stereotypes are held and reinforced
Egocentrism and
Ethnocentrism in Research
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Egocentrism: using our own behaviors
and attitudes as a “yardstick” for others
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Ethnocentrism: belief that our own
ethnic group/culture is innately superior
to others
Ethical Issues in Research
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Informed Consent: full disclosure about
the risks and benefits of participation
Protection of human subjects: no
coercion/deception
Confidentiality: must be maintained,
with some exceptions
Issues in Sexuality Research
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Volunteers: most often male, sexually
experienced, liberal, less religious
(Stassberg, et.al., 1995)
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More positive attitudes toward sexuality, no
feelings of guilt/shame
Biased sample??
Issues in Sexuality Research
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College populations are commonly
sampled
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Emerging adults; different sexual
attitudes/expectations than other groups?
Issues in Sexuality Research
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Racial/ethnic composition of subjects
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Subjects are often white, middle class;
absence of racially/ethnically diverse
participants
Issues in Sexuality Research
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Sexual orientation
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Behavior and identity may be
inconsistent
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Ex. An individual may participate in samesex sexual activities, but may not identify
as gay or bisexual
Research on
Human Sexuality
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Clinical Research: descriptive research
based on treatment issues in sexuality
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Ex. Difficulties in sexual functioning,
paraphilias, emotional/psychological issues
surrounding sexuality
Clinical Research
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Often based on pathology
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Generalizes to only certain populations
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Critical thinking: on what basis is the
behavior pathological?
Survey Research
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Questionnaires/interviews
Sexual behaviors, experiences, and
attitudes
Benefit: large number of participants,
relatively inexpensive
Survey Research
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Critique:
Individuals may not understand the
questions
Memory distortions
Not contextualized
**Social desirability: answering in a
socially acceptable manner
Observational Research
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Naturalistic Observation: observing
behavior as it naturally occurs in reallife settings
Participant observation: The research
actually participates in the behavior
he/she is studying
Ethical Issues:
Observation/Ethnography
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Observation without participants’
knowledge- a rights/privacy violation?
Is the researcher “too close” to that
which he/she is studying?
Experimental Research
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Experiment: Formal trial undertaken to
conform/disconfirm a hypothesis
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Often, physiological measures are taken
Correlational Methods
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Correlational study: are two variables
related, and how strong is the
relationship?
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Ex. Is there a relationship between low
self-esteem and risky sexual behavior?
Richard von Krafft-Ebing
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(1840-1902)
Viennese psychiatrist
Case studies on abnormal sexual
behavior
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Negative connotation
Tied aberrant sexual behavior to moral
degeneracy
Sigmund Freud
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(1856-1939)
Viennese physician
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Unconscious mind and repression
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Psychosexual stages
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Havelock Ellis
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(1859-1939)
English physician and psychologist
Emphasized case studies, biographies,
personal letters
Emphasized the relativity of sexual
values
Alfred Kinsey
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(1894-1956)
Large scale study of sexual behavior
“broke the taboo of silence”
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Normalized sexual behavior
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Moral breakdown?
Sexual revolution?
Alfred Kinsey
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Documented incredible variations in
human sexual behavior
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Sexual behavior/variation
A continuum
Kinsey on Sexual Orientation
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Viewed sexual orientation as existing on
a continuum
Traditional categories for sexual
orientation were inadequate
Did not see orientation as an identity;
simply as behavior
Critique of Kinsey
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Rejection of the psychological dimension
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Quantitative data alone; not descriptive
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Methodological problems
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Ethical issues?
Contemporary Sexuality
Research
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Large scale surveys on sexual behavior
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Qualitative approaches
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Meaning making and subjectivities; more
than statistics
Funding for sexuality research is limited
Feminist Studies and
GLBT Research
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Focus on subjectivities and meaning making
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Social constructionist approach
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Focus on power dynamics
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Gender/sexuality as a context
GLBT Research
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1973; homosexuality removed from the
DSM
Homosexuality is studied as a lifestyle,
orientation, identity; more neutral