sexology ch 2

research

what is sexology

the scientific study of sex. Operates like other fields of science (scientific method)

what is the goal of sexology research

increase our understanding of all aspects of human sexuality including why different sexual orientations exist, the frequency of specific sexual practices across cultures, motivations behind rape, and other sex crimes, therapies that could treat sexual problems.

sexology research

to understand and predict the sexual world around us

what are the three basic approaches to research

1. observational

2. correlational

3. experimental

observational research: one word

what?

correlational research: one word

how?

experimental research: one word

why?

conducting sexology research

-need sample selection

-identify target population and then get a smaller sample

-then study

what do studies begin with

sample selection

random selection

most ideal

everyone in the target population has an equal chance of being chosen to participate

observational research: Samoa

Margaret Mead embedded herself in Samoa and observed/recorded the coming of age practices there including developing sexuality

ethnography

trying to be as complete/detailed about a group of people. Doesn’t have to be a diverse group. ex. Beyonce fans

what type of research was Kinsey

observational research

considered observational research because it primarily relied on in-depth, face-to-face interviews with a large sample of people, where researchers observed and recorded their self-reported sexual behaviors and experiences, rather than actively manipulating any variables or creating a controlled experimental setting; essentially, they were observing people's sexual behavior as it naturally occurred.

kinsey reports

unstructured interviews with people about their sexual practices. Kinsey wanted to see if the united states was as vanilla.

In the 1940s and '50s, Alfred Kinsey and his team of researchers documented what American men and women did in their sexual lives and determined that sexual behavior comprises more than physical contact. It also includes desire, arousal, attraction, and fantasy.

what type of research was masters and Johnson

observational research

masters and johnson discovery

On the basis of their observations, they identified four distinct stages of sexual arousal (excitement, plateau, orgasmic, and resolution), described arousal- and orgasm-related changes in vaginal and uterine tissues, and determined that women are capable of having multiple orgasms.

what did masters and Johnson examine

structure, psychology, and physiology of sexual behavior

pros of observational research

good external valididty

cons about observational research

-can’t make objective statements about HOW the phenomenon may relate to other things. Cannot make statements about the cause and effect or the why phenomena occur

what is correlational research

describes the relationship among variables. With correlation we can determine how two variables relate.

ex of correlational question

how pornography relates to aggression. Are they a positive or negative correlation.

correlation coefficients

represents the relationship between two variables.

-Negative or positive

-how big (0.5 vs 1)

positive correlation and example

as the level of one variable increases, the other variable increases as well.

ex. similarity and liking

ex. foreplay and sexual arousal

negative correlation and example

as the level of one variable increases, the other variable decreases

ex. time spent arguing and marital satisfaction

ex. condom use and risk of STDs

correlation vs causation

correlational research describes HOW variables relate to one another not why.

experimental research

want to know why something happens, you need manipulate variables

essential components of an experiment

-manipulation

-control

-random assignment

manipulation

the researcher changes something about participants experience

independent variable

the variable that is manipulated

dependent variable

the variable the experimenter measures in the particpants afterwards.

likelihood of divorce and living together IV and DV

IV: the time of the cohabitation. 2 months vs 2 years of living together vs not living together

DV: Rates of divorce after cohabitating r not.

control

ensuring the only thing that is different among your participants form session to session is the variable you manipulated.

consistency is how to get control

random assignment

each participant has an equal chance of ending up in any of the independent variable groups.

random assignment: divorce and cohabitation

randomly assign your participants to get either

-no living together

-live together 2 months

-live together for two years

survey strengths

• Collected quickly and easily from large numbers of people

• Online surveys have opened up a new and much more diverse audience than typical college kids which aids in variations of answers 

• Multiple methods of administration which could fit budget 

survey limitation

-not everyone is going to respond

-self selection

-social desirable responding

-order in which you ask questions

examples of major sex surveys

• The Kinsey Reports

• The National health and social life survey 

• The national survey of sexual health and behavior 

• Others 

what was the goal of the Kinsey report and results

goal: was to provide the first comprehensive examination of people’s sexual behaviors in the US

results: deviant behaviors were done in higher frequency than people thought (masterbation, same sex hookup, prostitution)

national health and social life survey goal and results

goals: Considered the definitive survey of sexual attitudes and behaviors in the US. This research could help in the efforts to stop the spread of AIDS

results: Americans were more sexually conservative than people thought

National survey of sexual health and behavior goal and results

The largest and most recent survey of sexual health and behavior conducted in the US

goal: Since the NHSLS, viagra and other medications, online dating/hookup apps are more common, and attitudes toward homosexuality are more accepting so they wanted a more recent survey.

results: Among adults, 7% of women and 8% of men identified as LGBT+ 

• 85% of men and 64% of women reported reaching orgasm during their most recent sexual experience 

• One in three acts of vaginal intercourse involved condom use for single people

• Black and Hispanic males were more likely to use condoms than white males 

• Sex means a lot of different things to Americans 

• When adults have sex, they engage in other sexual acts not just insertion 

britain and australia surveys

• Reveal trends similar to Americans 

• In western Countries, men report having more sexual partners than women 

• The age of first intercourse appears to have decreased in recent years 

china survey

• Majority of people have sex in their mid 20’s compared to 16/17 years old in Western Countries 

• Chinese citizens typically get married quickly after having premarital sex while westerners wait longer

direct observation

• Researchers watch the behavior and record what they see instead of the participant describing their own behavior 

direct observation strength and weakness

strength: takes number of response biases out of the picture by eliminating subjective reports. Can be filmed so researchers can go back

limitations: self selection, reactivity, expensive to conduct

Johnson and masters research goals and results

goals: understand how exactly men/women bodies react and respond to sexual stimulation

results: data collected in body changes were consistent across diverse groups of people

technologies used in observational sex research

• Penile strain gauge 

  • Used to measure male sexual arousal 

  • Works by measuring changes in penile circumference 

  • Measured the blood flow to the penis leading to increased size 

• Vaginal photoplethysmograph 

  • Small acrylic rod that is inserted into the vagina with wires connected to a recording instrument 

  • The instrument gives off light and then measures how much light is reflected back. When a women is aroused, the vaginal walls fill with blood so it decreases the amount of reflected light 

• Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) 

  • Scans what area of the brain responded when individuals are turned on or experienced orgasm 

  • Showed increase activity in the amygdala which is part of the lambic system 

    • Ex. A brief scan of a person with arrousal difficulties could help identify whether there is a neurological basis for the problem 

gallot and baumeister goal and results

goal: Examining the link between self control and sexual behavior as sometimes, no matter how much self control we have, nature takes over

results: Couples who were asked to not look at the words on the screen “kissed open mouthed for prolonged periods of time, groped and caressed each other, and even removed articles of clothing. 

strength and limitations of experimental model

strength: ability to control variables precisely and identify a cause and effect

limitation: some questions are unethical to ask/perform

incidence

• Refers to the rate at which new cases of a problem or disease occur 

• Useful to understand how quickly a problem is spreading 

prevalence

• Measure of the total number of people who are currently afflicted with a given problem or disease 

• Helps use understand the overall scope of the issue 

correlation

• Referrs to the statistical association between two variables 

• Ex. The degree to which two variables are related 

tea room trade study goal and results

goal: was to understand who these men that went into the tearooms were and what motivate them to engage in this behavior

results: Disproved a lot of stereotypes 

• Ex. More than half of men were married to women

• This led to a decrease in police investigation of these tearooms