Studied by 48 people
Note that when the definition is numbered using (1) and (2), that doesn't necessarily mean completely separate definitions - usually it's because the textbook gave two definitions in which the phrasing was different enough for me to include both, or Dr. Mollie had a differnent definition in her lecture.
sex
a term referring to either sexual anatomy or sexual behavior
gender
a term referring to the state of being male, female, or some other identity
sexual behavior
a term referring to anything that produces arousal and increases chance of orgasm
Ancient Greeks
This historical group/culture openly acknowledged and participated in homosexuality and heterosexuality, and even had a myth that influenced their perceptions of gender and attraction.
15th century Christians
This historical group/culture believed that “nocturnal emissions” (wet dreams) resulted from intercourse with spirits.
Hindus
This religious group has stressed sexual pleasure and has a prominent religious text that is mostly about the philosophy of sexuality.
Muslims
This religious group has, over the centuries, believed that sexual intercourse within marriage was one of life’s finest pleasures.
19th century
When did the scientific study of sex begin?
economic significance
Why was women’s chastity so heavily protected?
Sigmund Freud
a Viennese physician that founded psychoanalysis and psychiatry; interested in sexual development in the Victorian era
Henry Havelock Ellis
a sexual reformer that believed sexual deviations from the norm were often harmless and urged society to accept sexual deviations; believed women were sexual creatures
Richard von Krafft-Ebing
German psychiatrist and author of Psychopathia Sexualis in 1892; coined the terms “sadism”, “masochism”, “pedophilia”, “homosexuality”, and “heterosexuality”
Magnus Hirschfield
German homosexual transvestite and the first researcher to begin a sex research institute; conducted the first large-scale sex survey of over 10,000 people; coined the term “transvestite”
Alfred Kinsey
American sexologist/biologist/professor who founded a sex research institute in Indiana in the 1940s; believed that heterosexuality and homosexuality were on a continuum rather than being dichotomous, and created a scale of this for his interviews
Masters and Johnson
a research team that studied the sexual response cycle
cultivation theory
the theory that people begin to think that what they see on TV and in other media really represents the mainstream of what happens in real life in our culture
agenda setting or framing theory
a theory in which the media draws attention to certain topics and not to others, suggesting how we should think about or frame the issues
social cognitive theory
a broad theory that analyzes how the media influences our behavior, thoughts, and affect (emotions) through processes such as modeling, imitation, and identification
social learning
when people mimic or imitate the behavior they see on TV or in other media; based on operant conditioning
selectivity
the principle that people select and pay attention to certain media and their messages, and not to others
reinforcing spiral theory
the theory that one’s social identities and ideologies predict one’s media use and, in turn, media use affects our identity and beliefs
differential susceptibility model
the notion that some people are more susceptible than others to certain types of media
culture
(1) a term that refers to the traditional ideas and values transmitted to a group which influence patterns of behavior
(2) the part of the environment created by humans, including the set of meanings that a group adopts, which facilitate social coordination and clarify where boundaries between groups lie
individualistic cultures
cultures that stress independence and autonomy and the individual rights of people
collectivistic cultures
cultures that emphasize interdependence and connections among people
honor cultures
cultures that stress individuals’ reputation and the respect that people show towards others
ethnocentrism
(1) the tendency to regard one’s own culture as superior
(2) the belief that its own customs are the standard by which other cultures should be judged
incest taboos
a societal regulation prohibiting sexual interaction between blood relatives
machismo
“maleness” or “virility”; Latin American cultural code which mandates that the man must be responsible for the well-being and honor of his family, but in extreme forms it also means tolerating men’s sexual infidelities
familismo
Latinx cultural value that emphasizes the importance of family (nuclear and extended) in matters such as support, loyalty, solidarity, and family honor
historical trauma
(1) a term that refers to cumulative psychological wounding over generations as a result of massive group trauma
(2) pattern of intergenerational transmission of the effects of the trauma; effects can include depression and anxiety
racial microaggressions
subtle insults directed at people of color, often done non-consciously
human uniqueness
the idea that sexual behavior is more instinctively controlled among lower species and more controlled by the brain in higher species
sexual health
a term referring to the state of physical, emotional, mental, and social wellbeing in relation to sexuality
sexual rights
basic, inalienable rights regarding sexuality; generally, these include rights to reproductive self-determination, the right to sexual self-expression, and freedom from sexual abuse and violence
negative rights
freedoms from something (i.e. from sexual violence)
positive rights
freedoms to something (i.e. to experience sexual pleasure, to express one’s sexuality with same-gender partners)
sociobiology
application of evolutionary biology to understand the social behavior of animals, including humans
evolution
the theory that all living things have acquired their present forms through gradual changes in their genetic endowment over successive generations
natural selection
a process by which animals that are best adapted to their environment are more likely to survive, reproduce and pass genes to the next generation
parental investment
behavior and resources invested by parents to achieve the survival and reproductive success of their genetic offspring
sexual selection
competition between members of one gender (usually male); preferential choice by members of one gender (usually female)
evolutionary psychology
the study of psychological mechanisms that have been shaped by natural selection; assumes that every characteristic we observe must have some adaptive significance
psychoanalytic theory
a psychological theory originated by Sigmund Freud that contains a basic assumption that part of the human personality is unconscious
libido
a term coined by Sigmund Freud that refers to the sex drive or sex energy, one of the two major forces motivating human behavior (the other being the death instinct)
thanatos
a term used by Sigmund Freud that refers to the death instinct, one of the two major forces motivating human behavior (the other being the sex instinct)
id
according to Freud, the basic part of the personality that is present at birth and operates on the pleasure principle (can thus be pretty irrational)
ego
according to Freud, the part of the personality that operates on the reality principle and tries to keep the basic, pleasure principle-based part of the personality in line; makes the person have realistic, rational interactions with others
superego
according to Freud, the conscience; the part of the personality that contains the values and ideals of society that we learn and operates on idealism; aims to inhibit the impulses of the pleasure-principle part of the personality and persuade the realistic-principle part of the personality to strive for moral goods rather than just realistic ones
erogenous zones
a part of the skin or mucous membrane that is extremely sensitive to stimulation; touching it in certain ways produces feelings of pleasure
oral stage
the 1st of Freud’s stages of early psychosexual development, lasting from birth to about 1 year of age, where the child’s chief pleasure is derived from sucking and otherwise stimulating the lips and mouth
anal stage
the 2nd of Freud’s stages of early psychosexual development, occurring approximately during the second year of life, in which the child’s interest is focused on elimination/defecation
anal retentive personality
a personality type described by Freud as a result of early or harsh potty training in the second stage of early psychosexual development; adult traits include being obsessively tidy, punctual, respectful of authority, stubborn, and possessive over their money and belongings
anal expulsive
a personality type described by Freud as a result of liberal potty training during the second stage of early psychosexual development; adult traits include oversharing, giving things away, and being messy, disorganized, and rebellious
phallic stage
the 3rd of Freud’s stages of early psychosexual development, lasting from ages 3-5 or 6, in which the boy’s interest is focused on his phallus and the girl feels cheated and suffers from penis envy
penis envy
according to Freud, when girls begins to feel envious and cheated at not having a penis during the third stage of early psychosexual development and therefore wants to have a penis
Oedipus complex
term originating from Freud referring to the sexual attraction a boy feels towards his mother during the third stage of early psychosexual development, which results in the boy’s perception of his father as a rival, becoming hostile towards him before eventually developing castration anxiety; name comes from the Greek myth of a man who unknowingly killed his father and married his mother
castration anxiety
according to Freud, a boy’s fear that his father will cut off his penis for being sexually attracted to his mother and perceiving his father as a rival for her affection; becomes so severe that the boy stops desiring his mother and begins taking on his father’s gender role and acquiring the characteristics expected of males by society
Electra complex
term originating from Freud referring to a girl’s sexual attraction towards her father during the third stage of early psychosexual development; results from her desires to be impregnated by her father to substitute for her not having a penis; name comes from a woman from Greek myth that kills her mother and her mother’s lover as vengeance for her father
latency
the 4th of Freud’s stages of early psychosexual development, lasting until adolescence, in which sexual impulses are repressed or in a quiescent state
genital stage
the 5th of Freud’s stages of early psychosexual development, occurring during puberty, in which the child’s sexual urges reawaken; sexual urges become more specifically genital, and the oral, anal, and genital urges all fuse together to promote the biological function of reproduction
classical conditioning
when a conditioned stimulus is paired with an original, unconditioned stimulus
operant conditioning
when a person is more likely to repeat a behavior if it is rewarded (reinforcement)
behavior modification
involves a set of techniques used to change a behavior
social constructionist viewpoint
a perspective that emerged in 1990 that calls our attention to the fact that the various behaviors and types or people are social constructions; categories are developed by groups and subcultures and then applied to objects in the world around them
social exchange theory
a theory based on the principle of reinforcement that assumes that people will choose actions that maximize rewards and minimize costs
comparison level for alternatives
a principle of social exchange theory in which one compares the profits one relationship provides over other relationships
equity
a principle of social exchange theory in which one believes rewards are proportionate to costs in a relationship
matching hypothesis
a principle of social exchange theory in which men and women choose mates who match them on physical and social characteristics
cognitive theory
(1) the study of the way people perceive and think
(2) the theory that what we think influences how we feel
gender schema theory
the theory that schemas predispose us to process information based on gender
gender schemas
a set of attributes that we associate with males and females
feminist theory
the theory that states the following points:
gender signals status in a culture and is an expression of inequality
women’s sexuality has been repressed and depressed, but rarely expressed
gender roles restrict people
intersectionality
performativity
intersectionality
an approach that says we should simultaneously consider a person’s multiple group memberships and identities, including gender, race, social class, and sexual orientation
performativity
ways in which we perform gender or sexuality based on society’s norms
queer theory
a theory that:
questions the socially determined categorization of sexuality and gender
questions the sexual orientation binary
questions the gender binary
argues that sexual identities are not fixed and may display fluidity
questions what is categorized as peculiar and what is not
argues that social norms privilege heterosexuality and marginalize other sexual orientations
heteronormativity
the belief that heterosexuality is the only pattern of sexuality that is normal and natural
critical race theory
a theoretical framework that can be used to examine the ways in which race and racism have an impact on social structures and institutions
symbolic interaction theory
a theory based on the premise that human behavior and the social order are products of communication among people
definition of the situation
the part of symbolic interaction theory which states that in order to fit actions together and achieve agreement, people must reaffirm old meanings or negotiate new ones
role taking
the process in social interaction when an individual imagines how they look from the other person’s view point
other-directed individuals
the perspective of role-taking in social interaction that portrays humans as being concerned primarily with meetings others’ standards
script theory
the theory/idea that sexual behavior is a result of elaborate prior learning that teaches us an etiquette of sexual behavior; tells us the meaning we should attach to particular sexual event
scripts
plans that people carry around in their heads for what they’re doing and what they’re going to do; devices for helping people remember what they have done in the past
sexual field
a site populated with people with erotic dispositions that they project on the space and each other
field theory
the theory that interactions within a sexual field reflect each actor’s desires, mediated by the acceptable modes of interaction and each actor’s status in that field
self-reports
a method for measuring sexuality in which participants are asked questions about sexual behavior and attitudes through paper questionnaires, interviews, and online; the most common method for measuring sexuality
direct observation
a behavioral measure of sexuality in which scientists directly observe behavior and record it
eye tracking
a behavioral measure of sexuality in which participants wear a(n) device that measures their point of gaze over time, as they are shown pictures on a computer
police reports
a behavioral measure of sexuality used to study illegal sexual behaviors
Implicit Association Test (IAT)
a method used to measure implicit stereotypes that measures an individual’s relative strength of association between different pairs of concepts; reaction time is measured in milliseconds; the quicker the reaction, the stronger the association
genital measures
a biological measure of sexual response that assesses arousal by using devices that measure erection in males and vaginal changes in females
penile plethysmography
a test in which a flexible loop is placed around the penis that measures changes in circumference in order to assess arousal
vaginal photoplethysmograph
a test used to optically measure blood flow to the vagina in order to assess arousal
MRI
a test that looks at anatomy, such as the size or shape of specific brain regions or the genitals, by using magnets to send and receive signals that give information while participants lie in the center of the magnet (scanner); noninvasive and provides good contrast between soft tissues of the body
functional MRI
a test that looks at brain activity by measuring relative levels of blood flow; depends on contrasting the difference between two stimuli
dilate
Our pupils ______ when we look at something that is especially interesting or arousing, or that puts a big load on our brain.
sampling
the act of identifying the appropriate population of people to be studied
random sampling
a sample in which each member of the population has an equal chance of being included in the sample
probability sampling
a sample in which each member of the population has a known likelihood of being included in the sample
Note 
Flashcard (46)