Research on Sexuality: Historical Roots and Methods

News Headline: Sex Causes Disease The “Age of Enlightenment” (i.e., 1700’s) freed us from religious explanations of the world and scientific explanations became increasingly influential and accepted. During the 1700 and 1800’s, nonprocreative acts became linked to disease, especially through masturbation (e.g., poor eyesight, epilepsy, loss of memory, insanity, etc.). Such views were considerably fostered by Richard von Krafft-Ebing, a prominent psychiatrist in the late 1800’s. His credentials lent a scientific credibility to those beliefs.

Sexuality Trail-Blazers Henry Havelock Ellis – published Studies in the psychology of sex Sigmund Freud – developed psychoanalytic theory As late as the mid-1800’s, scientific attempts to study or gain training in sexuality were met with considerable resistance. Two individuals, however, paved the way for others:

The Slow Road to Sex Research The Kinsey Group – wanted to describe sexual behavior of men and women throughout the lifespan. Their efforts resulted in Sexual behavior in the human male (1948) and Sexual behavior in the human female (1953). Masters and Johnson – In addition to asking “What do you do sexually?,” they observed and measured such activities as masturbation, intercourse, oral sex, and orgasms.

Where We Stand Today Societal Acceptance – journals, research societies, etc. Ethical Limits – there are still some areas of human sexuality research that society is reluctant or unwilling to allow because of ethical principles. APA ethical principles: Informed consent Freedom from coercion Protection from physical/psychological harm Risk-benefit analysis No one can deny that sex research has come a long way since Ellis and Freud. But how far have we come?

What to Believe? Does Vitamin E increase sexual potency? Is pornography harmful? Will condoms protect you from HIV? Are green M&Ms really aphrodisiacs? With the general acceptance and accompanying proliferation of sex research, how does one go about knowing what to believe about what you read or hear? For example:

The Hypothesis “Females receiving early sex education (variable) will become pregnant (variable) at an older age than those not receiving early sex education.” “Sexual arousal (variable) increases as the degree of nudity in photographs (variable) increases.” All research begins with an hypothesis: an educated guess regarding the relationship between two or more variables. The goal of the research would be to reject or not reject those statements.

The Subjects We can’t test everybody (i.e., a population), so we test a representative sample of people so generalizations about the population can be made. volunteer bias – possible affect on results due to differences between those who volunteer and those who refuse to participate self-report bias – possible affect on results due to reluctance to answer honestly (may give “socially desirable” or “normal” responses) or inability to give accurate answers because of memory failure (e.g., how many times have you had intercourse?) subject mortality – possible affect on results due to differential loss of subjects in groups.

Research Methods Correlational Method – measure the two variables stated in the hypothesis and see if they are related. Experimental Method – allows a considerable degree of control which permits the identification of cause and effect relationships. There are a variety of methods we can use to gather data in either field settings (e.g., observe “cat whistles”) or lab settings:

Experimental Method (con’t) Independent variable – the variable manipulated by the researcher (e.g., the degree of nudity). Dependent variable – the variable which is measured and used for comparing the groups (e.g., level of arousal). Control variables – any other variables that are eliminated or held constant (e.g., time of testing). Operational definitions – define variables in terms of the operations used for their measurement. The following concepts are critical to conducting an experiment:

Basic Experimental Design Convenience Sample: Students in Gen. Psych. class Control Group Experimental Group Random Assignment Have you ever wondered whether viewing nudes photographs can sexually arouse individuals? Let’s see how we could develop an experiment to test the following hypothesis: Viewing nude photographs results in higher degrees of sexual arousal than does viewing photographs without nudity.

Basic Experimental Design (con’t) Control GroupExperimental Group Present Independent Variable Degree of Photographic Nudity Measure Dependent Variable Rating on 10-point Scale Compare Group Means Non-nude Photograph Nude Photograph Each subject is given a photograph and asked to rate their degree of sexual arousal on a 10-point scale (1 “not at all aroused”; 10 “very aroused”). The subjects are debriefed and dismissed after they rate their level of sexual arousal.

Measuring Sexual Responses Regardless of the research method used, you must measure the dependent (response) variable in some manner. A variety of procedures have been used to that end: Questionnaire – used to assess attitudes, behaviors, knowledge, opinions, etc. Interviews – provides the opportunity to see Ss expressions and body language. Direct Observation – usually done in the “field.” Physiological Response Measures – typically measure bodily functioning such as heart rate, respiration, GSR, and blood pressure.

Measuring Sexual Responses (con’t) mercury-in-rubber strain gauge metal-band gauge penile plethysmograph vaginal photoplethysmograph perionometer vaginal and rectal myograph There are, however, some unique male and female physiological measures used in sex research: All the genital measures, however, are intrusive and may contaminate results.

Measuring Sexual Responses (con’t) Regardless of the methods used, you must be aware of the limitations of those methods when evaluating the results of research studies. Biochemical Response Measures – measure levels of chemicals (e.g., hormones) and see how they are related to sexual behavior. Case Study and Focus Groups – primarily used to stimulate the generation of hypotheses that may be tested using correlational or experimental methods. It is also important to consider the generalizability of the results as well as any short- and long-term risks before you decide to make a change in your behavior.