1. Theoretical Perspectives on Sexuality
Chapter 2
Theoretical Perspectives on Sexuality
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2. Evolutionary Perspectives
Sociobiology - application of evolutionary biology to understanding the social behavior of animals, including humans.
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3. Evolutionary Perspectives
Evolution occurs via natural selection, a process by which animals that are best adapted to their environment are more likely to:
Survive
Reproduce
Pass genes to the next generation
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4. Evolutionary Perspectives
Parental investment - behavior and resources invested by parents to achieve the survival and reproductive success of their genetic offspring.
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5. Evolutionary Perspectives
Sexual selection
Competition between members of one gender (usually male).
Preferential choice by members of one gender (usually female).
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6. Evolutionary Psychology
Focuses on the psychological mechanisms that have been shaped by natural selection.
Assumes that every characteristic that we observe must have some adaptive significance.
Some human traits, however, may simply be design flaws.
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8. Psychological Theories: Psychoanalytic Theory
Freud’s psychoanalytic theory focuses on human sexuality.
He saw libido (sex drive or sex energy) as one of the two major forces in human life. The other is thanatos (the death instinct).
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9. Freud: Consciousness Conscious level Preconscious level
Normal awareness
Preconscious level
Easily brought to consciousness
Unconscious level
Hidden thoughts and desires

10. Freud’s Parts of the Personality
Id - the basic part of personality which is present at birth - operates on the pleasure principle.
Ego operates on the reality principle and tries to keep the id in line.
Superego is the conscience and operates on idealism.
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11. Freud: Structural Model
The id
Unconscious level
Present at birth
Home to sexual and aggressive drive
Governed by the pleasure principle
Think Homer Simpson
Note: Homer Simpson is a character from the TV show “The Simpsons”

12. Freud: Structural Model
The superego
Preconscious and unconscious levels
Develops in childhood
Home to morality and conscience
Governed by the ego ideal
Think Ned Flanders
Note: Ned Flanders is a character from the TV show “The Simpsons”

13. Freud: Structural Model
The ego
Conscious, preconscious, and unconscious levels
Develops in childhood (before superego)
Acts as a referee between id and superego
Governed by the reality principle

14. Freud: Personality Development
We must pass through psychosexual stages successfully
Each stage focuses on how we receive pleasure
Failure to pass through a stage leads to fixation
In times of stress, we regress to that stage

15. Freud: Psychosexual Stages
Oral stage (birth to 1 year)
Anal stage (1 to 3 years)
Phallic stage (3 to 6 years)
Oedipus and Electra complexes
Latency period (6 to puberty)
Genital stage (puberty onward)

16. Freud’s Early Stages of Psychosexual Development
Oral stage (birth to one year) - child’s chief pleasure is derived from sucking and otherwise stimulating the lips and mouth.
Anal stage (second year) - child’s interest is focused on elimination.
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17. Freud’s Phallic Stage (Ages 3 to 5 or 6)
Boy’s interest is focused on his phallus (penis).
Oedipus complex develops but is resolved by castration anxiety.
Girls feel cheated and suffer from penis envy.
Electra complex develops but resolution is not as complete as for boys.
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18. Freud’s Later Stages of Psychosexual Development
Latency, in which sexual impulses are repressed or are in a quiescent state, lasts until adolescence.
Sexual urges reawaken with puberty, when the child moves into the genital stage.
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19. Fixations at Freudian Stages
According to Freud, people do not always mature from one stage to the next as they should.
Most adults have at least traces of earlier stages remaining in their personalities.
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Freud on Women
Freud assumed the female is biologically inferior because she lacks a penis.
Feminists object to the notion that women are anatomically inferior, and argue that psychoanalytic theory may cause harm to women.
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21. Evaluation of Psychoanalytic Theory
May provide a view of disturbances in the human personality rather than the human personality.
The recognition that humans pass through stages in their psychological development was a great contribution.
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22. Psychological Theories: Learning Theory
Much of human sexual behavior is biologically controlled, but much of it is also learned.
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23. Classical and Operant Conditioning
Classical conditioning takes place when a conditioned stimulus is paired with an original unconditioned stimulus.
Operant conditioning means a person is more likely to repeat a behavior if it is rewarded (reinforcement).
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24. Psychological Theories: Learning Theories
Behavior modification involves a set of techniques used to change behavior.
Social learning is based on operant conditioning, imitation and identification.
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25. Psychological Theories
Social exchange theory uses the concept of reinforcement to explain stability and change in relationships between people.
Successful experiences with an activity over time create a sense of competence or self-efficacy.
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26. Psychological Theories: Cognitive Theory
Cognitive psychologists believe it is very important to study the way people perceive and think.
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27. Psychological Theories: Gender Schema Theory
Gender schemas - set of attributes that we associate with males and females.
Schemas predispose us to process information on the basis of gender.
nature vs nurture with gender
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28. Gender Stereotype Consistent
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29. Gender Stereotype Inconsistent
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30. Sociological Perspectives: The Influence of Society
Societal influence occurs on several levels including:
The macro level - society as a whole.
The subcultural level at which one’s social class or ethnic group may have an impact on one’s sexuality.
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31. Sociological Perspectives: Social Institutions
At the macro level our sexuality is influenced by powerful social institutions, including:
Religion
Economy
Family
Medicine
Law
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32. Sociological Perspectives: Symbolic Interaction Theory
Human nature and the social order are products of symbolic communication among people.
Develop a definition of the situation.
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33. Sociological Perspectives: Symbolic Interaction Theory
Role-taking - when an individual imagines how he or she looks from the other person’s viewpoint.
Other-directed individuals - primarily concerned with meeting other’s standards.
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34. Sociological Perspectives: Sexual Scripts
Suggest that sexual behavior is as scripted as a play in a theater.
Tell us an etiquette of sexual behavior.
Tell us the meaning we should attach to a particular sexual event.
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35. Sociological Perspectives: The Social Importance
Ira Reiss defines sexuality as “erotic and genital responses produced by the cultural scripts of a society.”
Kinship system
Power structure
Ideologies of a culture
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