➔ Sexual intelligence: Sexual intelligence involves self- understanding, interpersonal
sexual skills, scienti c knowledge, and consideration of the cultural context of sexuality.
◆ Relatively new field but has bad grea
...
➔ Sexual intelligence: Sexual intelligence involves self- understanding, interpersonal
sexual skills, scienti c knowledge, and consideration of the cultural context of sexuality.
◆ Relatively new field but has bad great leaps of research in last century
● about what happens to our bodies during sexual arousal and how to
enhance pleasure, about biological components to sexual orientation, and
about how to best protect ourselves and others from sexually transmitted
infections.
➔ Psychosocial: Refers to a combination of psychological and social factors.
◆ reflecting our view that psychological factors (emotions, attitudes, motivations)
and social conditioning (the process by which we learn our social groups’
expectations and norms) have a crucial impact on sexual attitudes, values, and
behaviors.
➔ Biopsychosocial: the crucial biological foundations of human sexuality, including the
roles of hormones and the nervous system, the biological components of sexual
orientation, theories about the role of genetic selection through thousands of years of
human evolution, and the impact of specific genetic variables on an individual.
➔ We learn society’s expectations regarding sexuality, and assume that our behaviors or
feelings are biologically innate, or natural.
◆ ex. examination of sexuality in other periods of Western history or in other
societies (or even in different ethnic, socioeconomic, and age groups within our
own society) reveals a broad range of acceptable behavior
➔ Educational level and socioeconomic status are crucial in influencing sexual attitudes
and behaviors.
◆ ex. people with more education masturbate more often than less-educated
people do (Kinsey et al., 1948; Michael et al., 1994).
◆ ex. oral–genital sex, which tends to be most common among young, collegeeducated Whites and least common among African Americans and individuals
with less education (Michael et al., 1994).
➔ Degree of acculturation: replacing traditional beliefs and behavior patterns with those of
the dominant culture—also creates differences within subcultures.
➔ Multiracial: some people have descended from two or more racial groups
◆ Ex. Obama
➔ Religious views on sexuality, sexual activities, and beliefs
◆ Roman Catholic religion condemns all sexual activity that does not potentially
lead to procreation, the views and behaviors of American Catholics vary greatly
on issues such as contraception, abortion, and homosexuality, often disagreeing
with the long-standing tenets of the Church
◆ Fundamentalist Christians: Typically holds that sexual intercourse before
marriage is sinful, and it may oppose the use of birth control,
◆ Liberal Christianity: emphasizes caring in a relationship and appreciates how
contraception can enhance sexual intimacy.
◆ Orthodox Jews: have much more conservative views regarding sexuality and
gender roles than do Reform Jews. Orthodox Judaism forbids sexual inter
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