Sexuality and Gender 409penile–vaginal intercourse to be sex! Some thought it wasn’t sex if there was no orgasm.
There was simply little agreement among survey participants as to what “having sex”
really means, and researchers examining sexual behavior through the survey method
should be very aware of this possible confusion.
The technology we use every day may also have an impact on sexual behavior, as
the APA Goal 2 feature in the next module illustrates.
Sexual Orientation
10.8 Identify some influences on the development of sexual orientation.
The term sexual orientation refers to a person’s sexual attraction and affection for mem-
bers of either the opposite or the same sex. One of the more important questions that
researchers are trying to answer is whether sexual orientation is the product of learning
and experience or if it is biological in origin.
CATEGORIES OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION As the video Sexual Orientation: Definition and
Prevalence shows, there are a variety of sexual orientation categories that individuals
may identify with, and getting reliable data can be challenging.
sexual orientation
a Rersonos seZual attraction to and
affection for members of either the
opposite or the same sex.heterosexual
person attracted to the opposite sex.The most common sexual orientation is heterosexual, in which people are sexu-
ally attracted to members of the opposite physical sex, as in a man being attracted to a
woman or vice versa. (The Greek word hetero means “other,” so heterosexual means “other
sexual” or attraction for the other sex.) Heterosexuality is a socially acceptable form of
sexual behavior in all cultures.
It is difficult to get an accurate percentage for homosexual orientation, or sexual
attraction to members of one’s own sex. (The Greek word homo means “same.”) The prob-
lem concerns the discrimination, prejudice, and mistreatment that homosexual people
face in most cultures, making it more likely that a homosexual person will lie about his
or her sexual orientation to avoid such negative treatment. A national survey estimates
that about 1.8 percent of adult men and 1.5 percent of adult women aged 18 years and
older consider themselves to be gay or lesbian, meaning that their sexual orientations are
exclusively or predominantly homosexual (Ward et al., 2014).
Watch the Video Sexual Orientation: Definition and PrevalenceCChomosexual
person attracted to the same sex.