418 CHAPTER 10
šThe secondary male sex characteristics are an enlarged larynx
(Adam’s apple), deepening voice, facial and chest hair, pubic
hair, coarser skin texture, and a large increase in height.
The Psychological Side of Human Sexuality: Gender
- 3 Identify the psychological, biological,
environmental, and cultural influences on gender.
šGender is the psychological aspect of being male or female.
šGender roles are the culture’s expectations for male and female
behavior and personality.
šGender typing is the process by which people in a culture learn
the appropriate gender-role behavior.
šGender identity is a person’s sense of being male or female.
šGender identities are formed by biological influences in the
form of hormones and chromosomes as well as environmental
influences in the form of parenting, surroundings, and culture,
on the formation of gender identity. - 4 Compare and contrast different views of how
gender roles develop.
šSocial learning theorists believe that gender identity is formed
through reinforcement of appropriate gender behavior as well
as imitation of gender models.
šGender schema theorists believe that gender identity is a men-
tal schema that develops gradually, influenced by the growth of
the brain and organization of observed male or female behavior
around the schema.
šGender stereotyping occurs when people assign characteristics
to a person based on the person’s male or female status rather
than actual characteristics.
šAndrogyny describes people who do not limit themselves to the
male or female stereotyped characteristics, instead possessing
characteristics associated with both traditional masculine and
feminine roles. - 5 Describe how men and women differ in thinking,
social behavior, and personality.
šCognitive differences between men and women include a male
advantage in mathematical and spatial skills and a female supe-
riority in verbal skills. These differences are now less than they
were previously.
šMales and females are socially taught to interact differently and
express emotions differently. Men tend to talk with each other in
a “report” style, whereas women tend to talk to each other in a
“relate” style.
Human Sexual Behavior
- 6 Identify the four stages of a sexual-response cycle.
šMasters and Johnson found four phases of human sexual
response: arousal, plateau, orgasm, and resolution. - 7 Summarize the findings of early and recent
surveys of human sexual behavior.
šAlfred Kinsey conducted a series of sexual-behavior sur-
veys in the late 1940s and early 1950s, revealing some highly
controversial findings about the kinds of sexual behavior com-
mon among people in the United States, including homosexual-
ity, premarital sex, and extramarital sex.
šIn the mid-1990s, Janus and Janus published the results of a
large-scale survey of sexual behavior in the United States. Their
survey results did not differ widely from those of Kinsey, but
they looked at many more types of sexual behavior and factors
related to sexual behavior than did Kinsey’s surveys.
šThe results of the National Survey of Sexual Health and Behav-
ior (NSSHB) was published in 2010. The results indicated that
sexual behavior in the United States changes across the lifespan,
with vaginal intercourse being most common in early to late
adulthood. Masturbation is more common in younger and older
individuals, and both oral and anal sex occur across different
age cohorts. More men than women reported condom use, and
overall, use was highest during adolescence.
- 8 Identify some influences on the development
of sexual orientation.
šResearch suggests that there are biological differences between
heterosexual and homosexual persons and that there may be
genetic influences as well.
Sexual Health
- 9 Describe the causes and symptoms of some
common sexually transmitted infections.
šSexually transmitted infections can affect the sexual organs and
the ability to reproduce and may result in pain, disfigurement,
and even death.
šSome common bacterial sexually transmitted infections are chla-
mydia, syphilis, and gonorrhea. These infections are treatable
with antibiotics.
šViral sexually transmitted infections include genital herpes (caused
by the herpes simplex virus that also causes cold sores) and genital
warts (caused by the human papillomavirus). Neither can be cured,
and both can lead to complications such as increased risk of cancer.
šAcquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is caused by a
viral infection called human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
that is transmitted through an exchange of blood, vaginal fluid,
semen, or breast milk. Having unprotected sex or sharing a
needle with an infected person are the most common routes of
transmission. HIV may also be transmitted through pregnancy,
childbirth, breastfeeding a baby while infected, occupational
exposure, or receiving contaminated blood or organ transplant.
šAIDS wears down the immune system, opening the body up to
infections that, over time, will result in death.
Applying Psychology to Everyday Life: The AIDS
Epidemic in Russia
- 10 Explain why the number of HIV and AIDS cases
in Russia is increasing so dramatically.
šCases of both HIV infections and AIDS have dramatically
increased due to increasing drug use, uneducated sex workers,
and the spread of disease among prisoners.