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Sex Research: Methods and Problems

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True or False – You Can Catch an STD From a Toilet Seat

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False • Sexually transmitted diseases or infections can't live outside the body for a long period of time—especially not on a cold, hard surface like a toilet seat. Plus, they aren't present in urine, anyway (it's usually sterile), so the chances of you catching one from whoever used the bathroom before you are slim to none. • What you do need to worry about, however, is what may seem like benign skin-to-skin or mouth-to-mouth contact. Kissing, for example, can spread herpes (and deeper kissing can even spread oral gonorrhea and chlamydia), while skin rubbing together can pass infections such as genital warts, herpes, scabies, and pubic lice (health.com).

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True or False – You can’t get pregnant during your period.

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False •

It is unlikely, but still possible—especially if you're not using a condom or birth control. Some women have long periods that overlap with the beginning of ovulation, which means they can be fertile even though they're menstruating.

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Say you have a short cycle (21 days, for example) and your period lasts a week. If you have sex close to the end of your period, you could become pregnant since sperm can live for up to 72 hours in your reproductive tract.

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There's also the infamous late-in-life pregnancy that can occur during perimenopause, when periods are erratic. Experts say it's not safe to ditch birth control until you haven't had a period for a year (health.com).

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True or False – The 'Morning After' Pill Causes an Abortion

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False • Plan B, also known as the "morning after" pill, is not the same as RU-486, a pill that causes an abortion. In fact, if you take Plan B when you're already pregnant—that is, if a fertilized egg has attached to the wall of your uterus—it won't make a bit of difference (health.com).

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True or False – Women often lie about sexual assault or falsely accuse someone of sexual assault.

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False • Statistical studies indicate false reports make up two percent or less of the reported cases of sexual assault. This figure is approximately the same for other types of crimes. Only one out of 10 rapes are actually reported. Sexual Assault by someone the victim knows are the least likely to be reported (rwu.edu).

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Research Question

Do abstinence only programs work? Copyright © 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Research Question Do abstinence only programs work? • A new study showed that improved contraceptive use is responsible for 86 percent of the decline in the U.S. adolescent pregnancy rate between 1995 and 2002. • Many of the curricula commonly used in abstinence-only programs distort information about the effectiveness of contraceptives, misrepresent the risks of abortion, blur religion and science, treat gender stereotypes as scientific fact, and contain basic scientific errors, according to a 2004 report by Government Reform Committee staff. • A 2004 review by Advocates for Youth of 11 state-based evaluations found that abstinence-only programs showed little evidence of sustained (long-term) impact on attitudes and intentions. Worse, they showed some negative impacts on youth's willingness to use contraception, including condoms, to prevent negative sexual health outcomes related to sexual intercourse.

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The Goals of Sexology • Goals of studying sexuality – Understand sexual behavior – Predict sexual behavior – Control / influence sexual behavior • Ethical considerations when controlling behavior

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The Goals of Sexology • Should the federal government fund sex research? • What should the federal government focus on when it comes to sex research? • Are there topics in sex that you don’t think need funding?

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Non-Experimental Research Methods: Case Studies • •

Single subject or small group – Each studied individually and in depth Data gathered using: – Direct observation – Questionnaires – Testing – Experimentation • Case studies have investigated the relationship between sexually violent media and rape. In many of these studies, rapists report high levels of exposure to sexually violent films, magazines, and books. However, it is unclear whether violent attitudes toward women and behaviors such as rape result directly from exposure to sexually violent media. • Case-study method has also been used to investigate the common assertion that alcohol enhances sexual responsiveness and pleasure. In fact, evidence from some case studies suggests just the reverse, at least among chronic alcoholics. Alcoholic subjects have shown decreased arousability and lowered sexual interest, although it is possible that this effect is due to the general physical deterioration that accompanies heavy, long-term alcohol use.

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Non-Experimental Research Methods: Case Studies (cont’d.) • Advantages – In depth explorations – Flexibility in data gathering procedures

• Disadvantages – Hard to generalize results – Often based on retrospective self-report – Not suitable for many research questions

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Non-Experimental Research Methods: Surveys • Asks participants about sexual experiences or attitudes – Small to large samples

• Data gathered using: – Face-to-face interviews – Questionnaires

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Non-Experimental Research Methods: Surveys (cont’d.) • Choosing the sample – Representative sample: limited sample that provides an accurate representation of the larger target population – Random sample: randomly chosen subset of a population

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Non-Experimental Research Methods: Surveys (cont’d.) • Advantages – Questionnaires: quick and cheap; anonymity may improve honesty – Interviews: more flexible; rapport may be established; possibly improved understanding

• Disadvantages – Non-response – Inaccurate information – Demographic bias Copyright © 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Non-Experimental Research Methods: Surveys (cont’d.) •

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Examples: – The Kinsey Reports – The National Health and Social Life Survey – The National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior According to a study by Kinsey Institute – 95 percent of people agree that when a penis goes into a vagina then "sex has occurred.” – 11 percent of people say that if there was no ejaculation, then there was no "sex." – 30 percent of people think oral sex is not "sex" – 20 percent believe that anal sex is not "sex" even though they both have "sex" in the title. • Would this mean that about the quarter of the population think that all gay men and lesbians are virgins???? • "Having sex" means any consensual behavior between two or more individuals involving genital contact and bodily penetration. That means oral sex, anal sex, and vaginal sex are all "sex."

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Non-Experimental Research Methods: Surveys (cont’d.) • Kinsey Scale • • • • • • •

0- Exclusively heterosexual with no homosexual 1- Predominantly heterosexual, only incidentally homosexual 2- Predominantly heterosexual, but more than incidentally homosexual 3- Equally heterosexual and homosexual 4- Predominantly homosexual, but more than incidentally heterosexual 5- Predominantly homosexual, only incidentally heterosexual 6- Exclusively homosexual

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Non-Experimental Research Methods: Surveys (cont’d.) • G spot study – What are the arguments for and against the G Spot? – Why is it helpful to know about the G Spot? Think about the influence goal in psychology! – What is the controversy over women ejaculating?

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Non-Experimental Research Methods: Direct Observation • •

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Observe and record responses of subjects – Small to moderate samples Advantages – Eliminates possibility of falsification – Records can be kept indefinitely Disadvantage – Behavior is influenced by observers – Masters and Johnson used a number of techniques to record physiological sexual responses. These included the use of photographic equipment and instruments to mea- sure and record muscular and vascular changes throughout the body. They also used direct observation as well as ingenious measurement devices to record changes in sex organs. Masters and Johnson recorded responses to a variety of stimulus situations in their laboratory: masturbation, coitus with a partner, and stimulation of the breasts alone.

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The Experimental Method •

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Conducted in a controlled laboratory – Subjects’ reactions can be reliably measured – Independent variable: component manipulated – Dependent variable: resulting behavior Advantage – Causal relationships can be identified Disadvantage – Artificial settings Study the relationship between alcohol use and sexual responsiveness (although it has not been used to study vaginal orgasms). In one study of 48 male college students, a penile strain gauge was used to measure engorgement as subjects watched a sexually explicit film, first while not under the influence of alcohol and then several days later, after the subjects had consumed controlled amounts of alcohol. Findings showed that sexual arousal was reduced by drinking alcohol and that the more alcohol consumed, the greater the reduction (Brid- dell & Wilson, 1976).

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The Experimental Method

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Research Methods

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Technologies in Sex Research (cont’d.) • Computer assisted self-interview (CASI) – Eliminates literacy issues and negative impacts of interviewer • Sex research via the Internet – Advantages: cheaper, more efficient, and nearly limitless survey pool – Disadvantages: sample-selection bias, low response rates, and privacy issues • A number of studies have looked at regret with respect to hookups and have documented the negative feelings men and women may feel after casual sex. In a large Web-based study of 1,468 undergraduate students, participants reported a variety of consequences: 27.1 percent felt embarrassed, 24.7 percent reported emotional difficulties, 20.8 percent experienced loss of respect, and 10 percent reported difficulties with a steady partner (Lewis et al., 2011). Copyright © 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Ethical Guidelines for Human Sex Research • Requirements – No pressure or coercion for participation – Informed consent and voluntary participation – Confidentiality and anonymity – Question of deception – Institutional ethics committee review

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Evaluating Research: Questions to Ask • Some useful questions – What are the researchers’ credentials? – Through what type of media were the results published? – What research methods were used and could there be bias? – Were enough subjects used? Can the results be generalized to the population? – Has there been other research to refute or support the study? Copyright © 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Evaluating Research: Questions to Ask

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If penis size really is an issue, it seems to matter more to men than to women. According to the British Journal of Urology, when researchers looked at more than 50 studies spanning the course of 60 years, they found that 85% of women were satisfied with their partner’s penis size — yet only 55% of men felt good about their penises! That’s a big difference in perception, and in my personal opinion, this sense of male insecurity is only likely to increase in the wake of Internet porn. That’s because research shows that more than a third of men who incorrectly believe their penises are too small say their insecurity began by viewing erotic images during their teen years.

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Summary • Goals of sexology – Understanding, predicting, and controlling behavior

• Research methods may be nonexperimental or experimental – Nonexperimental: case studies, surveys, and direct observation – Experimental: variables are manipulated and evaluated in a laboratory setting Copyright © 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.