PSYCH 225 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Casual Sex, Human Sexuality, Libido
Research Studies
• Mainstream Masculinity Norms
o What we know
▪ Relationship-averse
▪ Sexually experienced
▪ High sex drive
▪ Dominant, Active
▪ Sompetitive
▪ Aggressive
▪ “Boys don't cry”
▪ Breadwinners, family providers
o Are you man enough?
▪ Other men are the only ones who can grant or take away anjood status
▪ Violence is restorative
• Men go to violence to restore their manhood
▪ How else do men react when their masculinity is in doubt?
o Previous research
▪
• Manipulation: Engaging in stereotypical feminine activities
• Results: higher appreciation of violecnce
• Manipulation” receiving compliments about feminine
characteristics
• Results: more likely to express anti-gay prejudice
• Manipulation” being told a woman perfomed better ona
stereotypical masculine activity (math)
• Results: more blame put on survivors of sexual assault
o Our research question: is there is a difference between men who have had their
masculinity confirmed vs men who have had their masculinity called into doubt
o Experimental Survey
▪ Take this personality measure
▪ Then they say “you are very masculine” or “you are not very masculine”
▪ Then they asked, what are your attitudes towards traditional gender roles
o Hypothesis: men who have their masculinity called into doubt will be more likely
to say they support the sexual double standard (men are players, women are sluts)
• Emotional reactions: to casual sex
o Strait populations: consistent research that shows everyone feels positive after sex
that women feel slightly less positively than men
▪ Gender predicts what people feel
o Current study: are there other factors besides gender?
o What determines how you feel after casual sex?
o Are these factors better predictors than gender?
o Previous research, for gender differences in casual sex focused on
▪ Pleasure
▪ Stigma
▪ Scripts
• What they were not looking at
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o Motivation
▪ Intrinsic vs Extrinsic
o Autonomy
▪ YES! Vs Sure..
o Satisfaction
▪ Physical and Emotional
▪ Goes beyond just physical but how you were treated, trust, emotions and
more
• Methods: correlational study
o Think of the most recent straight casual sex encounter they had
o Ask to reflect and then asked if they felt pleasure, stigma and how did this align
with sexual scripts
o Then asked motivations, autonomy and satisfaction
o What emotions were experienced after over the following days
o Gender is the predictor for emotional reaction after sex
▪ But the idea of this study is to show that there are other factors, saying that
gender is looking through, pleasure, stigma, norms, motivation, autonomy
and satisfaction to go to get their emotional reaction
• Orgasm-oriented attitudes and behaviors in women
o How can we explain womens low orgasm rates?
▪ What we know: 30-40% of heterosexual women report usually/always
orgasming during partnered sex
▪ Why it's important: women are portrayed as difficult, incapable, sexually
disinterested
▪ What we don’t know: are women themselves interested in orgasm? Are
they engaging in behaviors specifically to help them orgasm?
o Women are more likely to orgasm in non penile vaginal intercourse
• The research questions?
o In a given sexual encounter:
▪ Do women care about having an orgasm?
▪ Do they engage in behaviors with the intention of having an orgasm?
o Orgasm oriented attitudes
▪ Expectations surrounding orgasm that women hold going into a sexual
encounter
• Do they believes they can orgasm
• Do they believe in the ability that they can influence if they orgasm
or not
• Is orgasming important
▪ Hypothesis 1: women with stronger orgasm-oriented attitudes will be
more likely to orgasm
o Orgasm oriented behaviors
▪ Sexual practices that women engage in with the intention of orgasm
• Moving bodies to more stimulating positions
• Masturbating in front of their partner
• Communicating with their partner about what feels good
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▪ Hypothesis 2: women who spend more time engaging in orgasm-oriented
behaviors will be more likely to orgasm
o Results of study 1: differences between women who orgasmed and women who
did not orgasm
o Orgasm occurrence: 50.4% of women orgasmed
▪ S
o Discussion
▪ We found significant differences in the attitudes and behaviors of women
who did and did not orgasm
• Women who orgasmed:
• Higher orgasm-oriented attitudes
• Ranked their orgasm as equally as important as their partner
• Spent more time on orgasm-oriented behaviors
• Spent more time on masturation
• Spent more time getting their genitals stimulated by their partner
• Suggests women have different goals for their sexual
• encounter
• Second study: understanding the orgasm gap: prgasm-oriented attitudes and sexual
dynamics
o Heterosexual sexual scripts
o Heterosexual Sexual Scripts
o Men
▪ Active
▪ Leaders of the encounter
▪ Desire sex
o Men
▪ Pleasure is valued
▪ Own orgasm is necessary
▪ Focus on own orgasm
o Women
▪ Passive
▪ Recipients of men’s desire
▪ Uninterested in sex
o Women
▪ Pleasure is devalued
▪ Own orgasm is optional
▪ Focus on partner’s orgasm
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Research studies: mainstream masculinity norms, what we know, relationship-averse, sexually experienced, high sex drive, dominant, active, sompetitive, aggressive, breadwinners, family providers. Were the sexual positions you engaged in a result of what ____ wanted: 6. Independence variables: power manipulation: dependent variables, self-reported state of sexual desire, casual sex offer acceptance. Iis the power of someones normal what predicts sexual power and desire: examples for a power study manipulation: Please recall a particular incident in which you had power over another individual or individuals. Please describe this situation in which you had power what happened, how you felt, etc. Please recall a particular incident in which someone else had power over you. By power, we mean a situation in which you controlled the ability of another person or persons to get something they wanted or were in a position to evaluate those individuals.
