PSY 3122 Chapter Notes - Chapter 7: Pedophilia, Social Desirability Bias, Psychological Trauma

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSY 3122
• Professor: Lisa Henry

Document Summary

Sexuality and the life cycle: childhood and adolescence. Anything that has to do with children and having sex is not acceptable due to negative associations. E. g. : pedophilia, sexual abuse toward children, child pornography, etc. The notion of sexuality and children (0 years) |--------------------------------------------------------------------------| (90 years) Our culture says that we are sexual between puberty and menopause / old age. This timeframe also coincides with the reproductive years. There is a correlation to when people are able to reproduce and no longer able to produce and when they engage in sexual activity and do not engage in sexual activity. This results in the idea that children and old people are asexual. The truth is that sexuality is broader than the scope of reproduction and sexual reproduction. The forms that it takes will manifest itself differently for every individual and across the lifespan. Our sexual expression changes naturally across the lifespan.