PSYB30H3 Chapter Notes - Chapter 12: Inah 3, Alliance Theory, Prenatal Hormones And Sexual Orientation
Document Summary
Researchers today define sexual orientation as the prevalence of erotic arousals, feelings, fantasies, and behaviours one has for males, females, or both. Sexual orientation may be expressed in sexual attraction, sexual behaviour, or sexual identity. Sexual behaviour refers to a person"s actions, that is, those sexual activities they have actually engaged in. This may include any genital contact and sexual excitement, with or without intercourse or orgasm, occurring with mutual consent of both partners. Finally, sexual identity includes labels people associate with their sexuality, whether personally selected or socially ascribed. There are at least three possible solutions to this problem: male alliance theory, the kin altruism hypothesis, and increased female reproductive success. Some have reasoned that male-female sexual behaviour evolved as a way of regulating dominance-submission and of forming alliances among a group of males living together, both of which increase survival and reproductive success of males.
