Through this course you may become more aware of your own unique human sexuality; meaning, that you understand the biological, psychological, social, and cultural influences on your sexual feelings, attitudes/values and behaviors.
Understanding the psychology behind human sexuality is important because our relationship with sex often acts as a barometer of our wider health and happiness.
The human sexuality research of Masters and Johnson was quite legendary as it was the first open discussion, with some scientific data, about human sexual behavior at the time (3).
This course explores the social construction of sexual ignorance and the social accomplishment of sexual repression.
The psychology of human sexuality is the scientific examination of our thoughts, emotions and behavior, both individually and culturally.
Sexuality is one of the fundamental drives behind everyone's feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. It defines the means of biological reproduction, describes psychological and sociological representations of self, and orients a person's attraction to others. Further, it shapes the brain and body to be pleasure-seeking.
In 1966, William Masters and Virginia Johnson proposed a four-stage “linear” model of human sexual response based on some 10,000 recordings of changes in participants' physiology. From these data, they identified four successive (hence, linear) stages: (1) excitement, (2) plateau, (3) orgasm, and (4) resolution.
'The invention of sexuality' looks at how political, social, religious, and cultural change over the last few hundred years have shaped the notion of 'sexuality' today. The term itself first appeared in 1879.
Healthy Human Sexuality — No Guilt, No Shame. According to Parker, there are three elements that signify healthy human sexual behavior: No unwilling victims, no guilt, and no shame. Parker highlights some of her experiences when working in private practice to demonstrate how the concept of guilt and shame contribute to problematic ...
As such, students in the Counseling Psychology program are required to engage with 25 hours of personal psychotherapy. “Helping other people heal is sometimes an unconscious desire to heal themselves,” says Parker.
The science of human sexuality, as with anything to do with our intriguing and sometimes infuriating species, is complex. Undisputed answers as to the exact biological reasons why individuals can be sexually attracted to people of the same sex as themselves, to persons of the other sex, or to people regardless of their sex, are few and far between.
Homosexual behaviour is a natural biological feature and is common among non-human animals. In at least one species – sheep – individual animals have been known to form lasting preferences for same-sex partners.
In all of this, there’s an obvious omission of women and other genders, and other sexual orientations including but not exclusive to lesbians and bisexuals.
Could brain structure and development account for differences in sexual orientation?
Other factors are undoubtedly at play in determining the sexual orientation of individuals.
Historically, many people believed (and some still do) that homosexuality was a state of mind. Some argued that it was a lifestyle choice, or even a psychological disorder.