Human Sexuality Chapter 2

What is the difference between a "convenience sample" and a "random sample"? How are they constructed? Which one is used more frequently and which one tends to have greater validity? Why is that the case?

A convenience sample consist of those individuals who are most accessible for research purposes. A random sample consists of identifying all members of the target population and contacting a subset of them at random to participate. Convenience sample is used more frequently and random sample tends to have greater validity. Convenience sample is easier to conduct and it is faster, while with random samples you have to get a full list of names in the target population in order to be able to randomly select participants for the study.

What is the proper relationship between a "sample" and a "target population"?

A researcher must find a target population before finding a sample. A target population is the group of people about whom they wish to learn. A sample is a smaller group of people who will actually participate in the study.

Strengths and Limitations of Experiments

Can control variables, ability to infer cause and effect. Not possible or ethical to implement for all research questions, several threats to external validity

What are the components of "informed consent"? In other words, what must a participant in a research study be told before she/he can become involved in the study, ethically? What role does "debriefing" play in the ethical conduct of research? When can you engage in "deception" of participants if you are conducting sexology research?

Components of informed consent are that individuals must be told up front about the nature of the study, their rights as a research participant, and potential risks and rewards associated with their involvement. Debriefing is where the participant must be told the true purpose of the research and be informed of any deception that took place. You can engage in deception of participants in sexology research when it is necessary to ensure the validity of the data.

Why is the maintenance of "confidentiality" crucial to the proper conduct of sexuality research

Confidentiality is crucial to the proper conduction of sexuality research because very personal information is collected from the individual, an individual could be having an affair, and if not assured confidentiality then individuals will be less likely to respond honestly and accurately, undermining the validity of the data.

Why is it that "direct observation" of people's sexual behaviors is assumed to reduce response biases in a study? How do "self-selection" and "reactivity" work to possibly undermine the objectivity of direct-observational approaches?

Direct observation has to do with direct contact or seeing something with your own two eyes (think of the 5 senses). This reduces biases because it means the observing is mainly based off what we see, hear, smell and so on. Self selection is a self selecting opinion poll and reactivity has to do with how you react to things knowing you are being observed. These approaches include more than just the five senses, they include feelings and opinions which undermines observational approaches.

What are the essential characteristics of a "case report"? Which prominent figure in the history of sexology relied primarily on case reports? What advantage does this method have? In other words, in what type of situation is it the most often used method? What is its essential challenge or limitation?

Essential characteristics to a case report are observations and interviews. Case studies are used to get an in depth analysis of an individual or group and the difficulty or challenge with it is that every situation is different and cannot be replicated.

In what fundamental way is an "experiment" more powerful than a "correlational" study? In other words, what can you infer from an experiment that you cannot from a correlation? What is the difference between an "independent" and "dependent" variable? Be sure to be able to give examples.

Experiments include altering an environment and then observing the different effects while correlational is all about looking for associations or connections between two things. an independent variable is something changed or controlled and an example would be how much you water a plant or the amount of water you give a plant. A dependent variable would be how something responds to change so an example would be how the plants react to the amount of water given.

What is functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and how is it used in studying sexual responsiveness? What has been found with regard to the difference in responsiveness between the sexes in the hypothalamus and amygdala regions of the brain?

Functional magnetic resonance imaging is the measure of brain activity associated with changes in blood flow. Women tend to have stronger memories toward emotional events which means they are more responsive in the amygdala region.

Strengths and Limitations of Case Reports

In depth information about an unusual case. Limited generalizability, often relies on subjective self reporting.

Dr. Alfred Kinsey made tremendous contributions to the study of human sexuality (not without controversy). Generally, what particular methodology did he use? He was also known for pioneering a second type of methodology. What was this second type of approach? (which was later developed further by Masters and Johnson)

Kinsey interviewed thousands of Americans about their sex lives which was considered taboo in that period. He also pioneered direct observing in a laboratory setting to see how the body reacted to sexual stimulation.

What are "leading questions" and "double-barreled" questions within surveys, and what consequences do they tend to have on the results of a study?

Leading questions direct participants to a specific answer and double-barreled questions inquire about multiple things, making things pretty confusing. The consequence that leading questions have on the results of a study is that it pressure participants to respond a certain way. In double barreled questions, the consequence could be that the participants might not be able to answer the question in the way that it was intended.

Strengths and Limitations of Direct Observations

Less chance of response bias,observations can be filmed. Self-selection bias, reactivity may differ

Describe how the work of Masters and Johnson is a prime example of the direct-observational approach to research in human sexuality? What did they do, specifically, in the laboratory?

Masters and Johnson used the laboratory to study the reactions and anatomy of human sexual activity. They measured responses of people participating in sexual activity alone or with another individual through heart rate and brain activity and photographs. They discovered four stages of sexual arousal (excitment, plateau, orgasmic, and resolution).

How was most of Masters and Johnson's early work received in academic journals? Why?

Most of Masters and Johnson's early work was rejected by academic journals because the journals thought their research was "pornographic" and that is why they had to publish books instead.

Strengths and Limitations of Surveys

Quick and easy for collecting data, several ways of administering. No response, self-selection bias, lies to fit in with society, writing a good survey takes skill.

What does the text's author mean by the discipline of "sexology"? How is it different from earlier attempts to understand human sexuality? In what way is it considered a multidisciplinary approach?

Sexology is the scientific study of sex. Earlier attempts to understand human sexuality was surface level and mainly involved scientists swapping wives and recording it. Modern human sexuality aims to increase understanding all aspects of human sexuality like why different sexual orientations exist, frequency of specific sexual practices across cultures, motivations behind rape and other sex crimes, and therapies that can treat sexual problems. Since there are so many topics that human sexuality can touch on, scientists can range from psychologists, sociologists, anthropologist, biologist, and many more.

Who are some of the mid-19th century figures associated with the "medicalization" of sexuality? What is meant by this concept?

Some of the mid-19th century figures associated with the "medicalization" of sexuality are Heinrich Kaan and Richard von Krafft-Ebing. What they meant by "medicalization" was that they did not see sexual behavior as being sexual "aberrations" and dysfunctions as moral feelings, they reconceptualized them as medical and mental issues.

What are the key strengths and limitations of the Experimental Method?

Strengths to the experimental method are that you can control variables and repeat the experiment. some limitations are that since you are able to control variables, the results or the experiment may not be as "natural" as a more random and uncontrolled experiment. It is also possible for researchers to make errors during the experiment.

The National Health and Social Life Survey (NHSLS) from 1994 has been considered a superior research effort to those of Alfred Kinsey's. What about the NHSLF study made it methodologically sounder than Kinsey's? What limitation does it have in drawing inferences about human sexual behavior at this time, in 2016?

The NHSLF study was methodologically sounder than Kinsey's because it included more variability in terms of race as it included African Americans and Hispanics and the interviews were conducted first in order to obtain more in depth and detailed information from the interviewees. The limitation that it has in drawing inferences about human sexual behavior at this time was that it was conducted decades ago and times have changed and opinions have also changed.

How did the National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior (NSSHB) from 2010 differ in methodology most basically from the earlier, NHSLF study?

The NSSHB from 2010 differs in methodology from the earlier NHSLF study by not involving face to face interviews and instead it was conducted over the Internet. It was greeted with not that much controversy as Kinsey's because the attitude towards sex has changed over time.

Other prominent sex surveys conducted internationally have yielded interesting findings. For example, what did recent surveys find in terms of differences between young people in China and those in Western societies when it comes to age of first intercourse and how quickly marriage follows such behavior?

The differences between young people in China and those in Western societies when it comes to age of first intercourse were that people in China had sex in their early to mid 20's while in Western societies the age was between 16-17. Chinese people typically get married very quickly after beginning premarital sex while Western people wait longer.

On what grounds were the results and methods from the Kinsey Reports praised? What has been concluded about the representativeness of his samples?

The grounds that the results and methods from the Kinsey Reports were praised revolved around the fact that Kinsey collected his data while conducting face to face interview sessions and followed a carefully established protocol. The representativeness of his samples weren't the best because he didn't include any studies from people of a different race and most of his samples were young, well-educated, Protestant, and from larger cities.

The "mean" and the "median" in a population are slightly different statistics. How are they defined? What is the definitional essence of "incidence" and "prevalence" of a disorder? What is a "correlational" statistic able to tell you and what is it decidedly not able to tell you?

The mean refers to the average value of all the scores in a dataset. The median is the middle score in a distribution. The definitional essence of incidence is the rate at which new cases of a problem or disease occur. The definitional essence of prevalence is a broader measure of the total number of people who are currently afflicted with a given problem or disease. A correlation statistic can tell you how strongly related two variables are but can not tell a cause and effect relationship.

What is a "penile strain gauge" and how is it used in sexology research? Similarly, what is a "vaginal photoplethysmograph"? How are they similar in what they measure?

The penile strain gauge measures any change is penis size or any blood pulses into the penis and with it researchers can study sexual arousal. Vaginal Photoplethysmograph is a tampon like device with a light source and light detector that reflects more light as blood flow increases in vaginal tissue. They both measure blood flow and arousal.

What is meant by the problem of "nonresponse" in conducting survey research? On the contrary, what is the problem of "self selection" in survey research? What is the consequence for the validity of the study with both problems?

The problem of nonresponse is that it hurts the representatives of your sample because those who refused to participate may be different in some way from those who agreed to take part in the study. Self selection is the idea that persons who volunteer to participate in research studies are different from the rest of the population.

Why was it that Kinsey's findings were considered "shocking" by the American public of the 1940's and 50's? Which one of his findings appears to have held-up under subsequent research? Which one has not?

The reason why Kinsey's findings were considered "shocking" by the American public of the 40's and 50's was because they suggested that masturbation, homosexual behavior, extramarital sex, and many other historically "deviant" sexual activity were occurring with much greater frequency than was thought possible. The findings that appears to have held up was the figures of the amount of people who have masturbated and the one that did not held up was the prevalence of same-sex activity.

Through which research procedure is the vast majority of our knowledge about human sexuality derived? What are the key advantages of this approach (surveys) to conducting sexology research?

The research procedure that the vast majority of our knowledge about human sexuality comes from survey research. The key advantages to this approach when conducting sexology research are that surveys are quick, easy, keeps the privacy and anonymity of the participants, and there are lots of different ways of administering it.

What are some of the fundamental questions you should ask in evaluating the research findings of others and the implications that follow from their studies?

Who conducted the study and why? Do they have the training and credentials necessary to conduct research of this nature? Also, are they truly seeking to increase our understanding of human sexuality, or do they simply want to sell you a product? What are the characteristics of the sample? To whom can we generalize these results? Were the survey questions high-quality and free from bias? Are the results consistent with what you learned in this book?