ecause theorists from different perspectives are interested in different types of studies, they ask different types of questions. Following are a few questions that theorists from different schools of thought might ask.
Psychoanalytic: How are sexual problems later in life related to early childhood experiences? How do children resolve the Oedipal and Electra complexes? Does an overactive superego cause college students to feel guilt about sexual behavior?
Behavioral: What reinforces a person’s attraction to partners of the same sex? What reinforces a college student to use contraception? What are the attractions and hesitancies around the decision to lose one’s virginity?
Social Learning: How does peer group pressure influence our sexuality? What effects do the media have on our sexuality? Are children influenced by sexual messages on television?
Cognitive: What is the decision-making process related to contraceptive choice? Do children cognitively understand sexuality? How do men view erectile dysfunction?
Humanist: How do negative parental reactions to first sexual experience affect teenagers? How does self-actualization affect sexuality?
Biological: How does genetics influence sexuality? What are the effects of hormone levels on sexual desire? Does menstruation affect sexual desire in women?
Evolutionary: Why are women the ones who usually control the level of sexual activity? How has monogamy developed?
Sociological: How does religion influence sexuality? How does the threat of HIV/AIDS affect society? Do laws affect sexual behavior?
Feminist: What is the role of rape in repressing female sexuality? How do the media reinforce a male view of sexuality?
Queer: How do homosexual individuals move from a state of identity confusion about their homoerotic feelings to a point at which they accept their lesbian or gay identity? How are same-sex and heterosexual desires interrelated?
As you read through these various questions, which seem of most interest to you? Perhaps these questions can give you insight into which theory makes the most sense to you. Do you lean toward a biological explanation for why people do what they do, or does another theory make more sense to you?
SEXUALITY RESEARCH: PHILOSOPHERS,—————— ‘