TEST 3 STUDY GUIDE Chapter 10 Sexual Coercion Sexual Coercion receiving or performing sexual acts involving another individual without that individual s consent knowledge or explicit awareness of the act The use of force intimidation deception to receive or perform sexual acts involving another individual Sexual coercion is distinct from rape in that it describes a specific set of identifiable behaviors that may be compared across a number of different species or cultures Naturalistic Fallacy The error of deriving what ought to be from what is Creating an evolutionary explanation of coercion does not meant Genetic Determinism idea that behavior is unalterable programmed and unchangeable this idea is untrue Evolutionary Perspective Actions Behaviors from an evolutionary perspective explain how male female coercion is way more common Coercion is more likely to occur during estrus and active solicitation periods Concealed ovulation and continual attractiveness in hominins could be an explanation to why there is more coercion Sexual Coercion Evolutionary Expectations Fertile female more likely to be coerced Behavioral opportunities must occur often enough to be selected for Males ensure paternity trough coercion but avoid penalty cost of paternity It is expected to be a tactic of males with low rate value This means they have a small chance of mating so they resort to coercion Orangutans Gorillas Bachelor gorillas males form groups Orangutan bachelors are solitary benefit by being opportunistic sexual predators Evolutionary Research Thornill and Palmer argue that coercion has evolved Coercion benefits a males reproductive success in some cases Thornill and Palmer Females are choosier males have been selected to find a way to be chosen by possessing traits that females prefer gain access to females through competition gai n access to females trough sexual coercion Alternative evolutionary hypotheses considered 1 Rape is a male adaptation engaged in by males of all social status when victims are highly vulnerable alternatives 2 Rape is a male adaptation engaged in by only low status males excluded from other mating 3 Rape is a male adaptation fro achieving social dominance over females 4 Rape is a male adaptation that is the result of female preference for physically strong males 5 Rape is not an adaptation but a result of how recently disturbed environments impact men s evolved sexual psychology 6 Rape is not an adaptation but a pathological act of abnormal individuals 7 Rape is not an adaptation but a by product of evolved differences in male and female sexual strategies this was then only hypothesis supported by data McKibbin et al 2008 coercion is a conditional strategy based on ancestral context Not all men perform coercive behavior Believe rape is more likely to occur under special circumstances Used data from modern society to support evolutionary psychological theory Proposed 5 types of racists Disadvantaged no other means of copulation Specialized sexually aroused by violence Opportunistic resort to rape when cost of retaliation is low High Mating effort aggressive dominant males with high self esteem and more Partner rape partners for perceived risk of sperm competition fear of experience infidelity possessive Other Scenarios Procreation as an explanation only a minority believe that Evolutionary theory does not explain female male rape or non procreative rape Rate of sexual assault has declined Culture and Rape Is rape a socially learned behavior or is it a product of the biological nature of males Rape is defined by the culture that is being studied different definitions of rape Non normative rape not condoned vs normative rape condoned Normative Rape exchange rape exchange the woman after losing a bet or in exchange of something marital rape raping the spouse Punitive rape disciplinary theft rape stealing a woman ceremonial rape status rape master slave rape and things of that sort CHAPTER 11 SEXUAL ORIENTATION Sexual orientation an inherent propensity towards emotional romantic or sexual attraction to men women both sexes neither sex or another sex Also refers to a person s sense of personal and so cial identity based on those attractions Sexual behavior vs Sexual Orientation people can engage in homosexual behavior but not have homosexual orientation In American culture we generally recognize 4 categories of sexual orientation asexual heterosexual homosexual bisexual Asexuality the absence of traditional sexual orientation An asexual individual has little or no sexual attraction to males or females Heterosexuality sexual behavior and practices with a preference or desire attraction towards members of the opposite sex Homosexuality consists of sexual behavior and practices with preference or desire attraction towards members of the same sex 3 4 of US adults identify as lesbian gay bisexual or transgender 11 7 million Americans Bisexuality consists of sexual behavior and practices with a preference or desire attraction towards members of both sexes Bisexuality does not require that a person be attracted equally to both sex es Sexual Orientation Theories The is no simple single cause for sexual orientation Research suggests that it s a combination of genetic hormonal and environmental influences Biological Developmental Behavioral Sociological Interactional Kinsey Scale sexual orientation is considered to be on a continuum On one end is those who are exclusively heterosexual and on the other exclusively homosexual with all degrees in between It is believe that the majority of humans are a degree of bisexual This still does not distinguish psychology from behavior Nature versus Nurture debate exists over whether there are more biological or psychological factors that produce sexual orientation in humans Reasons actually include a combination of genetic factors and environmental factors Sexual orientation develops across a person s lifetime However most people experience little or no sense of choice about their sexual orientation Homosexual behavior in animals it is more rare but it is seen Example rams Giraffes penguins Given the prevalence of homosexuality among non humans it is unlikely that homosexuality is purely the product of human culture and more likely that there is biological component to it Biological Theories Genetics if homosexuality was a genetic trait it should have disappeared long ago trough natural selection unless it s a recessive trait Hormone Theories
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