PSYchology

The book «Introduction to Psychology». Authors — R.L. Atkinson, R.S. Atkinson, E.E. Smith, D.J. Boehm, S. Nolen-Hoeksema. Under the general editorship of V.P. Zinchenko. 15th international edition, St. Petersburg, Prime Eurosign, 2007.

Article from chapter 10. Basic motives

Just like hunger and thirst, sexual desire is a very powerful motive. However, there are important differences between the sexual motive and the motives associated with body temperature, thirst and hunger. Sex is a social motive: it usually involves the participation of another person, while survival motives concern only a biological individual. Moreover, motives such as hunger and thirst are due to the needs of organic tissues, while sex is not associated with the lack of something inside that would need to be regulated and compensated for the survival of the organism. This means that social motives cannot be analyzed from the point of view of homeostasis processes.

With regard to sex, there are two main distinctions to be made. The first is that although puberty begins at puberty, the foundations of our sexual identity are laid in the womb. Therefore, we distinguish between adult sexuality (it begins with pubertal changes) and early sexual development. The second distinction is between the biological determinants of sexual behavior and sexual feelings, on the one hand, and their environmental determinants, on the other. A fundamental aspect of many factors in sexual development and adult sexuality is to what extent such a behavior or feeling is a product of biology (hormones in particular), to what extent it is a product of environment and learning (early experiences and cultural norms), and to what extent it is the result of the interaction of the former. two. (This distinction between biological factors and environmental factors is similar to the one we discussed above in connection with the problem of obesity. Then we were interested in the relationship between genetic factors, which are, of course, biological, and factors related to learning and environment.)

Sexual orientation is not innate

An alternative interpretation of biological facts has been proposed, the ‘exotic becomes erotic’ (ESE) theory of sexual orientation (Bern, 1996). See →

Sexual Orientation: Research Shows People Are Born, Not Made

For many years, most psychologists believed that homosexuality was the result of a wrong upbringing, caused by a pathological relationship between a child and a parent, or due to atypical sexual experiences. However, scientific studies have not supported this view (see, for example: Bell, Weinberg & Hammersmith, 1981). Parents of people with a homosexual orientation did not differ much from those whose children were heterosexual (and if differences were found, the direction of causation remained unclear). See →

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