Psychology

DQ1. According to Reiss, sexuality is defined as a societal product whose importance lies more in its physical pleasure and self-disclosure aspects than its reproductive potential (Reiss, 1). Those qualities are universally valued for two general reasons. First, they are considered to be the building blocks of social relationships. And second, they define variations in network continuum (role definition and variation). Now, sexuality is universally linked to the social structure in three critical areas 1) marital jealousy, 2) gender role power, and 3) beliefs about normality (what is a normal person). How is sexuality related to the social structure Sexuality, for example, determines the form and structure of marriage  expectations between husband and wife. In short, sexuality determines the necessary elements of a normal (or acceptable) relationship.

From an evolutionary perspective, sexuality is universally important because it is the epitome of human evolution  conscious sex as what Muller said. Indeed, it is improbable, almost impossible, to disassociate sexuality from the contour of human consciousness  in short, it is a necessary part of human consciousness. As such, sexuality is indeed an important aspect of human existence.

DQ2. Sexual script can be roughly defined as learned sexual interactions. A sexual interaction is considered to be scripted if there are 1) references to expected actions and common knowledge, 2) references by consensus, and 3) productions of active voicing. In general, sexual scripts are derived from general norms  telling individuals the appropriateness of a sexual conduct. It tells the mind to avoid sexual encounters which deviate from norms. A sexual encounter with, say, Uncle Harold, is prohibited. The same case if the partners involved are minors. Sexual encounters are only acceptable within the rubric of general norms. Suppose you have a sexual encounter with your boyfriend or girlfriend. In Europe, this is acceptable. What if, the sexual encounter occurred in a classroom while the professor was lecturing Then, it becomes unacceptable. The classroom is a public place  an avenue not for sex but for learning. Sexual script is useful for an individual because it defines micro-expectations  a constraining factor. For the society at whole, sexual script controls excessive sexual tendencies (varies from culture to culture, from period to period). A restrictive sexual script is bounded by a set of moral norms, whereas a liberal sexual script is conducive for human innovation.

DQ3. Gender schema theory refers to the theory that children learn about what it means to be either male or female from the culture in which they live. According to Sandra Bem, children naturally adjust their behavior to fit in with the norms and expectations of their culture. Because gender schemata emerges in early childhood, adaptation is fast. Formed concepts or schema are created within the personality. As such, gender becomes a mirror of ones personal experiences (to be either a male or female). Thus, experiences would appear natural to individuals. Applying this theory on, say, the prevalence of women in commercials selling cleaning materials, it seems that there exists a male-female quality divide. Society associates femininity with the qualities of sweetness, cleanliness, helpful, and comforting. A woman selling cleaning materials reinforces the view that women are, by nature, aligned to cleanliness.

DQ4. Purposeful distortion is a common fact of research. When people are asked about their annual incomes, they usually exaggerate the figure. When people are asked whether they had engaged in premarital sex, they normally declined to answer the question. Purposeful distortion is a defense mechanism. Individuals defend the efficacy of their status or position by offering a soft answer to critical issues.

Suppose someone is doing a research project in which she asks respondents how many sexual partners they have had. Women would naturally underestimate the figure, while male would exaggerate it. Males exaggerate the figure because of the fact that having several partners boosts their masculinity. This, however, varies from culture to culture. There are cultures which encourage both women and men to have several sexual partners prior to marriage. Age is also an important variable. Individuals aged 50 above report fewer sexual partners than individuals in their 20s or 30s. Perhaps, society discourages old individuals from engaging in sexual activities beyond the confines of marriage. As such, these individuals tend to report fewer sexual partners.

In research, exaggeration and underestimation reduces internal validity. It is essential for the researcher to ask follow up questions. This will clarify the matter.

DQ5. Sexual partner discrepancy is, again, a common problem in social research. Usually, men report more sexual partners than women. Researchers often ignored 1) important variables like age, class, culture, ethnicity, and religion, 2) socio-psychological conditions which lead to exaggeration of reported figure, and 3) the factual reasons for exaggeration. More often than not, researchers are fixated with the idea than one of the sexes have more sexual partners than the other. The finding that men report more sexual partners than women satisfies this fixation. As Brainstorm argued, the essential facet of this error lies not on the actualities but on the presumed innocence of the researcher. Indeed, while objectivity is the focus, it is actually misguided subjectivity which guides interpretation. At times, interpretation is based on generalized data which tend to exhibit regularity across geographies and cultural boundaries.