Unlike hunger, sexual drive does not motivate people to fulfill a basic biological
need. A lack of food leads to death; a lack of sex, on the other hand, does not. Both biological
and psychological factors strongly influence sexual drive.
Kinsey’s Studies
One of the first researchers to give a modern account of human sexuality
wasAlfred Kinsey. In the 1940s, he and his colleagues interviewed more than
18,000 U.S. men and women about their sexual behavior and attitudes. In his comprehensive
reports about human sexuality, Kinsey denounced the repressive social attitudes of his time,
which he said bore little relation to actual sexual practices. Kinsey provided statistics
showing that sexual practices varied widely and that even in the 1940s there was a high
prevalence of masturbation and premarital sex. These statistics shocked many people of his day.
Critics of Kinsey’s research maintained three arguments:
- Kinsey’s sample was not random. Instead, it consisted largely of well-educated, white
city dwellers.
- Kinsey and his colleagues used questionable methods to gather their data, especially
asking leading questions when interviewing subjects.
- Kinsey may have let his own beliefs influence his results.
Masters and Johnson’s Studies
Other pioneers of sexual research were William Masters and Virginia
Johnson. In the 1960s, they studied several hundred male and female volunteers who
agreed to either masturbate or have intercourse in a laboratory. Masters and Johnson hooked up
the volunteers to instruments that measured various physiological indicators during sexual
activity. Using the results of these studies, they described the sexual response cycle.
The Sexual Response Cycle
Masters and Johnson divided the human sexual response cycle into four phases:
-
Excitement phase:
Physiological arousal increases quickly. Muscle tension, heart rate, blood pressure, and
breathing rate increase. In men, the penis gets erect and the testes swell. In women, the
clitoris hardens and swells, the vaginal lips open, and the vagina lubricates.
-
Plateau phase:
Physiological arousal continues. In women, the clitoris retracts under the clitoral hood. Men
may secrete a small amount of fluid from the penis.
-
Orgasm phase: Physiological arousal peaks. Men ejaculate seminal
fluid. Both men and women experience muscular contractions in the pelvic area, along with a
sensation of pleasure.
-
Resolution phase:
Physiological responses return to normal levels. Men then go through a refractory period that
can vary in length, during which they are not responsive to stimulation.
The refractory period tends to get longer as men age.
Critics of Masters and Johnson’s research maintained two arguments:
payment page
