Deck 6: Sexuality in Infancy, Childhood, and Adolescence

Question 1

The process of forming our own conceptions and expressions of sexuality is called

A) psychosexual development.
B) sexual differentiation.
C) sexual orientation.
D) sociocultural development.

Answer 1

psychosexual development.

Question 2

If you believe that human beings possess an innate sex drive that builds up and must be expressed from time to time, then you agree, at least in part, with the approach to human sexuality known as

A) developmental theory.
B) instinct theory.
C) libido theory.
D) social learning theory.

Answer 2

instinct theory.

Question 3

Which of the following is NOT a concept identified primarily with psychodynamic theory?

A) Libido
B) Reinforcement
C) The oral stage
D) The unconscious mind

Answer 3

Reinforcement

Question 4

According to Sigmund Freud, psychosexual development is based on

A) patterns learned through the positive and negative consequences of particular behaviors.
B) successful solutions to various psychosocial tasks all through life.
C) the libido and unconscious processes.
D) the triumph of natural sexual behaviors over unnatural sexual behaviors.

Question 5

What did Freud mean when he described infants as "polymorphously perverse"?

A) He believed that the innate sexual energy of infants is undifferentiated and indiscriminate.
B) He thought that all through life, we must complete various sexuality-related tasks.
C) He was describing the basis for later definitions of natural and unnatural sexual behavior.
D) He was emphasizing his belief that sexual interests and behaviors could be rewarded or punished by the environment.

Question 6

Which statement most accurately reflects Freud's concept of a latency period?

A) As we grow, we observe many aspects of sexuality, and we later perform those behaviors which have been reinforced.
B) During this period, sexual energies lie dormant, while social and intellectual development continues.
C) Libido is focused on the sex organs, and this results in loving heterosexual relationships.
D) Three important strands of development lie at rest during the years just before puberty.

Question 7

According to conditioning and social learning theory, our sexual expression is formed by

A) integration of gender identity, sexual response, and the ability to form intimate relationships.
B) interaction of the libido with unconscious processes.
C) patterns of reinforcement, generalization, and discrimination as well as by social learning through observation and identification.
D) sexual instincts that are channeled into socially acceptable forms.

Question 8

During childhood, Lisa watched hours of music videos while her older brother babysat. The music videos frequently featured men with pronounced musculature. As an adult, she is aroused by the sight of flexed muscles, especially on athletes and bodybuilders. Her adult responses are an example of

A) discrimination.
B) generalization.
C) modeling.
D) reinforcement.

Question 9

Which of the following is NOT an important concept in the conditioning and social learning approach to psychosexual development?

A) Discrimination
B) Generalization
C) Reinforcement
D) Sexual scripts

Question 10

As a boy, Roger loved action movies in which the male hero had very superficial sexual relationships with various women. As an adult, Roger keeps his relationships with women very sexual and very superficial. Which theory of sexuality appears to apply here?

A) Developmental theory
B) Instinct theory
C) Psychodynamic theory
D) Social learning theory

Question 11

According to Erik Erikson, what important psychosocial task must be faced and accomplished during adolescence and early adulthood?

A) Achieving a sense of intimacy with others
B) Developing an individual sexual script
C) Discriminating between socially acceptable and unacceptable sexual stimuli
D) Identifying with significant childhood models

Question 12

Which of the following is NOT one of the principal "strands" in John Bancroft's unified theory of psychosexual development?

A) Development of the capacity for intimate dyadic relationships
B) Establishment of gender identity
C) Generalization and discrimination
D) Sexual response and understanding one's sexual orientation

Question 13

Which of the following statements most accurately reflects the approach of John Bancroft to psychosexual development?

A) Gender identity, sexual response, and the capacity for intimate relationships provide the foundation of adult sexuality.
B) Individuals form their own sexual scripts based on normative social and cultural scripts.
C) Psychosexual development consists of the successful negotiation of eight psychosocial crises that occur through the lifespan.
D) The processes of reinforcement, observation, and modeling combine to help us form our sexuality.

Question 14

The sense of oneself as a boy or girl constitutes one's

A) gender identity.
B) sexual orientation.
C) sex role.
D) sexual script.

Question 15

The processes of prelabeling, self-labeling, and social labeling are associated with the development of

A) gender identity.
B) intimate relating.
C) sexual orientation.
D) sexual scripting.

Question 16

When an adolescent compares his or her own feelings and responses to those that are prescribed by the society and culture, this is the ____________________ stage in the development of sexual orientation.

A) peer labeling
B) prelabeling
C) self-labeling
D) social labeling

Question 17

Gagnon and Simon's script theory

A) attempts to explain how sexual behavior is socially constructed.
B) emphasizes the effects of childhood sexual patterns on later development.
C) holds that sexual preferences and behaviors are learned through the pairing of stimuli with sexual responses.
D) supports the importance of our internal sex drive.

Question 18

Harry initiates the first date with Sally. He initiates their first sexual encounter, and Sally initiates discussion of contraceptive use. Sally initiates discussion of their living together, and Harry proposes that they marry in two years. These behaviors constitute

A) a common cultural scenario.
B) a process of social labeling.
C) each person's intrapsychic script.
D) this couple's interpersonal script.

Question 19

The theory that attempts to explain sexual decision making in terms of economic principles such as cost-benefit analysis and risk management is known as

A) choice theory.
B) commodities theory.
C) sexual script theory.
D) social network theory.

Question 20

Which statement most accurately summarizes the findings of researchers regarding sexual responses during infancy?

A) As early as age 2, babies will respond to visual erotic imagery.
B) Genital responsiveness has been observed in male infants still in the uterus and in both male and female infants at birth.
C) Maternal hormones in the bodies of both male and female infants lead to behavior that mimics the sexual responsiveness of women.
D) Sexual responsiveness begins with the onset of puberty because of the action of the pituitary gland and sex hormones.

Question 21

Children begin to touch their genitals as early as

A) 2 months.
B) 6 months.
C) 2 years.
D) 4 years.

Question 22

A researcher asks a 3-year-old boy, "How do you know Laura is a girl?" The child replies, "Because she wears dresses and ribbons."
What can we conclude about this 3-year-old?

A) He has been punished for masturbating.
B) He has yet to discover masturbation.
C) He is confused about gender identity.
D) His understanding of biological gender differences is still forming.

Question 23

Common forms of sex-related behavior during childhood are

A) coercive acts and frequent masturbation.
B) frequent nudity and seeking out erotic pictures.
C) genital display and repeated attempts to insert objects into the rectum.
D) masturbation and displaying the genitals to other children.

Question 24

Which of the following behaviors is NOT considered a sign of possible sexual abuse?

A) Aggressive sexual behavior toward other children
B) Attempts at oral-genital contact
C) Inserting objects into the rectum
D) Self-manipulation of the genitals

Question 25

A father observes his 4-year-old daughter touching her genitals. What response do sexual development researchers suggest?

A) Ask her to show her mother what she does and ask if it is okay.
B) Explain that this, like bathing or using the toilet, is done in private.
C) Punish her and tell her she will go blind if she continues this behavior.
D) Suggest that other parents won't let her play with their children if they learn that she does this.

Question 26

Teenagers who choose not to have sexual intercourse typically cite the following reasons EXCEPT

A) fear of pregnancy.
B) feeling as though they aren't mature enough.
C) parental disapproval.
D) religious values.

Question 27

Researchers studying the effects of adolescent sexual intercourse after age 15 have found that those with such sexual experience have

A) higher levels of self-esteem than those who are inexperienced.
B) resulting fear about pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
C) shown no effect on social and emotional development.
D) typically damaged self-concept.

Question 28

For young people, the primary sources of information about sex are

A) friends of the same sex and independent reading.
B) parents.
C) sex education courses.
D) television and movies.

Question 29

When does the first ejaculation of semen typically occur for boys?

A) Between 5 and 10 years of age
B) Between 8 and 21 years of age
C) Between 11 and 15 years of age
D) It is unpredictable.

Question 30

The term nocturnal emission refers to

A) ejaculations that occur while sleeping.
B) nighttime dreams about engaging in sexual activity.
C) spontaneous orgasms in response to fantasy.
D) the first ejaculation that occurs during masturbation.

Question 31

What have researchers learned about the capacity for "spontaneous orgasms"?

A) Spontaneous orgasms occur among boys in response to visual stimulation and among girls in response to auditory stimulation.
B) The idea of spontaneous orgasms is a myth.
C) By late adolescence, this ability is lost among males but is maintained by a few women.
D) With continued practice, this is an ability that can be maintained by both men and women.

Question 32

Which of the following statements about girls during early adolescence is NOT accurate?

A) Girls at this age exhibit a somewhat lower incidence of heterosexual experimentation than boys.
B) Girls at this age exhibit about the same incidence of masturbation and same-gender sexual activity as boys.
C) Girls become sexually active somewhat later than boys.
D) Girls who have older boyfriends are likely to begin having intercourse earlier than other girls.

Question 33

Experiencing erotic fantasies appears to be an important step in helping early adolescents learn to be sexual because they

A) achieve physical and emotional maturity.
B) avoid unprotected sexual activities.
C) learn about one's own sexual preferences.
D) understand intimate relationships.

Question 34

Regarding masturbation, the general pattern is that

A) both boys and girls masturbate less when they become sexually active.
B) masturbation is equally common in boys and girls in early childhood, but becomes more common among boys than among girls in adolescence..
C) girls who masturbate do so more frequently than boys who masturbate, although fewer girls than boys masturbate.
D) more girls than boys masturbate, but they are very secretive about it.

Question 35

An apparent difference in the pattern of same-gender sexual activity is that

A) boys are more likely to report several same-gender encounters, whereas girls typically report only one.
B) girls report less same-gender activity in later adolescence, whereas boys report more.
C) girls report same-gender activity with peers, whereas boys report that such activity usually occurs with older men.
D) girls report strong disapproval of their activity from their peers, whereas boys report little.

Question 36

One gender difference between gay and lesbian adolescents is that

A) gay males usually begin sexual activity with older males; lesbians typically become active with peers.
B) lesbians who masturbate more frequently typically begin their same-gender sexual behavior earlier than gay males.
C) more lesbians begin their same-gender sexual activity in groups; gay males begin in a dyadic relationship.
D) most gay males report that their first same-gender experience occurred by age 14; lesbians report that it occurred later.

Question 37

Gay, lesbian, and bisexual adolescents are

A) about 15 percent of the population of U.S. adolescents.
B) at greater risk than other adolescents for psychological distress, dropping out of school, and running away from home.
C) most likely to have been aware of their sexual orientation for many years.
D) typically more mature than other adolescents in terms of emotional and social development.

Question 38

One recent trend in adolescent heterosexual activity has been an increase in

A) fetishistic activities.
B) mutual masturbation.
C) rates of both oral and anal sex
D) rates of both pregnancy and abortion.

Question 39

Which of the following most accurately describes changes in teenage pregnancy rates since 1980?

A) Pregnancy rates have declined.
B) Pregnancy rates have increased as more teenagers have become sexually active and fewer have been using contraceptives.
C) Pregnancy rates have not changed, although birth rates have declined.
D) While pregnancy rates have increased among sexually active teenage women, they have declined among adolescent women as a whole.

Question 40

Adolescent women are most likely to use contraception

A) during their first experience of sexual intercourse.
B) if they already have one baby.
C) if they have been involved in a steady relationship.
D) if they have just met their sexual partners.

Question 41

Assessments of programs designed to prevent teenage pregnancies have found that

A) adolescent males have developed increasingly positive attitudes toward abortion.
B) these programs have contributed to a recent increase in abortion rates.
C) these programs have had no measurable impact.
D) those programs that provide access to contraception are most effective in decreasing the risk of adolescent pregnancy .

Question 42

Adolescents who are more likely than the general adolescent population to engage in high-risk sexual activities without the protection of condoms include

A) homeless or runaway teens.
B) students with low grades.
C) those with a history of substance abuse.
D) All of these

Question 43

The term _____________________ was used by Freud to refer to the sex drive.

Question 44

According to Freud, children go through a(n) _____________ _____________, during which sexual energy is dormant.

Question 45

According to conditioning theory, the process of generalization is kept in check by the process of ______________________.

Question 46

____________________ proposed eight key tasks or crises that shape the nature of a person's psychosexual development from birth to death.

Question 47

The approach to psychosexual development that focuses on the social context of sexual activity is known as ________________ ________________ theory.

Question 48

Freud saw psychosexual development as the movement of the focus of libido to different parts of the body.

Question 49

The modeling of observed behavior is a core concept of the social learning approach to psychosexual development.

Question 50

Sexual scripts contain cultural, interpersonal, and intrapsychic elements.

Question 51

There is evidence that high school and college students who engage in oral sex do not consider themselves to be "having sex."

Question 52

Adolescent sexual fantasies are considered helpful in allowing individuals to identify their sexual preferences.

Question 53

Statistics on same-gender sexual activity are inconclusive and are not based on random samples.

Question 54

Gay males typically have their first same-gender experience somewhat earlier than lesbians do.

Question 55

Adolescent males with higher self-esteem are less likely to be sexually active than are males with lower self-esteem.

Question 56

Adolescent pregnancy rates seem to be decreasing all over the industrialized world.

Question 57

Biological development and timing of puberty seem to be the same for gay adolescents as they are for those who are hetero- sexual.

Question 58

What is psychosexual development?

Question 59

What learning processes are emphasized in the social learning approach to psychosexual development?

Question 60

According to Bancroft's model of psychosexual development, what are the three foundations of a sexually mature adult?

Question 61

What have contemporary researchers found regarding Freud's concept of a latency period during childhood?

Question 62

What are several ways in which the sex-related behaviors of girls and women in your generation have changed significantly from those typical of your mother's or grandmother's generation?