Alfred Kinsey: Psychology

The ethical standings of Kinsey have been examined numerous times, for the subject matter alone is open for scrutiny. The first rule of ethics states that the participants of scientific research must provide informed consent. All of the almost 12,000 participants of Kinsey’s surveys gave their consent (Griffitt and Hatfield). The next rule of ethics is voluntary participation of the test subjects. All participants in Kinsey’s surveys voluntarily agreed to participate (Griffitt and Hatfield). The problem, however, was when Kinsey used data collected from home videos he made in his attic or when he tested the sexuality of children (Keith). Many of the children in these experiments were sexually assaulted by an adult, which is not a consented act, yet Kinsey used the data to help prove his theories (Keith). The third rule of ethics is restricting the use of deception and debriefing the participants at the end of the experiment. The participants in Kinsey’s research were not deceived when they were answering his surveys, which did not require deception or debriefing (Griffitt and Hatfield). Confidentiality is the next rule of ethics, and Kinsey never disclosed the identities of the participants (Griffitt and Hatfield). The final rule of

In the film Kinsey, directed by Bill Condon, Professor Alfred Kinsey uses science to explore and inform the public on sex and during this era, sex was inappropriate to talk about.

This gave the reader a sense of where sexology was at the time before he began studying that field. The two most prominent names in sexual research were Havelock Ellis, a physician who received his medical degree to safety study sex, and Magnus Hirschfield, a physician who would later be classified as a sexual historian. The two physicians had a hands-off approach to their research where a large portion of their findings were, “usually interpreted in terms of traditional views and were supplemented by historical materials or reports of anthropologists” (54). This quote was meant to describe how the practices of early sexologists were flawed in that their research based more on philosophies rather than actual contact with people. Kinsey took a much different approach and was not afraid to ask anyone about topics ranging from female orgasms to masturbation, as he, “gathered his data wherever he could find it, but he also reported the source of his data” (59). The quote previously mentioned by Bullough provided an effective argument for the claim that Kinsey was able to push the boundaries on sexuality by sampling anyone he could about the topic, which went against the previous how researchers went about gather material since

To begin with, Kinsey is known to be a famously flawed icon because of his problematic research sampling. It is said to be not representative of the population at the time since he mostly interviewed volunteers, who were apparently more open in sexual-related topic – perhaps because they had sex lives. In the 1990s, Edward Laumann of the University of Chicago, who conducted a similar research, smaller scale yet more reliable than Kinsey’s. His findings state that less than 5% of men are gay (half of Kinsey’s figure) and only 25 percent of married men (and roughly 15 percent of married women) reported having had extramarital sex.

Human sexuality is a common phrase for all, and anything, pertaining to the feelings and behaviors of sex for the human race. Sexuality has been a topic that has been discussed and studied for as far back as 1000 years B.C. and is still being studied today. As the discussion of sexuality has progressed through history, theories have been created based on research and experiments that scholars have implemented, based on their own perceptions of human behavior. Out of the many theories that pose to explain sexual behavior, Sexuality Now explained ten that are seemed to be the most overlapped, and built off of theories. Of these theories, two that were discussed in the text were the behavioral and sociological theory. These two theories cover some of the basic ideas of what could possibly influence a person’s sexuality.

·         What sex researcher theorized that sexual orientation could be delineated on one basic continuum, broken down into seven parts? (Page 221) Alfred Kinsey

Albert Kinsey helped change the American Public’s preconceptions on sexuality by publishing two bestselling books from 1947 to 1953 on the topic. Titled “American Sexual Behavior” and “Sexual Behavior in the Human Female”, these books both confirmed and challenged the generally held beliefs dealing with marriage, sexual gratification, and sexual orientation. Sex was deemed important for a healthy marriage, adultery was frequent and homosexuals weren’t weird anomalies.

Kinsey’s rise was slow and steady. Mostly due to his diligent work on a topic that almost seemed forbidden to talk about at the time. A concept that was once attributed for just married couples. Many people at the time believed that sex was only for wedded couples, leaving no room for objection. People of the time scoffed at ideas such as premarital sex, homosexuality and other sexuality that appeared peculiar. Kinsey changed American culture and a created a media frenzy when he released his first work, “Sexual Behavior in the Human Male.” Which he then went on several interviews, discussions and panels to discuss sex. Kinsey was a Harvard-educated zoologist who enjoyed studying gull wasps it was not until he met his spunky yet witty wife, Clara “Mac” McMillen that he became interested in the idea of sex. While teaching and experimenting he realized that there was science evidence behind sex and behavior. When

Demythologizing the Kinsey Report addresses the sampling techniques and questions, whether they were based purely on scientific information, in addition many of the subjects were partial. Many of them were child molesters and he devoted larger volumes to homosexuals, than compared to heterosexuals or married couples. The information was not a true representation of the American population. The author of Histories of Sexuality: A Sexual Revolution points out other problematic biases, which include social diversity and ethnic participation. Instead, he primarily focused on young Anglo Americans who voluntarily joined the study. The interviews included predominately Midwesterners, homosexuals, and prisoners. Kinsey did not truly represent the average Americans, so his sampling methods proved bias. Kinsey and his staff became personally involved with subjects, so this likely jeopardized the final outcome. He also allowed his personal beliefs to taint his objectivity. Alfred C. Kinsey: A Pioneer of Sex Research tells of Kinsey’s own inadequacies which triggered his warped need for perfection resulting in his flawed and problematic views. Any kind of unjust involvement could compromise the final findings of the research. Kinsey bias methods may have compromised his entire work leaving many to question his methods and influence upon

Alfred Kinsey publishes Sexual Behavior in the Human Male, revealing to the public that homosexuality is far more widespread than was commonly believed.

It is clear to see how social values have influenced research on sexuality in the past. Not only did society dictate what was right and proper for a scientist to study, but it condemned those who sought answers for the “improper” areas of study to career damnation. Even more discouraging is the way in which modern day society still puts limits on the research done in sexual physiology. In an era so tolerant and open-minded, one would assume that any researcher in honest quest for truth would be welcomed (and funded) with open arms. Unfortunately, this is not the case. In an article titled Long After Kinsey, Only the Brave Study Sex, Benedict Carey describes such limits on a study attempted in 2003, “In July 2003, for instance, Congress threatened to shut down several highly-regarded sex studies, including one of emotion and arousal, and another of massage parlor workers. And last summer health officials refused to finance a widely anticipated

For their work , Kinsey always use their volunteers and grants for graduate who d afford their time on the study of sex, gender, reproduction, and other related components of human sexual behaviors and relationships. Recently, Kinsey works on neuroscience and psychology to biology and gender studies. For their recent update information, they update their news, events, and activities on different through most popular electronics sites of Facebook, Twitter , and Instagram.

One of the interesting outcome that has been revealed with the studies of sexuality might be the behavior of masturbation. According to Alfred Kinsey in the 1950s, a sex researcher who studied about sexual behavior in human, concluded three main points about masturbation as; it is harmless, it is not a substitute for intercourse, and it acts as important role in women’s sexuality because its practice helps women to achieve orgasm during intercourse. However, recent research shows some incompatible outcomes of masturbation unlike Kinsey’s report. In the article, Immature psychological defense mechanisms are associated with women’s greater desire for and actual engaging in masturbation by Stuart Brody and Susan Nicholson reports that women who

According to both Bonk and The Kinsey Institute, the study of sex has had its controversy since the very beginning. Dr. Kinsey began his research after he began teaching a class on the coordination of new marriage at Indiana University. (The Kinsey Institute) It was then that Kinsey began his research on sexual physiology. It was after he began his research that the controversy began for Kinsey. Controversy is just one of the issues that are encountered while conducting sexual research.

Mostly because of his newfound theories around children’s psychosexual development. This combined with his focus on the unconscious, penis envy and the Oedipal complex made him and his newfound theories into a controversial topic amongst his peers.