Discuss the three most common theories on the origins of paraphilias
What will be an ideal response?
Three theoriesâ€"psychodynamic, behavioral, and biologicalâ€"have been suggested to account for the development of a paraphilia:
- Psychodynamic theories of human nature rest on the basic psychoanalytic ideas of Sigmund Freud, who contended that all dysfunctional or problematic behaviors in adulthood, sexual or otherwise, are caused by traumatic events that occurred in early childhood. The fundamental assumption here is that major developmental traumas or conflicts you may have encountered during your early formative years, from birth through about age 10, have been repressed into your unconscious in order to protect you from their disturbing nature. Because you repressed them into your unconscious, you are even now totally unaware that those conflicts exist. However, later, in adulthood, the theory maintains, those repressed traumas may exert powerful forces on your behavior and cause you to engage in socially unacceptable behaviors as your unconscious tries to resolve the tension they create.
- The behavioral approach to explaining the origins of paraphilias rests on the various components of classical and operant conditioning. If you have studied these learning theories in other psychology classes, you'll recall that in classical conditioning, a response to a particular stimulus is learned (or conditioned) when that stimulus is paired in the brain with another event that naturally produces a particular response.
- Biological theories of paraphilias derive from the assumption that something physiological has malfunctioned and is leading to the person's strange and compulsive behaviors. These theories focus primarily on imbalances in two biochemical systems: hormones and neurotransmitters. The hormone hypothesis suggests that compulsive sexual behavior may be related to an overproduction of male hormones, mainly testosterone, but other hormones, such as epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine, have been implicated as well. The neurotransmitter serotonin, which is known to be involved in various psychological disorders, especially depression, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), has been connected to paraphilias as well.
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What we know about communication style between the sexes is that ________
a. males and females communicate similarly b. males tend to use more language c. males and females communicate differently d. females are more likely to communicate poorly
The one paraphilic behavior that is found in both men and women (although still more common in men) is ________
a. transvestism b. voyeurism c. sexual masochism d. exhibitionism
What is the distinction between a transvestite and a transsexual?
a. Transsexual men derive sexual pleasure from dressing as a woman, but tend not to want to be a woman; male transvestites identify as the opposite sex and thus do not dress as a woman for sexual arousal. b. Male transvestites derive sexual pleasure from dressing as a woman, but tend not to want to be a woman; transsexual men identify as the opposite sex and thus do not dress as a woman for sexual arousal. c. Male transvestites are openly transgendered and thus tend to cross dress in public; male transsexuals are not open about their transgendered identity and thus tend to only cross dress in private. d. Male transsexuals are openly transgendered and thus tend to cross dress in public; male transvestites are not open about their transgendered identity and thus tend to only cross dress in private.
Among the male victims, research shows that the majority of prisoners who were raped
A. showed no emotional trauma. B. were never required to give oral sex. C. had no physical injuries. D. were forced to have receptive anal sex.