J. Michael Bailey

The necessities and luxuries of mate preferences: testing the tradeoffs.

Social exchange and evolutionary models of mate selection incorporate economic assumptions but have not considered a key distinction between necessities and luxuries. This distinction can clarify an apparent paradox: Status and attractiveness, though emphasized by many researchers, are not typically rated highly by research participants. Three studies supported the hypothesis that women and men first ensure sufficient levels of necessities in potential mates before considering many other characteristics rated as more important in prior surveys. In Studies 1 and 2, participants designed ideal long-term mates, purchasing various characteristics with 3 different budgets. Study 3 used a mate-screening paradigm and showed that people inquire 1st about hypothesized necessities. Physical attractiveness was a necessity to men, status and resources were necessities to women, and kindness and intelligence were necessities to both.

Childhood sex-typed behavior and sexual orientation: A conceptual analysis and quantitative review.

This article reviewed research examining the association between childhood sex-typed behavior and sexual orientation. Prospective studies suggest that childhood cross-sex-typed behavior is strongly predictive of adult homosexual orientation for men; analogous studies for women have not been performed. Though methodologically more problematic, retrospective studies are useful in determining how many homosexual individuals displayed cross-sex behavior in childhood. The relatively large body of retrospective studies comparing childhood sex-typed behavior in homosexual and heterosexual men and women was reviewed quantitatively. Effect sizes were large for both men and women, with mens significantly larger. Future research should elaborate the causes of the association between childhood sex-typed behavior and sexual orientation and to identify correlates of within-orientation differences in childhood sex-typed behavior. Psychosexual differentiation has been a topic of long-standing interest in developmental psychology. Both classical psychoanalytic theory and learning theory were particularly influential in guiding the first wave of empirical research conducted by developmentalists (see, e.g., ). Sexologists have also made seminal theoretical and empirical contributions. For example, introduced the term to refer to “all those things that a person says or does to disclose himself or herself as having the status of boy or man, girl or woman, respectively. It includes, but is not restricted to, sexuality in the sense of eroticism” (p. 254). Mischel, 1966 Money (1955) gender role Over the next two decades, gender role was decomposed into three conceptually distinct parts (see, e.g., ). First, was distinguished from gender role. For example, , p. 453) used the slightly different term to describe a young childs developing “fundamental sense of belonging to one sex.” Cognitive–developmental psychologists (e.g., ) have used the term gender identity to indicate primarily that a child can accurately discriminate male from female individuals and identify correctly his or her own gender—a task considered by some to be the first stage in gender constancy development. Fagot & Leinbach, 1985 gender identity Stoller (1964 core gender identity Kohlberg, 1966 Compared with original definition, the term gender role is now defined more narrowly. Many scholars have used the term to refer to behaviors, attitudes, and personality traits that a society designates as masculine or feminine, that is, more “appropriate” or typical for the male or female social role (cf. ; ). In young children, the measurement of gender role behavior includes several easily observable phenomena, including affiliative preference for same versus opposite sex peers, interest in rough-and-tumble play, fantasy roles, toy interests, and dress-up play (see ). In this article, we use the term to refer to those behaviors that have been typically studied as markers of childhood gender identity and gender role. Moneys (1955) Huston, 1983 Unger, 1979 Zucker, 1985 sex-typed 5/14/03 7:25 AM Ovid: Bailey: Dev Psychol, Volume 31(1).January 1995.43–55 Page 2 of 23 https://snap.it.northwestern.edu/p/p.cgi/ovidcom/gateway1:80/ovidweb.cgi The third, erotic, component of original definition of gender role has also been operationalized more narrowly, most commonly under the rubric of the term . In contemporary sexology, sexual orientation refers to whether a person is more strongly aroused sexually by members of his or her own sex, the opposite sex, or both sexes (homosexual, heterosexual, and bisexual, respectively). Moneys (1955) sexual orientation The behavioral markers of gender identity and gender role emerge early, typically by ages 2–4 years, and become “consolidated” thereafter (e.g., ; ). In contrast, sexual orientation appears to be more readily assessed after puberty, as a persons sexual interests and desires become more salient (cf. ). At least three models have been proposed about the relation between childhood sex-typed behavior and later sexual orientation. One model hypothesizes a developmental sequence in which gender identity develops before gender role, which, in turn, develops before sexual orientation (e.g., ; ). In this model, adult sexual orientation is conceptualized as an of psychosexual differentiation, analogous, for example, to as an end state of cognitive development. Another model reverses this developmental sequence, positing that sexual orientation is apparent early enough in development to influence the expression of sex-typed behavior (e.g., ). A third model gives less attention to the temporal sequence between these two variables and instead emphasizes the possibility that sex-typed behavior and sexual orientation are both influenced by the same factors, such as prenatal sex hormones (see ; , pp. 12–15). Fagot, 1985 Huston, 1983 Meyer-Bahlburg, 1980 Green, 1974, 1987 Meyer-Bahlburg, 1980 end state formal operations

A Sex Difference in the Specificity of Sexual Arousal

Sexual arousal is category-specific in men; heterosexual men are more aroused by female than by male sexual stimuli, whereas homosexual men show the opposite pattern. There is reason to believe that female sexual arousal is organized differently. We assessed genital and subjective sexual arousal to male and female sexual stimuli in women, men, and postoperative male-to-female transsexuals. In contrast to men, women showed little category specificity on either the genital or the subjective measure. Both heterosexual and homosexual women experienced strong genital arousal to both male and female sexual stimuli. Transsexuals showed a category-specific pattern, demonstrating that category specificity can be detected in the neovagina using a photoplethysmographic measure of female genital sexual arousal. In a second study, we showed that our results for females are unlikely to be explained by ascertainment biases. These findings suggest that sexual arousal patterns play fundamentally different roles in male and female sexuality.

Effects of gender and sexual orientation on evolutionarily relevant aspects of human mating psychology

Sexual selection theory provides a powerful model for the analysis of psychological sex differences. This research examined (a) tests of several sex differences in mating psychology predicted from sexual selection theory, (b) broad developmental hypotheses about sex differences in mating psychology--through the relationship of mating psychology to sexual orientation, and (c) the structure of within-sex differences in mating psychology. Scales measuring aspects of mating psychology were administered to heterosexual and homosexual Ss of both sexes. The structure of scale intercorrelations was similar across groups. All scales yielded sex differences consistent with sexual selection theory. Homosexual Ss generally obtained scores similar to those of same-sex heterosexual Ss, though several scales were significantly related to sexual orientation. Findings constrain hypotheses concerning the origins of sex differences.

Sexual Orientation and Childhood Gender Nonconformity: Evidence From Home Videos

Homosexual adults tend to be more gender nonconforming than heterosexual adults in some of their behaviors, feelings, and interests. Retrospective studies have also shown large differences in childhood gender nonconformity, but these studies have been criticized for possible memory biases. The authors studied an indicator of childhood gender nonconformity not subject to such biases: childhood home videos. They recruited homosexual and heterosexual men and women (targets) with videos from their childhood and subsequently asked heterosexual and homosexual raters to judge the gender nonconformity of the targets from both the childhood videos and adult videos made for the study. Prehomosexual children were judged more gender nonconforming, on average, than preheterosexual children, and this pattern obtained for both men and women. This difference emerged early, carried into adulthood, and was consistent with self-report. In addition, targets who were more gender nonconforming tended to recall more childhood rejection.

A sex difference in features that elicit genital response

Previous research suggests that womens genital arousal is an automatic response to sexual stimuli, whereas mens genital arousal is dependent upon stimulus features specific to their sexual interests. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that a nonhuman sexual stimulus would elicit a genital response in women but not in men. Eighteen heterosexual women and 18 heterosexual men viewed seven sexual film stimuli, six human films and one nonhuman primate film, while measurements of genital and subjective sexual arousal were recorded. Women showed small increases in genital arousal to the nonhuman stimulus and large increases in genital arousal to both human male and female stimuli. Men did not show any genital arousal to the nonhuman stimulus and demonstrated a category-specific pattern of arousal to the human stimuli that corresponded to their stated sexual orientation. These results suggest that stimulus features necessary to evoke genital arousal are much less specific in women than in men.

Sexual Arousal Patterns of Bisexual Men

There has long been controversy about whether bisexual men are substantially sexually aroused by both sexes. We investigated genital and self-reported sexual arousal to male and female sexual stimuli in 30 heterosexual, 33 bisexual, and 38 homosexual men. In general, bisexual men did not have strong genital arousal to both male and female sexual stimuli. Rather, most bisexual men appeared homosexual with respect to genital arousal, although some appeared heterosexual. In contrast, their subjective sexual arousal did conform to a bisexual pattern. Male bisexuality appears primarily to represent a style of interpreting or reporting sexual arousal rather than a distinct pattern of genital sexual arousal.

A critical review of recent biological research on human sexual orientation.

Abstract This article provides a comprehensive review and critique of biological research on sexual orientation published over the last decade. We cover research investigating (a) the neurohormonal theory of sexual orientation (psychoneuroendocrinology, prenatal stress, cerebral asymmetry, neuroanatomy, otoacoustic emissions, anthropometrics), (b) genetic influences, (c) fraternal birth-order effects, and (d) a putative role for developmental instability. Despite inconsistent results across both studies and traits, some support for the neurohormonal theory is garnered, but mostly in men. Genetic research using family and twin methodologies has produced consistent evidence that genes influence sexual orientation, but molecular research has not yet produced compelling evidence for specific genes. Although it has been well established that older brothers increase the odds of homosexuality in men, the route by which this occurs has not been resolved. We conclude with an examination of the limitations of biological research on sexual orientation, including measurement issues (paper and pencil, cognitive, and psychophysiological), and lack of research on women.

Genetic influences on handedness: Data from 25,732 Australian and Dutch twin families

Handedness refers to a consistent asymmetry in skill or preferential use between the hands and is related to lateralization within the brain of other functions such as language. Previous twin studies of handedness have yielded inconsistent results resulting from a general lack of statistical power to find significant effects. Here we present analyses from a large international collaborative study of handedness (assessed by writing/drawing or self report) in Australian and Dutch twins and their siblings (54,270 individuals from 25,732 families). Maximum likelihood analyses incorporating the effects of known covariates (sex, year of birth and birth weight) revealed no evidence of hormonal transfer, mirror imaging or twin specific effects. There were also no differences in prevalence between zygosity groups or between twins and their singleton siblings. Consistent with previous meta-analyses, additive genetic effects accounted for about a quarter (23.64%) of the variance (95%CI 20.17, 27.09%) with the remainder accounted for by non-shared environmental influences. The implications of these findings for handedness both as a primary phenotype and as a covariate in linkage and association analyses are discussed.

The Clinical Utility of the Rorschach: Unfulfilled Promises and an Uncertain Future

The empirical evidence on the Rorschach is reviewed using three definitions of clinical utility: (a) the nature of professional attitudes and extent of clinical usage, (b) the extent of evidence for reliability, validity, diagnostic efficiency, and incremental validity, and (c) the extent of evidence that Rorschach data improve clinical decision-making and/or treatment outcome. Surveys demonstrate that the Rorschach is extensively used; however, these data are insufficient to demonstrate clinical utility as they do not address the rational, scientific, and ethical requirements of professional standards for psychological measures. After reviewing conceptual issues in Rorschach research (especially those in the Comprehensive System) the authors conclude that there is little scientific evidence to support the clinical utility of the Rorschach. Given the absence of data evaluating how the Rorschach is used in routine practice and whether its use is consistent with the manner in which it is used in research, there is currently no scientific basis for justifying the use of Rorschach scales in psychological assessments.