Exam 11: Section 1: Development

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The answers should include the following information: (1) Despite the fact that around half of the American population views homosexuality as immoral, homosexuality is not a simple choice. Homosexual males often report that they "always" have been sexually attracted to members of the same sex. Indeed, there is a large genetic component to homosexuality. Gay men and lesbians tend to have a larger proportion of homosexual siblings than heterosexuals. Moreover, the identical twin of a gay man has a 50 percent chance of being gay. This percentage decreases to 15 percent among fraternal twins; (2) While genetic factors play a large role in determining sexual orientation, they are not the only factors. If genetic factors solely determined sexual orientation, then identical twins always would have the same sexual orientation, and clearly they do not. One early environmental factor that contributes to sexual orientation is exposure to male androgens in the womb. Prenatal exposure to higher levels of androgens is associated with sexual attraction to women in both males and females; (3) The specific environmental factors that contribute to sexual orientation are largely unknown. However, research has ruled out a number of factors that were once thought to contribute to homosexuality. Parenting style (e.g., a domineering mother and a submissive father) is not related to homosexuality. Being raised by homosexual parents does not make it more likely that a child will become homosexual. Finally, early sexual experiences (e.g., experimentation with a same-sex partner) do not have a lasting impact on sexual orientation.

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The answer should include the following information: (1) Neither approach will produce large changes in the age at which teenagers begin having sex. Importantly, abstinence-only programs are ineffective at getting teenagers to wait to have sex, and sex education programs do not make it more likely that teenagers will begin having sex. For the most part, teenagers begin having sex at around the same age regardless of the approach; (2) Sex education programs have been demonstrated to reduce teenage pregnancy and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases among teenagers. Abstinence-only education programs have not demonstrated effectiveness in these areas; (3) The take-home message is that teenagers given sex education and teenagers given abstinence-only education begin to have sex at around the same time and have around the same amount of sex. Teenagers provided with sex education, however, are more likely to engage in safer sexual practices.

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The answer should indicate that Harry Harlow raised rhesus monkeys in social isolation. These monkeys were exposed to two artificial "mothers." One mother was made of wire but contained a bottle that dispensed milk. The other mother was made of soft cloth but did not provide nourishment. Harlow found that the baby monkeys would drink from the wire monkey when hungry, but spent most of their time clinging to the mother made of cloth. This suggests that comfort and warmth are more important components to the attachment process than simple nourishment. Thus, fathers need not worry about their inability to breast-feed; they can be warm and cuddly too!