In this paper I explpore what is currently known about sexual dimorphisms of the human brain and the developmental processes that produce them. Specifically, I focus on how genetic information brings about changes in the prenatal and neonatal hormonal environment, how that hormonal environment affects developing neural structures, and what the ultimate results of those changes are.

Previous research suggests that women's genital arousal is an automatic response to sexual stimuli, whereas men's 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 s...

Seven hundred and two (346 non-Asian, 356 Asian) undergraduate volunteers were assessed in a confidential laboratory setting on levels of interpersonal sexual behavior (e.g., petting, intercourse), intrapersonal sexual behavior (e.g., fantasy, masturbation), and sociosexual restrictiveness (e.g., lifetime number of partners, number of "one-night stands"). The purpose was to examine possible dif...

Past studies indicate that men generally report having had more sexual experience and sexual partners than women, as well as an earlier age at first intercourse. At least some of these findings may partially reflect different responses to certain contextual variables in research. College students (266 men and 463 women) were asked to anonymously report their sexual attitudes and behavior after ...

The present study investigated the specificity of sexual appraisal processes by making a distinction between implicit and explicit appraisals and between the affective (liking) and motivational (wanting) valence of sexual stimuli. These appraisals are assumed to diverge between men and women, depending on the context in which the sexual stimulus is encountered. Using an Implicit Association Tes...

We explored aspects of men's and women's short-term sexual psychology as a function of a potential short-term partner's relationship status. A total of 209 men and 288 women reported how likely they would be to pursue a casual sexual relationship with an attractive member of the opposite sex who was (1) married, (2) not married but has casual sexual partners, or (3) not married and has no casua...

Sexuality research focuses almost exclusively on individuals rather than couples, though ongoing relationships are very important for most people and cultures. The present study was the first to examine sexual and relationship parameters of middle-aged and older couples in committed relationships of 1-51 years duration. Survey research was conducted in Brazil, Germany, Japan, Spain, and the U.S...

The current study describes longitudinal trends in sexual harassment by adolescent peers and highlights gender, pubertal status, attractiveness, and power as predictors of harassment victimization. At the end of 5th, 7th, and 9th grades, 242 adolescents completed questionnaires about sexual harassment victimization, pubertal status, and perceived power. Results indicate an increase in sexual ha...