UNiVERSiTY OF MAKATi

COLLEGE OF SCiENCE
DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY

Und!standing
"e Self
MODULE 5
At the end of the module, students are expected to explore different aspects of
self and identity, demonstrate critical, reflective thought in integrating the
various aspects of self and identity, identify the different forces and institutions
that impact the development of various aspects of self and identity and
examine one’s self against the different aspects of self discussed in class.
Specifically, students are expected to learn the development of secondary sex
characteristics and the human reproductive system, the erogenous zones, the
human sexual response, the basic biology of sexual behavior and the chemistry
of lust, love and attachment.

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LESSON 1

Sexual Self
 You can be a MYTH BUSTER!
Below are some myths about sex. You have to research about their corresponding facts.

1. You can get an (sexually-transmitted infection) STI from a toilet seat.

2. You will not get HIV or a STI from getting a tattoo or through body piercing.
3. You can’t get an STI from oral sex.
4. You can’t get an STI if your partner is a virgin.
5. The best way to avoid getting pregnant is to use a condom.
6. You can’t get pregnant while on your period.
7. Peeing or douching after sex protects against pregnancy.
8. A girl can’t get pregnant the first time she has sex.
9. You can use a condom more than once, if you wash it properly.
10.Baby oil and Vaseline® are okay to use as lubricants with latex condoms.
11. Most women can have an orgasm through vaginal sex only.
12.The average penis size is about 8 to 10 inches.
13.Girls don’t masturbate.
14. “Blue balls” is a not a medical condition.
15. Only gay men like anal sex.
16. It’s easy to tell if someone is gay.
17. All lesbians are masculine. Sexual Self
Secondary Sex Characteristics in Humans

Have you ever really considered the differences between males and females in various species? If you have,
you may have noticed the differences in physical traits between the two sexes. Without even realizing it, you
were likely thinking about both primary and secondary characteristics.
While humans are born with very obvious primary sex characteristics (or body structures directly concerned
with reproduction) that allows us to tell males from females, such as the penis in men and the vagina in
women, secondary sex characteristics, on the other hand, are features which appear at puberty (though they
later become equally as prominent). These secondary characteristics are features such as pubic hair, breast
development in females, and beards in males. The list below shows some of these characteristic differences
between human males and females. In men, these include:
* More pronounced body hair characteristics (beard, chest, etc.) and usually more coarse
* Heavier musculature
* Angular features (i.e. square jaw, triangular mid region)
* Narrow hips
* Muscular pectorals (chest)
* Less fat tissue overall
* Deeper voice
Sexual Self
In women, these include:
* Less pronounced body hair characteristics (mostly in pubic region, hair all over is usually finer)
* Lighter musculature
* Rounded features (i.e. softer facial features, hourglass mid-region)
* Wider hips (for child bearing)
* More pronounced breasts with more fatty tissue
* More fat tissue overall
* Higher voice

Sexual Self
Sexual Self
What is an erogenous zone? 

Erogenous zones  are sexually pleasurable to touch. A person might derive pleasure from touching these
areas themselves, but many people get the most pleasure when another person touches them.
Scientists have proposed a number of theories about erogenous zones and why they lead to such pleasure,
but no research has conclusively proven any specific theory.

Some potential reasons that erogenous zones might be pleasurable include the fact that:
They are highly sensitive, either because they have more nerve endings or because people do not often
touch them.

They tend to remain covered, making them less accessible or more exciting to touch.
They are pleasurable for the partner to touch or sexually attractive to the partner.
Some people enjoy the stimulation of erogenous zones as part of sex or foreplay, while others can
independently orgasm from erogenous zone stimulation.

Sexual Self
What is an erogenous zone? 

Erogenous zones  are sexually pleasurable to touch. A person might derive pleasure from touching these
areas themselves, but many people get the most pleasure when another person touches them.
Scientists have proposed a number of theories about erogenous zones and why they lead to such pleasure,
but no research has conclusively proven any specific theory.

Some potential reasons that erogenous zones might be pleasurable include the fact that:
They are highly sensitive, either because they have more nerve endings or because people do not often
touch them.

They tend to remain covered, making them less accessible or more exciting to touch.
They are pleasurable for the partner to touch or sexually attractive to the partner.
Some people enjoy the stimulation of erogenous zones as part of sex or foreplay, while others can
independently orgasm from erogenous zone stimulation.

Sexual Self
Genital erogenous zones

For many people, the genitals and surrounding areas are erogenous zones. However, stimulating the genitals
is not always erotic, especially when a person is not fully aroused.
Some of the most common genital erogenous zones for females include:
the clitoris
the vagina
the perineum

Males rank the following genital erogenous zones highly:

the penis
the scrotum
the perineum

The specific area of the genitals a person enjoys stimulating or having stimulated varies from person to
person.For example, some people enjoy G-spot stimulation, while others prefer stimulation on certain areas
of the penis, such as the tip

Sexual Self
Typical erogenous zones 

In a 2016 study, researchers asked 150 married women about their preferred erogenous zones. Almost all
participants (95.3%) reported having erogenous zones other than the genitals.
The most common zones, in order from most to least common, included:
the breasts
the lips
the neck
the ears
the buttocks

In the study, 12% of the participants reported that they could orgasm from the stimulation of these zones
alone. For many women, erogenous zones are a complement to sexual stimulation, not a replacement.
Stimulating these areas can be highly effective foreplay. A  2013 paper  that asked 793 people about their
preferred erogenous zones found that the following areas ranked highly among all sexes:
the mouth and lips
the nape of the neck
the pubic hairline
the back of the neck
Men also ranked some erogenous zones, including the lower back and the chest, more highly than
women did.
Sexual Self
Stimulating erogenous zones 

The sort of stimulation a person prefers varies as much as their preferred erogenous zones.
Some people prefer gentle, subtle stimulation, such as blowing or light touches. Others want intense,
continuous stimulation, such as massaging or stroking.
The ideal stimulation may change with how aroused a person is. The right stimulation also varies from area
to area and experience to experience.

For example, a 2016 study that asked 150 women about their preferred type of stimulation found that people
preferred oral stimulation of the lips and that both manual and oral stimulation worked well for the nipples.

Some options for stimulating erogenous zones include:

using the mouth to lick, kiss, suck, or bite the area
using the fingers to gently touch, stroke, massage, or tickle the area
blowing on the area
using sex toys or other tools to stimulate the area, such as tickling it with a feather or
stimulating it with a dildo or vibrator

Sexual Self
Sexual Response Cycle

The sexual response cycle includes the phases of desire or excitement, arousal or plateau, orgasm and
resolution. Each stage of the cycle is described.

What is the sexual response cycle?

The sexual response cycle refers to the sequence of physical and emotional changes that occur as a person
becomes sexually aroused and participates in sexually stimulating activities, including intercourse and
masturbation. Knowing how your body responds during each phase of the cycle can enhance your
relationship and help you pinpoint the cause of sexual dysfunction. It is not the only model of a sexual
response cycle, but it is the best known one.

Sexual Self
What are the phases of the sexual response cycle?

The sexual response cycle has four phases: desire (libido), arousal (excitement), orgasm and resolution.
Both men and women experience these phases, although the timing usually is different. For example, it is
unlikely that both partners will reach orgasm at the same time. In addition, the intensity of the response and
the time spent in each phase varies from person to person. Many women will not go through the sexual
phases in this order. Some of these stages may be absent during some sexual encounters, or out of
sequence in others. A desire for intimacy may be a motivation for sexual activity in some individuals.
Understanding these differences may help partners better understand one another’s bodies and responses,
and enhance the sexual experience.

Several physiologic changes may occur during different stages of sexual activity. Individuals may experience
some, all, or none of these changes.

Sexual Self
Phase 1: Desire or Excitement

General characteristics of this phase, which can last from a few

minutes to several hours, include the following:
• Muscle tension increases.
• Heart rate quickens and breathing is accelerated.
• Skin may become flushed (blotches of redness appear on the
chest and back).
• Nipples become hardened or erect.
• Blood flow to the genitals increases, resulting in swelling of
the  woman’s  clitoris and labia minora (inner lips), and
erection of the man’s penis.
• Vaginal lubrication begins.
• The woman’s breasts become fuller and the vaginal walls
begin to swell.
• The man’s testicles swell, his scrotum tightens, and he begins
secreting a lubricating liquid.

Sexual Self
Phase 2: Arousal or Plateau

General characteristics of this phase, which extends to the brink

of orgasm, include the following:
The changes begun in phase 1 are intensified.
• The vagina continues to swell from increased blood flow, and
the vaginal walls turn a dark purple.
• The woman’s clitoris becomes highly sensitive (may even be
painful to touch) and retracts under the clitoral hood to avoid
direct stimulation from the penis.
• The man’s testicles are withdrawn up into the scrotum.
• Breathing, heart rate and blood pressure continue to increase.
• Muscle spasms may begin in the feet, face and hands.
• Tension in the muscles increases.

Sexual Self
Phase 3: Orgasm or Climax

This phase is the climax of the sexual response cycle. It is the

shortest of the phases and generally lasts only a few
seconds. General characteristics of this phase include the
following:
• Involuntary muscle contractions begin.
• Blood pressure, heart rate and breathing are at their highest
rates, with a rapid intake of oxygen.
• Muscles in the feet spasm.
• There is a sudden, forceful release of sexual tension.
• In men, rhythmic contractions of the muscles at the base of
the penis result in the ejaculation of semen.
• A rash or "sex flush" may appear over the entire body.

Sexual Self
Phase 4: Resolution

During this phase, the body slowly returns to its normal level
of functioning, and swelled and erect body parts return to
their previous size and color. This phase is marked by a
general sense of well-being and, often, fatigue. Some
women are capable of a rapid return to the orgasm phase
with further sexual stimulation and may experience multiple
orgasms. Men need recovery time after orgasm, called a
refractory period, during which they cannot reach orgasm
again. The duration of the refractory period varies among
men and changes with age.

Sexual Self
Like food, sex is an important part of our lives. From an evolutionary
perspective, the reason is obvious—perpetuation of the species. Sexual
behavior in humans, however, involves much more than reproduction.

Physiological Mechanisms of Sexual Behavior and Motivation

Much of what we know about the physiological mechanisms that underlie

sexual behavior and motivation comes from animal research. The
hypothalamus plays an important role in motivated behaviors, and sex is no
exception. In fact, lesions to an area of the hypothalamus called the medial
preoptic area completely disrupt a male rat’s ability to engage in sexual
behavior. Surprisingly, medial preoptic lesions do not change how hard a
male rat is willing to work to gain access to a sexually receptive female. This
suggests that the ability to engage in sexual behavior and the motivation to
do so may be mediated by neural systems distinct from one another.

Animal research suggests that limbic system structures such as the

amygdala and nucleus accumbens are especially important for sexual
motivation. Damage to these areas results in a decreased motivation to
engage in sexual behavior, while leaving the ability to do so intact. Similar
dissociations of sexual motivation and sexual ability have also been
observed in the female rat.

Sexual Self
Sexual Self
Total Eclipse of the Brain

Think of the last time you ran into someone you

find attractive. You may have stammered, your
palms may have sweated; you may have said
something incredibly asinine and tripped
spectacularly while trying to saunter away (or is
that just me?). And chances are, your heart
was thudding in your chest. It’s no surprise that,
for centuries, people thought love (and most
other emotions, for that matter) arose from the
heart. As it turns out, love is all about the brain
– which, in turn, makes the rest of your body go
haywire.

According to a team of scientists led by Dr.

Helen Fisher at Rutgers, romantic love can be
Table 1: Love can be distilled into three categories: lust, attraction, and attachment.
broken down into  three categories: lust, Though there are overlaps and subtleties to each, each type is characterized by its
attraction, and attachment. Each category is own set of hormones. Testosterone and estrogen drive lust; dopamine, norepinephrine,
characterized by its own set of hormones and serotonin create attraction; and oxytocin and vasopressin mediate attachment.
stemming from the brain (Table 1).

Sexual Self
Let’s Get Chemical

Lust  is driven by the desire for sexual

gratification. The evolutionary basis for this
stems from our need to reproduce, a need
shared among all living things. Through
reproduction, organisms pass on their genes,
and thus contribute to the perpetuation of their
species.
The hypothalamus of the brain plays a big role
in this, stimulating the production of the sex
hormones  testosterone  and  estrogen  from
the testes and ovaries. While these chemicals
are often stereotyped as being “male” and
“female,” respectively, both play a role in men
and women. As it turns out, testosterone
increases libido in just about everyone. The
effects are less pronounced with estrogen, but
some women report being more sexually
motivated around the time they ovulate, when
estrogen levels are highest.

Sexual Self
Meanwhile,  attraction  seems to be a distinct, though closely
related, phenomenon. While we can certainly lust for
someone we are attracted to, and vice versa, one can
happen without the other. Attraction involves the brain
pathways that control “reward” behavior, which partly
explains why the first few weeks or months of a relationship
can be so exhilarating and even all-consuming.
Dopamine, produced by the hypothalamus, is a particularly
well-publicized player in the brain’s reward pathway – it’s
released when we do things that feel good to us. In this case,
these things include spending time with loved ones and
having sex. High levels of dopamine and a related
hormone,  norepinephrine, are released during attraction.
These chemicals make us giddy, energetic, and euphoric,
even leading to decreased appetite and insomnia – which
means you actually can be so “in love” that you can’t eat and
can’t sleep. In fact, norepinephrine, also known as
noradrenalin, may sound familiar because it plays a large
role in the fight or flight response, which kicks into high gear
when we’re stressed and keeps us alert. Brain scans of
people in love have actually shown that the primary “reward”
centers of the brain, including the ventral tegmental area and
the caudate nucleus, fire like crazy when people are shown a
photo of someone they are intensely attracted to, compared
to when they are shown someone they feel neutral towards
(like an old high school acquaintance).

Sexual Self
Last but not least, attachment is the predominant
factor in long-term relationships. While lust and
attraction are pretty much exclusive to romantic
entanglements, attachment mediates friendships,
parent-infant bonding, social cordiality, and many
other intimacies as well. The two primary
hormones here appear to
be oxytocin and vasopressin.

Oxytocin is often nicknamed “cuddle hormone” for

this reason. Like dopamine, oxytocin is produced
by the hypothalamus and released in large
quantities during sex, breastfeeding, and
childbirth. This may seem like a very strange
assortment of activities – not all of which are
necessarily enjoyable – but the common factor
here is that all of these events are precursors to
bonding. It also makes it pretty clear why having
separate areas for attachment, lust, and attraction
is important: we are attached to our immediate
family, but those other emotions have no business
there.
Sexual Self
self-Review
Search all the keywords mentioned in this
module. There are 26 of them in this word
search box. These are the words that you
need to familiarize with for the upcoming
examinations.

Sexual Self
GRADED ACTIVITIES/ASSIGNMENT
1. Journal 6.
Use the template you downloaded where you have written your Journals 1-5.

2. Sexual Self Awareness Campaign Poster

Use 8.5 x 11 MS Word document. Write your name and year/section/course on the upper left portion of the document. The title
of your the poster must be at the center. The title is “Sexual Self Awareness Campaign Poster’.
A. Make a poster out of your “You can be a MYTH BUSTER!” activity. (Check the first part of the module again). Choose only
4 myths mentioned in the module.
B. Add some wholesome pictures or images to every myth to add more appeal to your poster. See sample on the next page.
C. Make you poster appealing to your audience. Br creative.
D. Convert your file to PDF.

File names:
Activity 1: LastName_Firstname (Journal 6) ex: Villanueva_Ryan (Journal 6)
Activity 2: LastName_Firstname (Poster) ex: Villanueva_Ryan (Poster)

Submission deadline: Your UTS Prof will give you further announcements.
Sample Poster
References
http://www.iwannaknow.org/teens/myths_facts.html
https://study.com/academy/lesson/secondary-sex-characteristics-definition-lesson-quiz.html
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fptop.only.wip.la%3A443%2Fhttp%2Falphonsa7.weebly.com%2Fjune-1st-
work.html&psig=AOvVaw0g8v8t90qJwcEYze8Whyyi&ust=1599200679137000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCPDmx_WszOsCFQAAAAAdAAAAAB
B1
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/erogenous-zones#stimulation
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/9119-sexual-response-
cycle#:~:text=The%20sexual%20response%20cycle%20has,the%20timing%20usually%20is%20different.
https://www.apa.org/monitor/apr03/arousal
https://www.shutterstock.com/video/clip-14600998-white-couple-on-bed-embracing-kissing
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fptop.only.wip.la%3A443%2Fhttps%2Fwww.verywellfamily.com%2Fdoes-lying-on-your-back-after-sex-help-with-
conception-1960291&psig=AOvVaw1nX8zcpUyHOCp9KXNbYQcz&ust=1599202162605000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCPCgibqyzOsCFQAAAA
AdAAAAABAD .
http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2017/love-actually-science-behind-lust-attraction-companionship/
#:~:text=Though%20there%20are%20overlaps%20and,oxytocin%20and%20vasopressin%20mediate%20attachment.
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wmopen-psychology/chapter/introduction-to-sexual-behavior/
 UNiVERSiTY OF MAKATi
COLLEGE OF SCiENCE
DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY

Thank You!