Geoffrey W. Sutton PhD, Psychology and Culture

Sexual Response & Self-Control Sexual responsiveness is my third of three posts looking at the psychology of sex with a view toward understanding variations in sexuality and what research findings might mean for religious leaders who offer guidance to people about right sexual conduct.   In addition to research about sexual responsiveness, I look at self-control, offer some thoughts, and suggest questions for those concerned with moral implications. How do psychological scientists study sexual responding? Some sex researchers present videos of sexual activity to volunteers in laboratory settings. They obtain physiological measures of sexual responding along with subjective reports of the experience. Information about sexual interest and visual responding can be obtained from eye-tracking technology and the time spent viewing a stimulus. Brain imaging can be used to identify which areas of the brain respond to sexual stimuli. Researchers measur...

 Sexual  Attraction In my previous post, I wrote about sexual orientation . This week I take a look at factors that influence sexual attraction. I'll take a look at recent research and consider how the findings might relate to the concerns of people working to integrate their religious faith with beliefs about sexuality. Over the years I have consulted with organizations. Not surprisingly, Christians who supervise housing (e.g., colleges, group homes, residential treatment programs) express concern about appropriate sexuality. They focus most on keeping men and women apart. Despite a common occurrence, it is rare for a Christian organization to discuss same sex activity within their residences or among coworkers. It does not seem to occur to many that two persons of the same sex may find each other sexually attractive. The leaders would not think of assigning a man and a woman to the same room but they do not consider the assignment of two same-sex oriented persons...

Sexual Orientation Sexual Identity Sexual Attraction Christians in the United States continue to write and speak about sexual orientation and same-sex relationships as if condoning or condemning same-sex relationships were the keys to Christian identity. The terms referring to human sexuality can interfere with communication when people use the terms inconsistently or imprecisely. In addition, new research changes our understanding of human sexuality such that older terms may carry meanings that are no longer substantiated by evidence. I take a look at some terms and cite a study to illustrate the complexity of sexuality. Given the confusion and misinformation, I hope to return to the topic. Sex  In the context of identity, sex refers to a person’s biological status as male, female, or intersex. Intersex is a biological state that includes an infrequent set of features linked to being male or female. The common indicators of biological sex include external gen...

Religion & Health  Religion & Biopsychology Laura attends church but her sister Ashley does not. Who is likely to live longer? Jo announced her husband has been cancer free for two years! And she thanks God for healing in answer to prayer. Research suggests people who attend church live longer. And many offer testimonies of healing in response to prayer. Not surprisingly, the stories are enough to peak the interest of medical and psychological scientists. Is there more to faith than superstition? Are there measurable effects linked to religious or spiritual practices? I take a look at some of the evidence. And follow up on a previous post about prayer . We know there are some studies showing a relationship between biopsychology and spirituality. I like to use questions to carve out issues. 1. What biopsychological changes, if any, occur when people practice their faith? 2. What is the evidence for a link between spirituality and general health...

Christian Cup Results: Are you keeping score?  When it come to an all-inclusive spirituality, many faith traditions continue to grant special status to men of select ethnic backgrounds associated with the tradition. In Christianity, Jesus was oft depicted as a European man. But changes are on the way. It is not surprising that the leader of the Roman Catholics created a lot of buzz with his seemingly gay-friendly statement reported worldwide on 29 July, 2013. After all, he is the leader of the largest group of   Christians in the world and the position of the Catholic Church on matters of same-sex marriage is well known. "If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?" What makes the comment so noteworthy is that Pope Francis did not just speak about Catholics who are homosexuals. He referred to priests. Also see Ross Douthat at the NY Times for another thoughtful essay. But, what about women? "the Church has s...