This report describes a procedure for selecting and utilizing college students to facilitate discussion in small subgroups of a large undergraduate sexuality class. Information is presented on how facilitators are selected, supervised, and evaluated, and how group members are graded for attendance and participation. Qualitative data on students' evaluations of the discussion groups and the overall class format indicate a high level of satisfaction with this economical form of student involvement. This report has particular relevance to college and university instructors who want to achieve the advantages of both large lecture classes and small discussion groups.
The lecture is the most widely used and most highly criticized medium of instruction in higher educa tion. While its roots go back Socrates and Plato, oral lecturing was made popular in the medieval universities. Prior the invention of movable type, the lecturer students from the few books that were available. In fact, the term lecture is derived from the Latin word legere which means to read (Hoover 1980). The oral lecture has survived in universities in part because of inertia. But also the lecture has certain ad vantages: it is economical; takes less time prepare than other media; can be current in content and geared for a particular audience; can draw attention impor tant points (Komza, Belle, and Williams 1978); and can provide an overview, criticism, intensity, enthusiasm, drama, humor, and warmth unlike that of printed mate rial (Gage and Berliner 1979). On the other hand, there are also disadvantages lecturing: it does not allow students an active and direct involvement with the information being presented; it is a one-way communication that may encourage intellec tual passivity; it does not encourage creativity and problem-solving; the student retention rate is poor (Komza, Belle, and Williams 1978); and the note-taking process may interfere with students' understanding of the lecture (Aiken, Thomas, and Shennum 1975). Fur thermore, an underlying assumption is that all students
AbstractThis study examined the relationship between popular media consumption and sexual attitudes and behavior for 475 college students, while controlling for commonly related social-psychological variables. Results indicate that females consume more sexually suggestive media (TV soap operas and pop music) than males. General media consumption was not a powerful predictor of permissiveness. Regression analyses revealed that Music Television (MTV) consumption was the only media variable significantly associated with permissiveness for females. Self-esteem was positively associated with permissive attitudes and behavior for both males and females. Soap opera consumption was significantly associated with permissive behavior for males but not for females. Sexual permissiveness for females was more significantly related to religiosity but less significantly related to self-esteem than for males. No important extraneous variable influences were found. Findings are discussed in terms of gender differences, the normative context hypothesis, social scripts, the double standard, the sexual revolution, and the cultivation hypothesis.
Considerable attention has been focused on sexual harassment experiences and attitudes of older adolescents and adults. Recently, educational and judicial institutions have recognized that harassment also occurs among junior and senior high school students. The primary aim of this project was to gather information regarding early adolescents' experiences with and acceptance of sexual harassment behaviors. Results indicate a considerable proportion of females (50%) and males (37%) have been victims of sexual harassment perpetrated by their peers, even though their acceptance of these behaviors is quite low. Suggestions for a sexual harassment educational program for early adolescents are presented.
College students (248 males and 286 females) completed a survey which asked them to identify models of responsible and irresponsible sexual behavior. The relationship between attention to sexual models and the reported sexual behavior and attitudes of the observers was also examined. It was predicted that men would identify more media models of sexual behavior than would women and that those students who chose media or peers as primary models of sexual responsibility would be relatively more permissive in their sexual attitudes and behavior and less likely to use contraception than students who selected parents or educators. Results were consistent with these predictions. Examination of the reasons given for selection of sexual models indicated that men based their judgments of responsible sexuality more often upon the model's sexual behavior and consequences and less often upon the model's motives and intentions for sexuality than did women. Conceptualizing the sources of sexual learning as models of behavior may offer important new avenues for research in the areas of sexual learning and the development of sexual behavior.
Although adolescent sexual behavior has been of considerable interest to social scientists, most of the work in this area has been theoretically barren. This paper presents an outline of a conceptual model that incorporates a majority of the existing research on adolescent sexuality. Drawing upon principles from a macro-exchange framework, this model focuses upon the system of factors that affect adolescent females' transition to nonvirginity. Based upon the existing research, five major factors are presented: (a) Attractions Within the Family System, (b) Social Control Barrier, (c) Alternative Attractions, (d) Personal Readiness Characteristics, and (e) Social Milieu. It is proposed that the net effect of the interplay of these major spheres of influence results in a social-psychological condition of "transitional proneness" towards nonvirginity. General propositions and suggestions for future research are presented.
This research examined the perceptions of models of sexuality held by youth. With significant changes in societal values, parents and educators may no longer be the significant models they once were. Simultaneously, the media and peers have presented a more distorted model of sexuality. To better understand the relative influence of these sources of sexual learning, 141 college students were asked to identify whom they felt represented models of behavior in general and of sexual behavior in particular. The major trends: 1) parents were perceived as models of general behavior twice as often as they were viewed as models of sexuality; 2) this trend was opposite for both media and peer models; and 3) the judgment of responsible and irresponsible sexual behavior focused upon the context of sexual activity. It was concluded that adults need to be more active in promoting sexually responsible models for youth, and that the informal sources of sexual learning may dilute the effectiveness of formal education.
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