If biological needs for shelter and food are not met, it is far less likely to achieve or even seek out needs related to intimacy and self-actualization. There is a stepwise association between the different needs. While Maslow s hierarchy has some application to the real world, it has been criticized because it is very subjective and doesn t always apply to real-world actuality.
SEXUAL BEHAVIOR The evolutionary basis for sexual behavior is the perpetuation of the species but this is a drive that is more complex than that. Sexual behavior and motivation have been extensively researched in animals and somewhat in humans. The hypothalamus is the main brain organ responsible for sexual drive. Lesions to this area affect one s sexual abilities. The limbic system and primarily the amygdala and nucleus accumbens also drive sexual motivation but they do not remove the ability to engage in sexual behavior. The dissociation of the motivation and ability can happen in male and female rats that have been studied. In humans, hypothalamic lesions lead to reduced gonadal functioning and reduced sexual functioning overall. This is because it affects the hormones that control sexual function. In both males and females, it is testosterone, the levels of which are controlled by the hypothalamus, that controls both male and female sexual drives or what s called libido. Alfred Kinsey was one of the first to study sexuality in humans in the late 1940s. He published the first books on human sexuality, which had previously not been studied. Kinsey established an institute that exists today, called the Kinsey Institute for Research, Sex, Gender, and Reproduction. His books are sold frequently to doctors and lay people alike, even though they were controversial in some parts of the world. It was demonstrated by his research that some sexual behaviors considered rare were actually very common in the general public. According to Kinsey s research, women are equally interested in sex compared to men and both genders masturbate. Homosexuality was considered much more common 168
