UNIT 3:
LESSON 8: GENDER AND SEXUALITY AS A PSYCHOSOCIAL
ISSUE
 PSYCHOSOCIAL – a term pertaining to
psychological and social factors and the
interaction of these factors.
 Psychosocial issues – needs and concerns
relating to one or all the psychosocial
dimensions.
 Reproductive role – the social script ascribed to
individuals pertaining to their role on child-
rearing and related tasks such as maintaining
the household.
 Productive role – the social script ascribed to
individuals pertaining to their role in economic
production and related tasks such as engaging in
public affairs and living in the world of work.
>reproductive role – women have the capability to bear
children thus associated to womanhood by the society.
>productive role – men don’t have the capability to bear
children but has relatively large muscular-skeletal frame.
>psychosocial perspective – the perspective of exploring
and understanding human sexuality in the lens of
psychological social processes.
* Psychosocial – psychological – pertains to anything
associated with mental process and behavior - and
social – pertains to anything associated with human
relationships, connection, and interaction.
* Psychology - a field of science which concerns itself
with how people think and feel and how thoughts and
feelings interact and lead to behavior.
* 3 psychological domains:
- affect – pertains to people’s emotions and
feelings.
- behavior – pertains to people’s actions – both
observable (overt) or not readily observable (covert)
- cognition – pertains to people’s thought
processes such as memory, perception, and
information-processing
* Sociology – a field of science which concerns itself
with human person’s realities and experience as part of
groups and institutions
*Awareness – our conscious understanding of
something.
- as humans, we are in constant process towards self-
awareness
- we are also in constant process towards other-
awareness – understanding others
*Intimacy and Relationship
> human relationship – a bond formed between two or
more people, manifested through communication and
interaction.
- maybe in the form of family, friendships,
romantic relationship
> intimacy – process of knowing others and allowing
others to know us.
> socialization – the process by which we learn cultural
norms and traditions.
*well-being as a psychosocial goal
> well-being – a state of satisfaction, meaning, and
purpose.
a. objective well-being – observed, outward,
and can be evaluated through the presence or absence
of particular elements in our environment.
b. subjective well-being – our personal
experience of satisfaction, meaning and
purpose.
- pertains to our own appreciation of
how well we are.
- happiness
*Dimensions of well-being
a. physical – physical/biological health;
b. emotional – positive feelings; mood stability;
c. mental – clarity of mind; healthy thought process;
d. material – available and adequate financial and
other resources; and
d. social – healthy and positive interaction and
relationship with others.
LESSON 9: LOVE, INTIMACY, AND RELATIONSHIP
 Love – a complex phenomenon characterized by
an affective and cognitive interactions to
someone and set of social behaviors geared
towards cohesion.
 Intimacy the psychosocial component of love;
knowing and being known by someone in a
deeply personal level; emotional closeness and
connection.
 Passion – the emotive and physical component
of love; drive towards sexual and romantic
attraction.
 Commitment – decision to engage and maintain
a loving relationship.
 Relationship – social bond between and among
individuals manifested through communication
and other forms of interaction.
Robert Steinberg – a psychologist renowned for his
theory of love
*Love as a human experience – love is a human
experience differently defines and conceptualized.
a. Love as a culture universal
- culture universal – a phenomenon
experienced similarly by people across time and culture
- we humans have experienced love
despite the time, the geographic location, and socio-
cultural identities.
b. love as a social phenomenon
- social phenomenon – events or
experiences which ensue within our interaction and
relationship with other people.
- entails communication – the process
of giving and receiving information between and among
people
- entails the use of language – symbols
that are culturally agreed upon as possessing certain
meanings and that are used by people to express certain
realities and worldviews
c. love as an emotion
- emotions – are physiological responses
that we evaluate psychologically as experience
particular life events
 d. love as a neurobiological event
- love can now be studied as a
neurobiological event
- the experience of love is associated
with various parts of our brain
- endorphins – hormones believed to
provide humans good mood
*Theorizing love
a. psychodynamic view – pertains to the psychoanalytic
tradition forwarded by Sigmund Freud (a Viennese
neurologist)
- we have desires and motives fueled by our life
(eros) and death (thanatos) instincts
- desirable behaviors that promote positive
relationship with others (life instincts)
- aggressive behaviors that hurt, manipulate, or
harm ourselves and others (death instincts)
- puts prime on the influence of our early life
experience – formative years – (crucial in this life stage
is our relationship with our mother)
- love can be seen as a manifestation of our eros
and the placement of our libido (life energy) unto an
object
b. color wheel of love
- John Alan Lee – a Canadian psychologist who
suggested that there are different types of love:
- primary types: a. eros (sexual and
romantic); b. philia (friendly); c. storage
(parental/filial love)
- secondary: pragma (practical love);
agape (universal love); and philautia (self love)
c. triangular model of love – one of the most popular
theories of love by Sternberg
- generally concerned about trying to measure
love as a psychological variable and in determining the
various dimensions and facets that love has as
experienced by people
- five languages: words of affirmation, touch,
time, gifts, and acts of service
a. words of affirmation – verbally express their
thoughts and feelings of love towards the people they
love.
b. touch – express love non-verbally through
hugs, kisses, or a tap on the back
- they value proximity (nearness) and
yearns for physical contact with their partners
c. time – value quality moments with their loved
ones; willing to create memories with other people they
love
d. gifts – want to show and receive affection
through material objects
e. acts of service – much willing to serve the
other person by helping her or him in things that they
do
*love and intimate relationships
- Aristotle – Greek philosopher – referred
humans as social animals
a. acquaintance – met up and first learn about basic
information about one another
b. buildup – two persons test boundaries; testing waters
before engaging fully and so committedly in the
relationship
c. consolidation and continuation – when people
commits to a long-term relationship with one another
either personal or social agreement.
d. decline or deterioration – unable to sustain and
maintain their commitments or attractions
- infidelity – the breech of loyalty and promises
as agreed upon by both individuals
e. ending – culminate the decline or deterioration stage

Passion (physical/emotional aspect) > Commitment

(pertains to the agency component that is the choice we
make with regards to engaging and maintaining the
loving relationship) > Intimacy (pertains to the
psychological/relation aspect)

Infatuation = passion
Compassionate love = intimacy + commitment
Fatuos love = passion + commitment
Consummate love = passion + intimacy + commitment
Liking = commitment
Romantic love = passion + intimacy
Ludic love = passion + commitment
Friendly love = intimacy + commitment

d. romantic and companionate love

- Hatfield and Rapson – suggest that there are
two general types of love:
a. romantic love – intense passion
b. companionate love – intense intimacy
– emotional closeness – characteristic of liking
e. love languages
- Gary Chapman – a world renowned author –
suggested that people various ways to give and receive
love