Understanding Psychology (10th Ed)

FIGURE 4 
The Kinsey scale is designed to defi ne the degree to which sexual orientation is 
heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual. Although Kinsey saw people as falling along a continuum, 
most people believe that they belonged to a specifi c category. 
(Source: From Kinsey, A. C., Pomeroy, 
W. B., & Martin, C. E. (1948). 
Sexual behavior in the human male, 
p. 638.
 
Indiana University Press; originally 
published by W. B. Saunders Company, 1948. Reprinted by permission of The Kinsey Institute for Research in 
Sex, Gender, and Reproduction, Inc.)
Exclusive 
heterosexual 
behavior 
0 1 2 
3 4 5 
6 
Primarily 
heterosexual, 
but incidents 
of homosexual 
behavior 
Primarily 
heterosexual, 
but more than 
incidental 
homosexual
behavior
Equal 
amounts of 
heterosexual 
and homo- 
sexual 
behavior 
Primarily 
homosexual, 
but more than 
incidental 
heterosexual 
behavior
Primarily 
homosexual,
but incidents
of heterosexual
behavior
Exclusively
homosexual
behavior
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Module 34 
The Diversity of Sexual Behavior 
369
Although the learning-theory explanation is plausible, several diffi culties rule it 
out as a defi nitive explanation. Because our society has traditionally held homosexu-
ality in low esteem, one ought to expect that the negative treatment of homosexual 
behavior would outweigh the rewards attached to it. Furthermore, children growing 
up with a gay or lesbian parent are statistically unlikely to become homosexual, 
which thus contradicts the notion that homosexual behavior may be learned from 
others (Golombok, 1995; Victor & Fish, 1995; Tasker, 2005). 
Because of the diffi culty in fi nding a consistent explanation for sexual orienta-
tion, we can’t answer the question of what determines it. Thus, it seems unlikely that 
any single factor orients a person toward homosexuality or heterosexuality. Instead, 
it seems reasonable to assume that a combination of biological and environmental 
factors is involved (Bem, 1996; Hyde, Mezulis, & Abramson, 2008). 
Although we don’t know at this point exactly why people develop a certain 
sexual orientation, one thing is clear: There is no relationship between sexual orienta-
tion and psychological adjustment. Gays, lesbians, and bisexuals generally enjoy the 
same quality of mental and physical health that heterosexuals do, although the dis-
crimination they experience may produce higher rates of some disorders, such as 
depression (Poteat & Espelage, 2007). Bisexuals and homosexuals also hold equivalent 
ranges and types of attitudes about themselves that are independent of sexual orien-
tation. For such reasons, the American Psychological Association and other major 
mental health organizations have endorsed efforts to eliminate discrimination against 
gays and lesbians, such as revoking the ban against homosexuals in the military 
(Cochran, 2000; Perez, DeBord, & Bieschke, 2000; Morris, Waldo, & Rothblum, 2001).
Transsexualism