Human Sexuality and Its ProblemsDr. Binik

Psychology 436Fall, 2009

Course Information

Lectures

Lectures will be held in on Tuesday and Thursday from 10:05-11:25 AM in room N2/2 of the Stewart Biology Building. A tentative lecture schedule is attached. Changes will be announced in class and posted on WebCT. Audio-recordings of the lectures will be available on WebCT if the audiovisual modifications to the room are completed by the time the term starts. Lectures are coordinated as much as possible with readings but typically present new material. Most of the visual material used in class lectures will be available on WebCT with the exception of videotapes which cannot be seen outside of class.

Required Reading

1. Course Pack (available in the bookstore)

2. Assigned book for the paper is: When Sex Isn’t Good by Lilian Arleque & Sue W. Goldstein (available in the bookstore).

If you truly have severe financial problems and cannot afford to purchase the course pack, please let me know and I will try to get complimentary copies from the printers. You may be able to find used copies of the course pack from previous years, however, some of the articles will be different. For example, this year I have changed about 4 articles. There are usually copies on reserve in the undergraduate library reserves.

Evaluation

Evaluation will be based on a midterm worth 20%, a required paper worth 30%, and a final worth 50%. If you miss the midterm for valid reasons (e.g. illness with doctor’s note etc.), the final will count 70% of the total mark. There will be no makeup for the midterm. A supplementary exam worth 100% of the course mark will be given. There will be no opportunity to do extra work to improve one’s grade. These arrangements for evaluation and other course arrangements may have to be changed in the event of circumstances beyond the instructor's control. Every effort will be made to consult the class if changes should be required. The average mark in this course over the last 10 years has always been in the B range. You are welcome to participate in the participant pool or to do the non-participatory assignments for an extra 2% on your final grade.

The midterm examination will be held on Oct 8 during class time and will include between 20-40 multiple choice questions. Examination questions for the midterm will be drawn approximately equally from lecture and text. You will be required to recognize the last name of the first author of the articles in the course pack.

The final examination will be comprised of between 45-90 multiple choice questions and will be held during the final exam period. No alternative arrangements can be made to take the final exam. The specific multiple choice questions on the final will include material covered only since the midterm. However, there will be more general questions that will assume knowledge from the first part of the course. You would be wise to review major concepts and ideas from the first part of the course. Examination questions for the final will be drawn approximately equally from lecture and text. You will be required to recognize the last name of the first author of the articles in the course pack.

Dr. Binik

I have no formal office hours but will be very happy to arrange individual meetings at your request. I will typically be available right after class but if you need to be sure to see me then contact me via email (). Do not try to contact me through WebCT. You can sometimes reach me through my secretary Ms. Judi Young 398-6094.

TA

The TA for the course is Seth Davis. Seth’s office is W8/23 in Stewart Biology. His office hours are TBA. Seth will be adding additional office hours before exams and paper due dates. If you can’t make his office hours please email him at and he will attempt to arrange another time.

Required Paper

All students will be required to submit a 5 page research based critique of the sections of the book, When Sex Isn’t Good that are related to “persistent sexual arousal syndrome”. The purpose of this assignment is to induce you to apply a critical attitude to popular information published about sexuality. To successfully write this critique, you will have to review data from journal articles and professional monographs related to the main ideas of the book and then critically evaluate from a scientific empirical perspective whether the book’s recommendations are valid. Another way of conceiving of this assignment is to imagine that you are a clinician and one of your clients brings you this book and asks if its recommendations relevant to persistent sexual arousal syndrome are evidence based.

The critique will be marked in the following way: 10 points will be given for the adequacy of your research; 15 points will be given for the quality of your critique; 5 points will given for style and format (e.g. spelling, grammar, style, logical structure, APA citation format etc.). Please remember that although you will receive a breakdown of your mark for each of the three categories, it is impossible to totally separate these. For example, if your research is inadequate your critique will suffer because of insufficient information.

Below is the grading sheet used for last year’s assignment. Last year’s assignment was based on a different book and was worth 5% more of the course mark but the grading strategy this year will be similar to what was done last year. A new sheet will be developed for this year’s assignment and be attached to your paper when it is returned.

Human Sexuality and its Problems (436), Fall 2008:

“Coping with Premature Ejaculation”

STYLE AND FORMAT/5

  • Appropriate length and /.5

properly formatted

  • Citations used throughout /1 critique are APA style
  • Reference list is APA style/1 Reference list matches citations.5
  • Style - good spelling, grammar, sentence structure, appropriate language, minimal use of quotations /2

QUALITY OF CRITIQUE /20

  • Correctly identified and discussed the book’s main points/4
  • 4 Metz’s views on causes/types and treatingPE discussed in depth in body of paper with adequate mention of diagnosis
  • 3 Metz’s views on causes/types and treatingPE discussed in depth in body of paper
  • 2 1 of the above main points discussed in depth with the other mentioned adequately
  • 1 Only 1 of the above main points discussed in detail
  • 0 Discussion of peripheral points or issues irrelevant to an empirical critique
  • Demonstrated accurate understanding of the book/2
  • 2 Consistent accurate understanding throughout critique
  • 1 Minor misunderstanding or misinterpretation of book
  • 0 Significant or several misunderstanding(s) or misinterpretation(s) of book
  • Focused on empirical critique of the book’s main points/2
  • 2 Consistent focus on empirical critique throughout body of paper
  • 1 Some focus on theoretical/irrelevant issues, details of book, or own opinions in body of paper
  • 0 Significant focus on theoretical/irrelevant issues, details of book, or own opinions in body of paper
  • Clear statement and organization of ideas/1
  • Provided relevant empirical evidence to support arguments made, /4

well-interpreted with reference to the book’s main points

  • 4 Superior use of relevant research to support all arguments made (multiple empirical studies)
  • 3 On average, good use of relevant research to support arguments made
  • 2 On average, adequate use of relevant research to support arguments made
  • 1 On average, poor use of relevant research to support arguments made
  • 0 On average, irrelevant or no research cited to support arguments made
  • Evaluated evidence for psychosexual treatment of PE /3
  • 3 Found multiple empirical supportive and contradictory articles for psychosexual treatment
  • 2 Found one sided empirical evidence for psychosexual treatment
  • 1 Foundminimal empirical support
  • 0 No empirical support
  • Evaluated evidence for alternative hypotheses to book’s (e.g., biological)/3
  • 3 About both what causes and how to treat PE
  • 2 About how to treatPE and some mention of causes
  • 1 About 1 of the above main points
  • 0 About neither main point
  • Clear, consistent conclusionabout the book’s overall empirical validity/1

RESEARCH/10

  • Found relevant empirical research focused on PE/5
  • 5 Numerous relevant and diverse studies cited for both of the book’s main points (-1 if paper on 1 pt. only)
  • 4 Several relevant studies cited for both main points, or as in 5 but some not linked to PE
  • 3 Couple of relevant studies cited for both main points, or as in 4 but some not linked to PE
  • 2 Poor representation of available research and/or relying on secondary sources or theoretical articles
  • 1 Minimal studies cited or articles of questionable scientific quality or relevance to book
  • Demonstrated understanding of cited research/5
  • 5 Excellent, integrated implication of definition, diagnosis, and treatment into cohesive package
  • 4 Well done, discussed important details and implications of cited research
  • 3 Showed clear understanding and discussed important details of most of the cited research
  • 2 Demonstrated superficial understanding of cited research, some important details omitted/misunderstood
  • 1 Poor or unclear understanding of research, important details consistently omitted/misunderstood

The paper is due on Monday, Nov. 2. Please leave it with my secretary in Stewart Biology W8/28, or appropriately labelled in the box of the Psychology main office W8/1 by 4 PM. You can, of course, submit it early. Do not put your paper under my door or my secretary’s door. The cleaners may dispose of it. Do not email it. You are responsible for making sure the paper gets to me. For every day late, 1 point out of a total of 30 will be subtracted. Events (e.g. illnesses, computer malfunctions, relationship problems etc.) after Oct. 19 are not valid excuses for handing the paper in late since you will have had 2 months to complete it!! Please assume that everything that can go wrong will go wrong in the last minute. If you have a ongoing illness/stress/death or foresee an impending problem, you must inform Dr. Binik or Seth Davis by Oct. 19 with the appropriate medical or other documentation. If there is a death in your family of a close relative before or after Oct. 19 that prevented you from completing the paper, you must provide a copy of the obituary including the date of death and your relationship to the deceased. In such cases, it may be necessary for you to take an incomplete (K) for the course. These situations will be dealt with on a case by case basis.

You are free to discuss the paper with anyone including Dr. Binik or the TA. However, you must write it alone. Papers showing evidence of joint writing will be referred to the Associate Dean of your faculty. Please remember to make appropriate use of quotation marks and citations to credit other people’s ideas. McGill University values academic integrity. Therefore all students must understand the meaning and consequences of cheating, plagiarism and other academic offences under the Code of Student Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures (see < for more information).

It would be nice to offer a choice of books/topics for the critique but it is very hard to do this and standardize the marking. Because everyone is evaluating the same text and literature, it will be possible to give you individual feedback on your work.

Suggestions for writing the critique

Since some students have mentioned that they have had little previous experience with such assignments, I’m listing several suggestions. Please keep in mind that the assignment is for a scientific/empirically based type of critique not for other types (e.g. socio-political etc.) Other types of critique are equally valid and important but are not the assignment for this course. Please note that the TA will be giving several seminars on how to research and write this type of critique (times TBA).

1. Read the book carefully right away. Make sure you understand it’s general approach to treating sexual problems. There are two case histories related to persistent sexual arousal syndrome (Olivia’s Journal and Marie’s Story). There are several other sections also relevant to this problem. Although the book does not specifically recommend how to treat persisten sexual arousal syndrome, the case histories and general approach of the book reflect the authors’ approach

2. Do a comprehensive computer search for empirically based references relevant to persistent sexual arousal syndrome using both Medline and Psychological Abstracts. Persistent sexual arousal syndrome is also referred to sometimes as persistent genital arousal syndrome. Beware of information you find only on the internet.

3. Based on your computer search, read the relevant empirical & theoretical literature. Avoid pop psychology references unless you are confident they are valid. Review articles and chapters from books are very useful but sometimes do not give enough detail to allow you to evaluate specific studies. If you haven't read the original article, don't cite it. Citing articles without giving evidence of having read them will be worth 0 marks. Remember that the fact that an article is published, does not mean that it is of high quality or that its conclusions are valid. There are very many published studies that reach invalid conclusions based on poor experimental design, poor data analysis and poor reasoning. To get an excellent mark,it is important that you be able to differentiate the good from the bad empirical studies and base your conclusions accordingly. Avoid the “box score” method of writing i.e. 6 out of the 8 studies conclude the following therefore... If the two “best studies” do not follow the majority, then your conclusions should follow accordingly. Personal opinions unsubstantiated by data or logical arguments are interesting but worth 0 marks for this assignment.

4. It is impossible for me to say how much research is necessary but your paper is expected to comprehensively cover the research data necessary for your critique. The empirical and other literature on this topic is not great and you should expect to read all of it. If you have questions, the TA or I will be happy to answer them but the only response we can honestly give to answer the question - “How many articles do I need to cite?”- is -“It depends”. Keep in mind that the paper is worth 30% of the course mark. If in doubt, read more rather than less, if you want to get an excellent mark

5. University libraries are running out of funds and it is possible that the McGill libraries including the electronic resources, will not have all the references you need. However, it is quite probable that everything will be available to you at one of the other local university or hospital libraries. They are all within easy reach by public transport or through the internet. You can find out if a journal is available through the reference librarian at McGill. Expect to have to search a bit.

6. Draft an outline of your critique. Re-draft it until it makes sense. Write a full draft. Re-write it until it reads well, makes sense and fits into 5 pages. It usually takes me about 5 drafts of a paper to get it right. If you can prepare a draft at least 2 weeks in advance of the due date, then the TA or I will try give you some feedback.

7. A very very brief summary of the central points of the book about persistent sexual arousal syndrome is all that is necessary. Do not waste your limited space with a lengthy summary of the book. Also, do not try to summarize all the empirical studies you will be using in the text of your critique. You can safely assume that we have read them. Sometimes a table of studies (cf. any issue of Psychological Bulletin) is often a useful way of organizing your research and presenting information. You need not critique all the points in the book but your critique should deal in depth with the central ideas about persistent sexual arousal syndrome.

8. Check grammar, spelling, format, APA citation style etc. If you are a bad speller, use a spell-checker. If your grammar is weak, get help. The style/format of your paper should be set up exactly according to The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (fifth or sixth edition). Please keep in mind that adequate writing ability is necessary for success in this project and for becoming a psychologist.

9. The critique is limited to 5 double-spaced pages with 1 inch margins, headers and footers, and no smaller than 12 point standard fonts. Five pages is a lot of space if you plan carefully. Most good editors are able to reduce word counts by one third without much effort. Avoid excessive use of quotes. The bibliography is not included in the 5 pages. We will only read the first 5 pages and bibliography.

10. Feel free to write in English or French. Choose the language in which you can best express your ideas. You can only receive credit for what you actually write not what you intend to write.

Human Sexuality and Its Problems-Psychology 436

Tentative Lecture Schedule-Fall, 2008

Dr. Binik

DateTopicAssociated Readings (in Course Pack)

Sept. 1, 3Introduction & Basic IssuesReinisch & Sanders; Edwards & Coleman;