Sexual behavior in the human female

Abstract

Reviews the books Sexual behavior in the human female by A. C. Kinsey et al. (see record 1954-05526-000 ); Sex ethics and the Kinsey reports by S. Hiltner (1953); and Twenty-five years of sex research. History of the National Research Council Committee for Research in Problems of Sex, 1922-1947 by Sophie D. Aberle, and G. W. Corner (see record 1954-02151-000 ). Concerning the first book, this review merely points to the facts that have been marshalled in the enormous range of individual differences in reported capacity, or rather claimed performance, and to the extensive detailed information set forth in Part III entitled "Comparisons of Female and Male." The sex difference shown by the fact that in 30 out of 33 items the male, on the average, is more readily affected by psychological stimuli is worthy of special note. This finding provides a wealth of insight for better understanding of the psychology of human males and females. Hiltner's work will aid many clergymen to assimilate the findings with a minimum of trauma. It should enable them to do a better job of understanding and counseling their parishoners, young or old. The significance of Kinsey's work and of Hiltner's interpretation can be fully understood only by studying the magnificent achievements of the NRC Committee for Research in Problems of Sex. Aberle and Corner's report gives due credit to Robert M. Yerkes who was chairman from 1922 to 1947. Yerkes' foresight, initiative, tact, courage, and everlasting persistence were primarily responsible for this development. The Committee courageously supported research on all aspects of sex in all species from paramecium to man. Thus psychology has moved from an intellectualistic preoccupation with man as a rational being to a more realistic understanding of man as a behaving organism in all of his manifold adjustments. In short, sex can no longer be ignored. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)