Human Sexuality and Its Problems
Psychology 436
Dr. Binik
Fall, 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
(binik@ego.psych.mcgill.ca). 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 seth.davis@mail.mcgill.ca 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
Appropriate length and
properly formatted
Citations used throughout
critique are APA style
o
o
o
o

appropriate language, minimal use of quotations
/2
/20
o
/4
4 Metz’s views on causes/types and treating PE discussed in depth in body of paper with adequate
mention of diagnosis
3 Metz’s views on causes/types and treating PE 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
/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
o
o

/1
Reference list is APA style /1
Reference list matches citations
.5
Style - good spelling, grammar, sentence
structure,
Demonstrated accurate understanding of the book
o
o
o


QUALITY OF CRITIQUE
Correctly identified and discussed the book’s main points
o

/.5
/5
/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,
well-interpreted with reference to the book’s main points
o
o
o
o
o

Superior use of relevant research to support all arguments made (multiple empirical studies)
On average, good use of relevant research to support arguments made
On average, adequate use of relevant research to support arguments made
On average, poor use of relevant research to support arguments made
On average, irrelevant or no research cited to support arguments made
Evaluated evidence for psychosexual treatment of PE
o
o
o
o

4
3
2
1
0
3
2
1
0
/3
Found multiple empirical supportive and contradictory articles for psychosexual treatment
Found one sided empirical evidence for psychosexual treatment
Found minimal empirical support
No empirical support
Evaluated evidence for alternative hypotheses to book’s (e.g., biological)
o
o
o
o
3
2
1
0
Clear, consistent conclusion about the book’s overall empirical validity

RESEARCH
Found relevant empirical research focused on PE
o
o
o

5
4
3
2
1
o
5
4
3
2
1
/1
/10
/5
Numerous relevant and diverse studies cited for both of the book’s main points (-1 if paper on 1 pt. only)
Several relevant studies cited for both main points, or as in 5 but some not linked to PE
Couple of relevant studies cited for both main points, or as in 4 but some not linked to PE
Poor representation of available research and/or relying on secondary sources or theoretical articles
Minimal studies cited or articles of questionable scientific quality or relevance to book
Demonstrated understanding of cited research
o
o
o
o
/3
About both what causes and how to treat PE
About how to treat PE and some mention of causes
About 1 of the above main points
About neither main point

o
o
/4
/5
Excellent, integrated implication of definition, diagnosis, and treatment into cohesive package
Well done, discussed important details and implications of cited research
Showed clear understanding and discussed important details of most of the cited research
Demonstrated superficial understanding of cited research, some important details omitted/misunderstood
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
<http://www.mcgill.ca/integrity>http://www.mcgill.ca/integrity 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
Date
Topic
Associated Readings (in Course Pack)
Sept. 1, 3
Introduction & Basic Issues
Reinisch & Sanders; Edwards & Coleman;
Allgeier & Allgeier (Sexual Anatomy & Physiology-not required if
you already know this info. You will not be directly tested on this)
Sept. 8, 10
History of the Study of Sexuality
Bullough; Ellis; Freud; Von Krafft-Ebing; Kinsey;
Masters & Johnson; Buss
Sept. 15, 17
Sexual Surveys
Reiss; Lewonton; Laumann et al. Lindau et al.
Sept. 22, 24, 29 Desire
Levine; Davis et al. Basson
Oct. 1, 6
Arousal
Rowland; Graham et al.; Goldstein et al.; Tiefer
Oct. 8
Midterm
Oct. 13,15,
Orgasm
Levin; Reading & Will; Althof
Oct. 20
“Sexual” Pain
Binik et al.
Oct. 22
Sexpert
Oct. 27, 29
Paraphilia/transvestism
Lawrence;
Nov. 3, 5,
Gender identity
Bartlett & Vasey; Lawrence
Nov. 10, 12
Intersex
Colapinto
Nov. 17, 19
Sexual Orientation
Savin-Williams; Rahman; Spitzer;
Nov. 24
Guest Lecture
Sue & Dr. Irwin Goldstein (authors of book to be critiqued)
Nov. 26
Guest Lecture
Dr. Olivia Jensen (gender identity)
Dec. 1
Conclusion
Shibley-Hyde, Binik