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individual. Sex drive increases at puberty with an increase in male sex hormones, such as testosterone, and estrogen, as well as small amounts of testosterone, in females. Secretion of hormones by the hypothalamus stimulates the pituitary gland to secrete luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) into the bloodstream, which stimulate gonads (testes in males and ovaries in females) to secrete testosterone and estrogen that initiate and maintain arousal. Without these two hormones, sexual desire is greatly reduced in all species, but testosterone levels in humans seem related to sexual motivation in both sexes. Humans seem less instinctively driven to have children than other animals. Many learned cues are involved in this drive. Societies attempt to regulate sexual behavior by imposing sanctions against incest and encouraging or discouraging masturbation, premarital intercourse, marital intercourse, extramarital intercourse, and homosexuality.

In the 1940s, when biology professor Alfred Kinsey coordinated preparation for a marriage course, he found little scientific information available about sex and decided to pursue that research. He began to interview people about their sex histories, trained other interviewers, and founded the Institute for Sex Research, now the Kinsey Institute, at Indiana University. His popular book Sexual Behavior in the Human Male was based on thousands of interviews, although participants were not randomly selected. A similar book about females followed.

Sexual orientation refers to the direction of an individual’s sexual interest. Homosexuality is a tendency to direct sexual desire toward another person of the same sex, and bisexuality is a tendency to direct sexual desire toward people of both sexes. Heterosexuality is a tendency to direct sexual desire toward people of the opposite sex. While most people are heterosexual, about 10% are estimated to be homosexual. Researchers attribute the causes of homosexuality to biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors.

Although the sex drive is not necessary for survival of an individual, it is necessary for survival of the species. According to evolutionary psychologists, mammalian females lack incentive to mate with many males because they optimize reproductive success by being selective in mating, choosing a male who has resources to provide for children. On the other hand, males optimize reproductive success by mating with many females, choosing young, healthy, fertile females.

Masters and Johnson described a pattern of four stages in the biological sexual response cycle of typical men and women, including excitement characterized by sexual arousal; plateau, which involves increased breathing rate, muscle tension, heart rate, and blood pressure; orgasm, which is characterized by ejaculation in males and pleasurable sensations induced by rhythmic muscle contractions in both sexes; and resolution as blood leaves the genitals and sexual arousal lessens, followed in most males by a refractory period during which another erection or orgasm is not achieved. Females show less tendency for a refractory period and are often capable of multiple orgasms.

Social Motivation

Achievement

According to David McClelland, the achievement motive is a desire to meet some internalized standard of excellence. McClelland used responses to the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) to measure achievement motivation. He suggested that people with a high need for achievement choose moderately challenging tasks to satisfy their need. They avoid easy goals that offer no sense of satisfaction and avoid impossible goals that offer no hope of success. People low in need for achievement select very easy or impossible goals so that they do not have to take any responsibility for failure. College students high in this need attribute success to their own ability, and attribute failure to lack of effort. Some people fear success because success can invite envy or criticism that strains social relationships, or even rejection.

Affiliation

The affiliation