Woodson James C
Department of Psychology, University of Tampa, Tampa, FL, USA.
Socioaffect Neurosci Psychol. 2012 Mar 15;2:17334. doi: 10.3402/snp.v2i0.17334. eCollection 2012.
By organizing and activating our passions with both hormones and experiences, the heart and mind of sexual behavior, sexual motivation, and sexual preference is the brain, the organ of learning. Despite decades of progress, this incontrovertible truth is somehow lost in the far-too-often biologically deterministic interpretation of genetic, hormonal, and anatomical scientific research into the biological origins of sexual motivation. Simplistic and polarized arguments are used in the media by both sides of the seemingly endless debate over sexual orientation, equality, and human rights with such catch phrases as 'born gay' contrasted against attempts of "reparative therapy" or "pray the gay away". Though long abandoned in practically every other area of psychology, this remnant of the nature-nurture controversy remains despite its generally acknowledged insufficiency in explaining any adult aspect of the human condition within the scientific community.
THIS THEORETICAL REVIEW ARTICLE IDENTIFIES THREE FACTORS: 1) good intentions with regard to the argument from immutability; 2) false dichotomies limiting intellectual progress by oversimplification of theory and thus hypothesis, and most dangerously, interpretation and; 3) Tradition: a historical separation of the disciplines of biology and psychology, which, to this day, interferes with the effective translation of well-conducted science into good public understanding and policy.
Studies clearly demonstrate that progress toward sexual-orientation equality is being made, if slowly, despite the apparent irrelevance of the "born gay" argument from immutability. Evidence is further provided supporting the inadequacy of polarized, dichotic theories of sexual development, particularly those pitting "blank slate learning" against a fated, deterministic biological perspective. Results of this review suggest that an emerging interactionist perspective will promote both better scientific progress and better public understanding, hopefully contributing to progress toward nondiscriminatory public policy.
Accepting that the brain is a highly plastic, modularly dimorphic, developmentally biased organ of learning, one which is organized and activated by both hormones and experiences across the lifespan, is essential for doing "good science" well. Interactionist theories of psychosexual development provide an empirically sound, strong, yet modifiable foundation for testable hypotheses exploring biologically biased sexual learning.
通过激素和经历来组织并激活我们的情感，性行为、性动机和性取向的核心是大脑，即学习的器官。尽管经过数十年的研究进展，但这一无可争议的事实在对性动机生物学起源的基因、激素和解剖学科学研究中，却常常在过于生物决定论的解释中被忽视。在关于性取向、平等和人权的看似无休止的辩论中，媒体双方都使用了简单化和两极分化的论点，比如“天生同性恋”与“修复疗法”或“通过祈祷改变同性恋身份”等说法形成对比。尽管在心理学的几乎所有其他领域早已被摒弃，但这种先天与后天之争的残余仍然存在，尽管科学界普遍认为它不足以解释人类状况的任何成人方面。
这篇理论综述文章确定了三个因素：1）关于不可改变性论点的善意；2）错误的二分法，通过过度简化理论进而简化假设，最危险的是简化解释，从而限制了知识的进步；3）传统：生物学和心理学学科在历史上的分离，直至今日，这仍妨碍了将良好的科学有效地转化为公众的良好理解和政策。
研究清楚地表明，尽管“天生同性恋”的不可改变性论点显然无关紧要，但性取向平等正在取得进展，尽管进展缓慢。进一步的证据支持了性发展的两极分化、二分法理论的不足，特别是那些将“白板学习”与注定的、决定论的生物学观点对立起来的理论。这篇综述的结果表明，一种新兴的相互作用论观点将促进更好的科学进步和公众理解，有望推动非歧视性公共政策取得进展。
认识到大脑是一个高度可塑性、模块化双态、发育有偏向的学习器官，它在整个生命周期中由激素和经历共同组织和激活，这对于做好“优秀的科学研究”至关重要。性心理发展的相互作用论为探索有生物学偏向的性学习的可检验假设提供了一个基于实证、坚实且可修改的基础。
