Homosexuality

Type of psychology: Motivation
Fields of study: Attitudes and behavior; interpersonal relations; physical
motives
Sexuality is one of the most complex and individual attributes of the human psyche.
There are four types of theories with regard to the development of sexual orientation,
but none seems sufficient to explain the huge diversity to be found in sexual expression
across ages and cultures.

Key concepts

• androgyny
• gay
• homophobia
• homosexual
• lesbian
• pedophile
• transsexual
• transvestite

Theories on the origin and development of homosexual orientation can be
categorized into four groups: psychoanalytic, biological, social learning, and
sociobiological theories. Psychoanalytic theories are based on the Freudian
model of psychosexual stages of development, developed by Austrian psychiatrist
Sigmund Freud. According to this model, every child goes through
several stages, including the “phallic stage,” during which he or she learns to
identify with his or her same-sex parent. For boys, this is supposed to be particularly
difficult, as it requires redefining the strong bond that they have
had with their mother since birth. According to Freudian theorists, homosexuality
is an outcome of the failure to resolve this developmental crisis: If a
boy’s father is absent or “weak” and his mother is domineering or overprotective,
the boy may never come to identify with his father; for a girl, having a
“cold” or rejecting mother could prevent her from identifying with the female
role.