Including 'learned sexuality' in the organization of sexual behavior

Abstract

Learning plays numerous important roles in sexual development. Yet, the possible impacts on sexuality, of learning from experience, are rarely included in discussions of the organization of behavioral sex differences and the differentiation of psychosexual function. This article reviews the empirical evidence for 'learned sexuality' with a goal of reintroducing the topic of nurture into discussions of the ontogenetic processes that lead to sexual reproduction in nature. Evolutionarily relevant examples of sexual learning are broadly represented in the animal kingdom, and can occur relatively early in development, leading to lasting changes in behaviors that might otherwise appear to be instinctive, or in other cases, maladaptive. The lasting effects of social and sexual experiences across the lifespan provide an essential link between steroid-mediated events occurring during development, behavioral plasticity, and changes in motivational states in adulthood.