Homosexuality Genetic Or A Choice - 1724 Words

Jessica Lamb Professor Daniel Levine PSYC 3320 May 9 2015 Homosexuality: Genetic or a Choice? It’s the year 2015 and the talk of homosexuality is still a controversial topic. Some people believe that being homosexual, or â€Å"gay†, is a choice and by being with someone of the same-sex you are committing a sin or doing something that is not viewed as â€Å"normal†. Although, now on television we are starting to see more and more homosexual couples and homosexual people on TV programs. Are people finally getting with the program and accepting that homosexuals deserve the same rights as heterosexuals? â€Å"How do adolescents become homosexual, bisexual, or heterosexual? One of the perspectives is that this is not a choice we make, but rather something†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"That means that environment contributes at least as much as genes to the development of sexual orientation† (Shaffer, 277). Other studies that focused on the genetics of sexual orientation included an early study that was done by advertising in gay or lesbian public ations for homosexual people with twins (Kalat, 347). Where they then contacted the other twin to fill out a questionnaire that included diverse items that concealed the fact that the real interest was sexual orientation (Kalat, 347). The results of this study showed a stronger concordance for monozygotic twins than dizygotic twins (Kalat, 347). That concluded, â€Å"if one twin is homosexual, the probability for the other twin to also be homosexual is fairly high for a monozygotic twin, and less high for the dizygotic twin† (Kalat, 347). A later study examined the data from all the twins in Sweden between the ages 20 and 47; this study not only differed in the breadth of the sample but also differed in the behavioral criterion (Kalat, 347). The researchers of this study asked whether someone had ever had a same-sex partner instead of asking about their sexual orientation (Kalat, 347). The figure 11.13 above compares the data they conducted from the two studies (Kalat, 337-348). These results indicate concordance, not the total number of people with a homosexual orientation or about homosexual activity (Kalat, 347). Also, â€Å"several studies reported a higher