Critical Thinking and Sex
Critical Thinking and Sexual Decision Making
Axia
PSY/265
Critical Thinking and Sexual Decision Making
How do you use the principles of critical thinking in making sexual decisions? Give an example from your own life in which you would use critical thinking to make a decision about sex.
Many of us older adults can remember back to when we were teenagers and dating who we felt was our first love. I can remember very vividly my boyfriend wanting to have sex, and him telling me, “Oh, you won’t get pregnant the first time.” I am sure this has been said many times over the years when one partner wanted to have sex with the other, and many times, the statement has been proven wrong. This is a time in which critical thinking should have occurred. Critical thinking is looking at things at face value and not forming an opinion either way until you have properly investigated whatever it is before you automatically believe it or not. Forming opinions without the proper knowledge could prove to be a huge mistake. When we practice critical thinking, we are keeping an open mind until we find out the fact for ourselves. When it comes to sexual decisions, an individual must think about all the consequences. If they do to wish to get pregnant, they need to think about some form of birth control. If they do not wish to catch a sexually transmitted disease, they must think about using protection. As with anything that we do in life, we should think long and hard about having sex when we are not married. As fun as it is and as pleasurable as it may be, unwanted things can happen. In today’s times, teens seem to be less active when it comes to sex than they were back in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. According to Rathus (2005), there are eight principles of critical thinking: 1) “Be Skeptical. 2) Examine definitions of terms. 3) Examine the assumptions or premises of arguments. 4) Be Cautious in drawing conclusions from evidence. 5) Consider alternative
Axia
PSY/265
Critical Thinking and Sexual Decision Making
How do you use the principles of critical thinking in making sexual decisions? Give an example from your own life in which you would use critical thinking to make a decision about sex.
Many of us older adults can remember back to when we were teenagers and dating who we felt was our first love. I can remember very vividly my boyfriend wanting to have sex, and him telling me, “Oh, you won’t get pregnant the first time.” I am sure this has been said many times over the years when one partner wanted to have sex with the other, and many times, the statement has been proven wrong. This is a time in which critical thinking should have occurred. Critical thinking is looking at things at face value and not forming an opinion either way until you have properly investigated whatever it is before you automatically believe it or not. Forming opinions without the proper knowledge could prove to be a huge mistake. When we practice critical thinking, we are keeping an open mind until we find out the fact for ourselves. When it comes to sexual decisions, an individual must think about all the consequences. If they do to wish to get pregnant, they need to think about some form of birth control. If they do not wish to catch a sexually transmitted disease, they must think about using protection. As with anything that we do in life, we should think long and hard about having sex when we are not married. As fun as it is and as pleasurable as it may be, unwanted things can happen. In today’s times, teens seem to be less active when it comes to sex than they were back in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. According to Rathus (2005), there are eight principles of critical thinking: 1) “Be Skeptical. 2) Examine definitions of terms. 3) Examine the assumptions or premises of arguments. 4) Be Cautious in drawing conclusions from evidence. 5) Consider alternative
References: Rathus, S.A., Nevid, J.S., and Fichner-Rathus, L. (2005). Human sexuality in a world of diversity. (6th ed.) Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.