Conventionally, the critical period of sexualdevelopment has been considered to be 13 years through 16 years of age. The period has been determined from the standpoint of physical changes. However, sexual development of an human individual has to be considered at two phases-physical and psychological.
Purpose of this study is to establish the critical period-ages of transition to maturity ofpsychosexual development. For this purpose, the following problems may first bediscussed.
1. How is it possible to measure the developmentof psychosexual functions?
2. How is it possible to establish so-called critical period of psychosexual development?
3. Does this peoiod coincide with physical one?
1. In our investigation, several sex stimuli-such as words, sentences, anatomic figure of female sexorgans, and photograph of love scene-were given to the subjects, and their reactions were measured by G. S. R.(galvanic skin response) and breathing variation.
Thirty-two pupils from 6th to 9th grades were chosen as subjects.
Though the subjects were too young for this sort of study, the breathing variation in response to such sex stimuli as words and photograph seemed to provide desirable data for the purpose of this study.
2. According to the results of our experiments, it seems possidle to set thecritical period at the ages 11 through 13.
3. Generally speaking, the remarkable changes of physical functions seem to occur between 13 and 16 years of age. Though some changes in functions occur earlier or later than this period, it is possible to point out that critical period of sex stimuli response as a result of psychosexual development does not coincide with that of physical one, the former coming a little earlier than the latter.
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