Introduction - What is sexual behavior?

Current Meanings of the Term 3: Reproductive Behavior

Humans

The behavioral pattern becomes even more flexible and complex in the highest mammal - man. Human beings are born with the capacity for certain basic sexual responses, but are not in any specific way programmed for mating. Thus, they depend almost entirely on observation and experience. Their sexual behavior is exceedingly variable, and fertilization may no longer be its primary function. Instead, individual satisfaction and various social goals may turn out to be much more important. In short, when we talk about humans we cannot simply equate sex with reproduction. Human sexual behavior is more than reproductive behavior, and it therefore requires another, much broader definition than the one provided above.