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See Also

See Also:

Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender mental health;

Homosexuality;

Sadism and masochism;

Sexual behavior patterns;

Sexual dysfunction;

Sexual variants and paraphilias;

Survey research: Questionnaires and interviews.

Psychology & Behavioral Health

Kinsey, Alfred

by Charles H. Evans

Born: June 23, 1894, in Hoboken, New Jersey

Died: August 25, 1956, in Bloomington, Indiana

Identity: American sexologist and zoologist

Type of psychology: Psychological methodologies

Kinsey's survey research in human sexuality revealed the diversity of sexual behavior and helped launch a sexual revolution.

Alfred Kinsey grew up in an extremely restrictive Methodist family. His father forbade dating, and Kinsey's keen interest in sexuality may have stemmed from the frustration that this produced. After earning his bachelor's degree at Bowdoin College, Kinsey did graduate work in entomology at Harvard. After earning his doctorate, Kinsey was employed at Indiana University as a professor in zoology. In 1938, a group of female students, perhaps at Kinsey's request, petitioned the university to offer a course on marriage and the family. The university president chose Kinsey to teach the course. He later claimed that his study of human sexuality was fueled by the paucity of data that he encountered while teaching the course.

Kinsey began to gather sexual histories from students and, with funding from external sources, established the Institute for Sexual Research in 1942. He and his colleagues then began extensive surveying, questioning several thousand persons over the next few years. The surveys were conducted orally, with the interviewers asking direct, memorized questions in a rapid fashion. Kinsey developed techniques designed to improve honesty and establish rapport with participants; he often altered his speech habits, dress, and behavior to match those of his interviewees.

The surveys became the basis of Kinsey's most famous work, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (1948), which sold nearly 500,000 copies and offended the staid sexual attitudes of the time. The book and its companion, Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (1953), presented data and discussion of previously taboo topics such as masturbation, homosexual behavior, and oral sex. Kinsey's research indicated that such behaviors were far more common than expected. For example, he reported that more than 90 percent of males and 58 percent of adult females had engaged in masturbation. About half of surveyed females admitted to premarital sex. Critics validly objected that his sample, while large, was biased, with college-educated whites being overrepresented. Kinsey also endured many personal attacks and threats from conservative groups. The Rockefeller Foundation terminated its funding of his institute in 1954. Kinsey's death may have been hastened by the relentless attacks.

Kinsey is still a controversial figure. There is considerable evidence that Kinsey did engage in several homosexual affairs and that he encouraged his wife to have sexual encounters with other men. To some, these revelations arouse suspicion concerning his data and threaten the integrity of his work. However, many other sexologists have reported findings that generally support Kinsey's work.

Bibliography

1 

Christenson, Cornelia V. Kinsey: A Biography. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1971. Written by a colleague of Kinsey, this book includes many personal insights.

2 

Gathorne-Hardy, Jonathan. Sex the Measure of All Things: A Life of Alfred C. Kinsey. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2004. An exhaustively researched effort that argues that Kinsey was a diligent and reputable researcher despite his atypical sexual life

3 

Jones, James H. Alfred C. Kinsey: A Public/Private Life. New York: W. W. Norton, 2004. Often questions Kinsey's scientific integrity and the validity of his work.

Citation Types

Type
Format
MLA 9th
Evans, Charles H. "Kinsey, Alfred." Psychology & Behavioral Health, edited by Paul Moglia, Salem Press, 2015. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=PBH_0355.
APA 7th
Evans, C. H. (2015). Kinsey, Alfred. In P. Moglia (Ed.), Psychology & Behavioral Health. Salem Press. online.salempress.com.
CMOS 17th
Evans, Charles H. "Kinsey, Alfred." Edited by Paul Moglia. Psychology & Behavioral Health. Hackensack: Salem Press, 2015. Accessed September 17, 2025. online.salempress.com.