The Psychology of Human Sexuality Is Now In Print!

I have been teaching college level human sexuality courses for nearly a decade. However, during all of that time, I could never find the right textbook. Certainly, there are a lot of fantastic sex books out there written by superstars in the field, but they just don’t offer the perspective that I take in my class. Most of them are very clinical and/or biological in nature, which just isn’t the best match for the way I approach this subject. As someone who teaches in a psychology department, I want a book that really demonstrates the psychological importance of sex and that delves into psychological theory. My students want this too. In fact, for the first several years I taught this class, my end-of-semester evaluations had a lot of comments along the lines of “great class, but where’s the psychology?” Given that I couldn’t find a book that met my needs and the needs of my students, I decided to write my own.

I began working on this book three years ago, and I pleased to say that it is now officially in print! The end result is a 424-page text entitled The Psychology of Human Sexuality. In a nutshell, this book provides a comprehensive overview of human sexual behavior from a biopsychosocial perspective. What this means is that while I put psychology front and center throughout, I also acknowledge and consider biological, evolutionary, and socio-cultural factors that influence our sexuality.

The Psychology of Human Sexuality addresses a wide range of topics, including gender and sexual orientation, variations in sexual behavior, sex difficulties and sex therapy, prostitution and pornography, and much more. It is also completely up-to-date with all DSM-V changes relevant to gender and sexuality issues, and it provides results from the latest sex research and national surveys. In addition, this book offers more in-depth coverage of relationships than comparable sexuality texts, with separate chapters dealing with the topics of attraction and relationship processes. I find that many students aren’t fortunate enough to also have the opportunity to take a course on close relationships, so I like to give this topic expanded coverage.

I wrote this book in the style of my blog, meaning that it is designed to be highly accessible to students. My goal was to create a book that students would learn a lot from, but that they would actually want to read. I was also very careful in my writing so as to use language that would be respectful and inclusive of a diverse audience.

The Psychology of Human Sexuality was designed for undergraduate courses on human sexuality taught by instructors who desire a textbook that is thoroughly grounded in psychological research and theory. However, this text will also serve as a useful reference resource for scholars or for anyone else who just wants to know more about the psychology of sex.

To learn more about the book or to get your own copy, check out The Psychology of Human Sexuality on Amazon.com. You may also wish to check out the publisher’s website for other format options, including Apple iBook.

Here’s what people are saying about the The Psychology of Human Sexuality:

Lehmiller has written an impressive, up-to-date coverage of human sexuality. Well-researched and beautifully written, it surveys the vast and tangled realm of human sexual behavior with gentle respect and insight. Everyone will learn something new from this book and come away impressed with a new appreciation of this vital domain of human social life.
—Roy Baumeister, Francis Eppes Professor of Psychology at Florida State University and author of The Cultural Animal: Human Nature, Meaning, and Social Life

Going both wide and deep, Lehmiller has produced a singular feat of scholarship that will not only get students and teachers talking about sex, but will inspire conversations about human sexuality that are informed, accurate, lively and respectful”
—Ian Kerner, sexuality counselor and NY Times best-selling author of She Comes First

The Psychology of Human Sexuality is a comprehensive, progressive, and in-depth research-based examination of human sexuality, covering both depth and breadth of contemporary issues in human sexuality. It would be an ideal text for a course for psychology students looking to gain a broad understanding of the field of human sexuality.
—Professor Kristen P. Mark, Director of Sexual Health Promotion Lab, University of Kentucky, USA

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