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Human Sexuality, 5th edition

Published by Pearson (February 27, 2024) © 2025

  • Roger R. Hock Mendocino College

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For courses in Human Sexuality.

An accessible survey that helps students develop a sexual philosophy based on choice, awareness and responsibility

Human Sexuality presents a relatable overview that inspires students to think critically about the sexual world and their place in it. By encouraging each student to develop a personal sexual philosophy, author Roger Hock draws connections between key concepts and readers’ real-life decisions and behaviors, boosting engagement with the course.

The 5th Edition has been updated to reflect the latest in this dynamic field. Highlights include analysis of relevant legislative events and discussions about advances in all areas of human sexuality.

Hallmark features of this title

  • Chapter-opening Since You Asked questions, sourced from students in Roger Hock’s classrooms over the years, introduce the topics to come.
  • Your Sexual Philosophy features prompt students to consider how the material in each chapter relates to their own lives.
  • In Touch with Your Sexual Health features call attention to health issues that are relevant to the topic being discussed.
  • Sexuality and Culture features highlight varied cultural practices and customs, emphasizing the rich diversity of sexuality.
  • Evaluating Sexual Research features shed light on how to critically analyze topics we see in the headlines.
  • Chapter-ending Have You Considered? questions encourage students to think critically about how to apply what they’ve learned to their own lives.

New and updated features of this title

  • UPDATED: Author Roger Hock has updated the 5th Edition with analysis of many relevant topical events that have occurred since the publication of the previous edition. Highlights include:
    • Coverage of the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, doing away with a woman’s right to choose an abortion on a federal level and returning that law to each individual state to decide
    • Analysis of the legalization at the federal level (by Supreme Court decision) of same-sex marriage, making it legal in all states and transferrable from state to state
    • Discussion of a new intrauterine contraception device (marketed as “Kyleena”) that is continuously effective for up to 5 years
    • The inclusion of LGBTQ+ topics and discussions of nonbinary gender where necessary and appropriate
  • UPDATED: The author provides the latest information in the field wherever possible. The 5th Edition includes 300 new and updated citations and references; updated statistics for topics such as contraception, pregnancy and birth, sex work, and more; and revised language that reflects diversity, equity and inclusion of virtually everyone using the text.

Features of Revel for the 5th Edition

  • Videos in each chapter reinforce concepts, provide additional information and keep students fully engaged. This edition includes over 40 videos in total.
  • UPDATED: Each chapter includes an up-to-date timeline of notable historical events in human sexuality research and news.
  • Key terms with pop-up inline definitions allow students to see the meaning of a word or phrase while reading the text, providing context.
  1. Studying Human Sexuality
  2. Sexual Anatomy
  3. The Physiology of Sexual Response
  4. Intimate Relationships
  5. Contraception
  6. Sexual Behaviors and Pleasure
  7. Sexual Problems and Solutions
  8. Sexually Transmitted Infections/Diseases
  9. Conception, Pregnancy and Birth
  10. Genders
  11. Sexual Orientation
  12. Sexual Development Throughout Life
  13. Sexual Aggression and Violence
  14. Paraphilic Disorders
  15. The Sexual Marketplace of Sex Work and Pornography

About our authors

Roger R. Hock, PhD, is a professor of psychology and human sexuality at Mendocino College in northern California. He received his MA in Psychology from San Diego State University and his PhD in Psychology from the University of California at San Diego. He is also the author of Forty Studies That Changed Psychology: Explorations into the History of Psychological Research (Pearson, 2012) and co-author (with Meg Kennedy Dugan) of It’s My Life Now: Starting Over After an Abusive Relationship or Domestic Violence (Routledge, 2018) and (with Amy Marin) of Psychology, a digital introductory psychology textbook from Pearson Higher Education.

Dr. Hock has been teaching psychology and human sexuality for over 30 years. Human Sexuality is his favorite class to teach and has always been one of the most popular among students. He believes that Human Sexuality is an essential course for college students because the topics covered are fundamental to our lives and our identities as humans. He asserts that the Human Sexuality course should be a requirement for all undergraduate college and university students. Why? Because the material in this course touches everyone, in countless ways, throughout their lives. But, more importantly, students, upon entering college as adults, often lack a complete and current understanding of at least some, if not many, key issues that combine to create the complexities of humans as sexual beings. Sex education in grades K through 12 tends to be incomplete, inadequate, sometimes misleading, and, too often, non-existent. Moreover, not all parents are willing or able to impart the necessary and correct information to their children. Students in higher education clearly need and deserve the knowledge they acquire in this class.

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