ABSTRACT
The development of human sexual behaviour is a subject that is hedged about with much superstition and crowded with prejudice. Hence it is not surprising to find that opinions differ concerning the parts played by heredity and environment in the development of human sexual responses. The problem is not one that lends itself readily to a scientific approach. Many projects for observing children in an environment unaffected by the behaviour of adults have been mooted, but abandoned because of the obvious difficulties. The results of the compromises that have been tried are disappointing, and they indicate clearly that direct observation of the growth of human sexual responses is impossible at the present time. Introspective analysis is also a somewhat disappointing approach to these problems, since the resulting testimony usually suffers from an added defect in this field, because it is affected by sexual restraints and inhibitions. The more the practical difficulties are considered, the more obvious does it become that at present there is no way of discovering exactly how much of an observed human sexual response is spontaneous and innate, and how much has been conditioned by a familial and social environment.
