The Sex Factor

As celebrity candour around mental illness fights stigma and promotes better understanding, Martin Sixsmith looks at the public perception of psychology with the help of comedian Ruby Wax.

He examines what it is that interests us about human thinking, including the pioneering research into sexual relationships by Kinsey, Masters and Johnson in 1950s and 1960s, as well as the social impact of a rising interest in gender differences.

He uncovers how the work of women psychologists went largely unrecognised in the early history of the science and compares it with the feminisation of psychology these days.

Produced by Sara Parker
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4.