Gender differences in attitudes toward gay men and lesbians: the role of motivation to respond without prejudice

Research has uncovered consistent gender differences in attitudes toward gay men, with women expressing less prejudice than men (Herek, 2003). Attitudes toward lesbians generally show a similar pattern, but to a weaker extent. The present work demonstrated that motivation to respond without prejudice importantly contributes to these divergent attitudes. Study 1 revealed that women evince higher internal motivation to respond without prejudice (IMS, Plant & Devine, 1998) than do men and that this difference partially mediates the relationship between gender and attitudes toward gay men. The second study replicated this finding and demonstrated that IMS mediates the relationship between gender and attitudes toward lesbians. Study 2 further revealed that gender-role variables contribute to the observed gender differences in motivation to respond without prejudice. These findings provide new insights into the nature of sexual prejudice and for the first time point to possible antecedents of variation in motivation to respond without prejudice.     

Classical and modern racial prejudice: a study of attitudes toward immigrants in Sweden

In two studies we develop and validate a Classical — overt or direct — and a Modern — covert or subtle — Racial Prejudice Scale, concerning attitudes toward immigrants, for a Swedish (Scandinavian) context. Further, we examine whether these two forms of prejudice are distinguishable. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that, although highly correlated, classical and modern racial prejudice are distinguishable. This conclusion was also supported by various construct validations. The findings are discussed in relation to other studies that compare the content and structure of modern and classical racism. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Gender role conflict scale: validation for a sample of gay men and lesbian women

This study tested the oblique four-factor model of the Gender Role Conflict Scale for a sample of gay men and lesbian women residing in the United States. 400 gay men and 292 lesbian women recruited from university and college gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender LISTSERVs participated. The internal consistency reliability of the Gender Role Conflict Scale scores was high, but low means on the expressive dimension of gender role conflict were noted. The results of two separate sets of confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the four-factor model's fit to the data could be enhanced for both groups by applying item parceling to lower the number of indicators per factor, suggesting that the actual structural validity of the Gender Role Conflict Scale may be better than suggested by the reported fit indices.     

Gender-related traits in gay men, lesbian women, and heterosexual men and women: the virtual identify of homosexual-heterosexual diagnosticity and gender diagnosticity

Three studies investigated the relationship between gender-related traits and sexual orientation. Study 1 showed that gay men and lesbians in an unselected sample of 721 college students differed from same-sex heterosexuals most strongly on gender diagnosticity (GD) measures, which assess male- versus female-typicality of interests (effect sizes of 2.70 for men and .96 for women) and least strongly on measures of instrumentality (I) and expressiveness (E). In Study 2, GD measures showed large differences between 95 gay and 136 heterosexual men (effect sizes of 1.61 and 1.83) and between 46 lesbian and 225 heterosexual women (effect sizes of .98 and 1.28), whereas I and E showed much smaller differences. In Study 3, GD showed large differences between 90 gay and 81 heterosexual men (effect sizes of 1.76 and 1.97) and between 82 lesbians and 108 heterosexual women (effect sizes 1.67 and 1.70). whereas I and E showed much smaller differences. Using data from Studies 2 and 3, "gay-heterosexual diagnosticity" measures were computed for men and "lesbian-heterosexual diagnosticity" measures for women, based on occupational and hobby preferences. These measures correlated very strongly with GD measures.     

Application of Herek's attitudes toward lesbians and gay men scale in The Netherlands

A national sample of 921 respondents from the Dutch population completed the translated, slightly modified version of Herek's Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay Men Scale, originally developed in the USA for the assessment of attitudes toward lesbians and gay men. The present study was the first attempt to test the applicability of the scale in the Netherlands. In line with previous American findings, all scale items loaded highly on one factor. The scores also correlated with another measure of attitudes toward lesbians and gay men, namely, 'denial of equal rights' (r = .76), and with 'traditional view of women' (r = .48), 'importance of traditional marriage' (r = .53), and 'authoritarianism' (r = .31). Data support the scale's acceptable reliability and construct and discriminant validity.     

Implicit Association Test: separating transsituationally stable and variable components of attitudes toward gay men

Implicit attitudes are conceived of as formed in childhood, suggesting extreme stability. At the same time, it has been shown that implicit attitudes are influenced by situational factors, suggesting variability by the moment. In the present article, using structural equation modeling, we decomposed implicit attitudes towards gay men into a person factor and a situational factor. The Implicit Association Test (Greenwald, McGhee, & Schwartz, 1998), introduced as an instrument with which individual differences in implicit attitudes can be measured, was used. Measurement was repeated after one week (Experiment 1) or immediately (Experiment 2). Explicit attitudes towards gay men as assessed by way of questionnaires were positive and stable across situations. Implicit attitudes were relatively negative instead. Internal consistency of the implicit attitude assessment was exemplary. However, the within-situation consistency was accompanied by considerable unexplained between-situation variability. Consequently, it may not be adequate to interpret an individual implicit attitude measured at a given point in time as a person-related, trait-like factor.     

Contact with out-group friends as a predictor of meta-attitudinal strength and accessibility of attitudes toward gay men

Two studies examined the effects of cross-group friendships on heterosexuals' attitudes toward gay men. In Study 1, the authors tested the effects of cross-group friendships with gay men on out-group attitudes, meta-attitudinal strength, and attitude accessibility. The authors simultaneously explored mediational effects of intergroup anxiety. Path analysis showed that cross-group friendships were associated with meta-attitudinally stronger and more accessible out-group attitudes, and the effects on all 3 criterion variables were mediated by intergroup anxiety. In Study 2, the authors sought to replicate the basic results of Study 1, while additionally exploring mediational effects of closeness of cross-group friendship and moderational effects of perceived group typicality. Structural equation modeling showed that cross-group friendships were associated with meta-attitudinally stronger and more accessible out-group attitudes; friendships had indirect effects on all 3 criterion variables, via closeness of friendship and intergroup anxiety. Closeness of friendship only predicted lower intergroup anxiety, however, when the out-group friend was perceived as highly typical. The authors emphasize the importance of considering the nature of out-group attitudes more completely when evaluating the effectiveness of intergroup contact in reducing prejudice.     

Measurement of attitudes toward obese people among a Canadian sample of men and women

A new scale for examining attitudes toward obese people had 44 items selected from previously published scales designed to indicate attitudes toward obese people. Reliability analysis yielded a Cronbach coefficient alpha of .92 for the total sample. A factor analysis yielded four factors. Employing the Body Mass Index as an indicator of obesity, the attitudes of 239 men and women were examined. Women were significantly more positive than men in their attitude toward obese people. When examining Body Mass Index as a factor, comparisons of obese and nonobese women indicated obese women were more positive on the Diet and Exercise factor of the scale. Suggestions for improvement and research are offered.     

Self-esteem as a predictor of attitudes toward wife abuse among Muslim women and men in Canada

This study was designed (a) to assess attitudes toward wife abuse in a sample of Muslim women and men in Canada and (b) to assess whether those attitudes were influenced by self-esteem. Results suggested that, as in general North American samples, the Muslim women and men did not differ from each other on levels of self-esteem. Also consistent with general North American samples, the Muslim women's and men's attitudes toward wife abuse were related to their self-esteem, with higher self-esteem scores predicting stronger attitudes against wife abuse, independent of gender. However, the results also revealed that the Muslim men had significantly more lenient attitudes toward wife abuse compared with the Muslim women and with North American norms.     

How to address the caveat of avoiding direct contact: Reducing prejudice towards gay and lesbian people in five Balkan countries

ABSTRACT

In the Balkans, contact with gays and lesbians is typically hostile or avoided. Drawing from probability samples of young people from five Balkan countries (N = 1046), we examined whether it is possible to transfer the effects of contact with other marginalized outgroups (largest ethnic minority in every country, Roma, the extremely poor and physically disabled) to acceptance of gays and lesbians (secondary outgroup), and whether this relationship could be explained by attitude generalization and increased intergroup trust. Path analyses supported the secondary transfer effect: it confirmed that, while controlling for direct contact, contact with other marginalized groups was related to more acceptance of a secondary group; this relationship was mediated by trust. This was found across all primary groups in the combined samples, while the effect varied for different groups in country samples. The results add to the value of intergroup contact as a mean of prejudice-reduction.     

Implicit and explicit prejudice toward overweight and average-weight men and women: testing their correspondence and relation to behavioral intentions

The authors examined prejudice toward overweight men and women. Participants (N = 76) indicated their perceptions, attitudes, behavioral intentions, and implicit associations toward an average-weight or overweight man or woman. Results indicated the presence of explicit and implicit antifat prejudice, with male participants showing greater negativity toward overweight targets. Analyses of covariance indicated that overweight targets received greater derogation than did their average-weight counterparts, regardless, for the most part, of the target's gender. With one exception, no significant relations emerged between explicit and implicit measures of weight bias. The authors discuss limitations of the study and implications for future research.     

The relationship between social dominance orientation,gender role orientation and attitudes toward gay men and lesbians in a Turkish sample

Current Psychology - Sexual prejudice refers to negative attitudes towards individuals based on their sexual orientation. Scholars have shown an interest in identifying the factors that may...     

Applying a social identity paradigm to examine the relationship between men's self-esteem and their attitudes toward men and women

The authors used a psychometrically robust measure of attitudes toward men in applying a social identity framework to obtain a better understanding of the previous finding of a significant positive relationship, among men, between self-esteem and attitudes toward men. Two studies of that issue are reported. Northern Irish university students (N = 106 men) participated in the 1st study, and 56 English university students participated in a replication. In both studies, participants completed measures of attitudes toward men and women before and after an experimental intervention that was designed to produce a threat to self-esteem regarding their identity as men. The findings suggested that, following such a threat, men with a high positive regard toward men will have enhanced self-regard toward men and will tend to view women more negatively. The present findings also suggested that the application of social identity theory and the method used in the present research in investigating that theory are very relevant to the understanding of the relationship between men's self-esteem and their attitudes toward men and women.     

Stigma, social context, and mental health: lesbian and gay couples across the transition to adoptive parenthood

This is the first study to examine change in depression and anxiety across the first year of adoptive parenthood in same-sex couples (90 couples: 52 lesbian, 38 gay male). Given that sexual minorities uniquely contend with sexual orientation-related stigma, this study examined how both internalized and enacted forms of stigma affect the mental health of lesbians and gay men during the transition to parenthood. In addition, the role of contextual support was examined. Higher perceived workplace support, family support, and relationship quality were related to lower depressive and anxious symptoms at the time of the adoption, and higher perceived friend support was related to lower anxiety symptoms. Lower internalized homophobia and higher perceived neighborhood gay-friendliness were related to lower depressive symptoms. Finally, individuals with high internalized homophobia who lived in states with unfavorable legal climates regarding gay adoption experienced the steepest increases in depressive and anxious symptoms. Findings have important implications for counselors working with sexual minorities, especially those experiencing the transition to parenthood.     

Cognitive styles in the context of modern psychology: toward an integrated framework of cognitive style

The goals of this article are to elucidate trends and perspectives in the field of cognitive style research and to propose an integrated framework to guide future research. This is accomplished by means of a comprehensive literature review of the major advances and the theoretical and experimental problems that have accumulated over the years and by a discussion of the promising theoretical models that can be further developed, in part, with modern neuroscience techniques and with research from different psychological fields. On the basis of the research reviewed in this article, the author suggests that cognitive styles represent heuristics that individuals use to process information about their environment. These heuristics can be identified at multiple levels of information processing, from perceptual to metacognitive, and they can be grouped according to the type of regulatory function they exert on processes ranging from automatic data encoding to conscious executive allocation of cognitive resources.     

The attitudes toward rape victims scale: Reliability and validity in a chinese context

Two studies were conducted to assess the cross-cultural applicability of Ward's Attitudes toward Rape Victims Scale (ARVS). In the first study, 202 Chinese college students took the ARVS, the Attitudes toward Women Scale, and the Traditionality-Modernity Factor Scale. Reliability and convergent validity were established for ARVS. In the second study, construct validity of the ARVS was further examined, using the known-group method. The scores of four professional groups were compared. Consistent with previous studies, women showed significantly more favorable attitudes toward the rape victims than men. The findings generally suggest that the ARVS is promising in further cross-cultural research and application.     

Hispanic and majority student attitudes toward forcible date rape as a function of differences in attitudes toward women

Less rejecting attitudes toward forcible date rape are related to more traditional attitudes toward women, as measured by the Attitudes Toward Women Scale (G. J. Fischer, “College Student Attitudes Toward Forcible Date Rape. I. Cognitive Predictors,” Archives of Sexual Behavior, 1986, 15, 457–466). Does this relation reflect more traditional or more negative attitudes toward women? If the former, then an ethnic minority having still more traditional attitudes toward women (than the nonethnic majority), also should be less rejecting of forcible date rape. This hypothesis was assessed by surveying attitudes of bicultural and bilingual Hispanic, other self-reported Hispanics, and nonethnic majority college students from a large introductory sociology class in a large Southwestern university. Results showed that Hispanics, overall, (1) had more traditional attitudes toward women than nonethnic majority and (2) as hypothesized, had less rejecting attitudes toward forcible date rape. However, these effects were not a simple function of ethnicity, at least not for males. For example, bicultural and bilingual Hispanic males were least likely to blame the male for the forcible date rape, but were no less rejecting of such behavior than other Hispanic males and had no more traditional attitudes toward women than other Hispanic or majority males. Bicultural and bilingual Hispanic females, on the other hand, were most likely to blame the male, had the least rejecting attitudes toward date rape, and had the most traditional attitudes toward women. one interpretation is that exposure to less restrictive sex roles of the majority culture is a liberating influence on Hispanic females, but not on Hispanic males who, perhaps, see more liberal attitudes toward women as having no or even negative payoff. Differences found between Hispanics who are bicultural and bilingual and other self-reported Hispanics suggest that these groups should not be combined, and that a research sample needs to be defined more specifically than “Hispanic.”     

Machismo and Mexican American men: an empirical understanding using a gay sample

Machismo continues to be a defining aspect of Mexican American men that informs a wide array of psychological and behavioral dimensions. Although strides have been made in this area of research, understanding of the role of this construct in the lives of gay men remains incomplete. Our purpose in this study was to gain a deeper understanding of machismo using a sample of Mexican American gay men. This study examined for the first time whether a 2-factor model of machismo previously validated with heterosexual, Mexican American men generalized to a sample of 152 gay men of similar ethnic background. Relations between machismo, sexual risk, and internalized homophobia were also explored. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the 2-factor model with the current sample. Results also indicated machismo as predicting internalized homophobia and as an index of risky sex. Limitations are presented and implications are discussed.     

The sex-role egalitarianism scale: A measure of attitudes toward equality between the sexes

Two parallel forms of the Sex-Role Egalitarianism Scale (SRES) were developed. Each form includes 19 items representing each of five domains of adult living: marital roles, parental roles, employee roles, social-interpersonal-heterosexual roles, and educational roles. To determine the psychometric characteristics of the scales, 367 persons were tested, including police, senior citizens, business undergraduates, and psychology undergraduates. Reliability estimates for domain and total scores ranged from .81 to .97. Correlations between social desirability and SRES scores ranged from –.03 to +.18. Preliminary evidence of validity was derived from the confirmation of two a priori hypotheses: (a) Women scored more egalitarian than men, and psychology students scored more egalitarian than business students; (b) Both student groups scored more egalitarian than senior citizens and police.This research was supported by a Faculty Research and Creative Endeavors Grant from Central Michigan University. A portion of this paper was presented at the meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Detroit, April 1981. The authors wish to thank Ann Carey, Tom Blair, and Larry Dennis for their computer assistance.Copies of the Sex-Role Egalitarianism Scale may be obtained from Carole A. Beere, Department of Psychology, Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant, Michigan 48859.