The moderating effect of prior attitudes on intergroup face-to-face contact

The present study examined cooperative contact as an antecedent to reducing negative attitudes toward gay men and lesbians, as measured by Herek's Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay Men Scale—Short Form (ATLG). In a scripted role‐play, participants were paired with a confederate who declared the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of applied social psychology 2014-08, Vol.44 (8), p.547-556
Main Authors: Graham, Heather E., Frame, Mark C., Kenworthy, Jared B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attitudes
Gays & lesbians
Men
Sexual orientation
Social interaction
Social psychology
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Summary:The present study examined cooperative contact as an antecedent to reducing negative attitudes toward gay men and lesbians, as measured by Herek's Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay Men Scale—Short Form (ATLG). In a scripted role‐play, participants were paired with a confederate who declared their character's sexual orientation as either heterosexual or homosexual. Hierarchical regression analysis demonstrated that contact with homosexual individuals affected participants' attitudes toward gay men and lesbians over and above the participants' prior ATLG scores. A moderating effect for prior ATLG scores was also found. The effect of confederate's sexual orientation was stronger for participants with more negative ATLG scores compared to those with more favorable attitudes. Implications for decreasing homophobia in organizations are discussed.
ISSN:0021-9029
1559-1816
DOI:10.1111/jasp.12246