Affective Responses to Gay Men Using Facial Electromyography: Is There a Psychophysiological "Look" of Anti-Gay Bias

Despite a wealth of attitudinal studies that elucidate the psychological correlates of anti-gay bias, studies that provide evidence of the physiological correlates of anti-gay bias remain relatively scarce. The present study addresses the under-representation of physiological research in the area of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of homosexuality 2019-07, Vol.66 (9), p.1238-1261
Main Authors: Morrison, Melanie A., Trinder, Krista M., Morrison, Todd G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Affect
Behavior
Bias
Cognition
Covert
Discrimination
Electromyography
Emotional responses
facial EMG
gay men
Heterosexuality
homonegativity
homophobia
Homosexuality
IAT
Implicit beliefs
Men
Physiological psychology
Physiology
Prejudice
Responses
sexual minority
Sexual orientation discrimination
Tests
Wealth
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Summary:Despite a wealth of attitudinal studies that elucidate the psychological correlates of anti-gay bias, studies that provide evidence of the physiological correlates of anti-gay bias remain relatively scarce. The present study addresses the under-representation of physiological research in the area of homonegativity by examining psychophysiological markers, namely the affective manifestations of anti-gay prejudice, and their correspondence with anti-gay behavior. Facial electromyography (EMG) was the technique used to acquire the psychophysiological markers via recordings from two facial muscle sites. Whether heterosexual men's implicit affective reactions to gay male couples best predicted their overt and covert discriminatory behavior toward a presumed gay male confederate was determined. The strength of the implicit affective reactions to predict anti-gay discrimination was then tested against the strength of participants' implicit cognitive reactions acquired via the Implicit Association Test (IAT). Results indicated that the affective reactions recorded via facial EMG emerged as the strongest predictor of discrimination toward gay men compared to the cognitive reactions recorded using the IAT. Findings support the contention that emotional reactions to gay men using implicit techniques such as facial EMG are potentially valuable pathways toward understanding the nature and sequelae of anti-gay behavior.
ISSN:0091-8369
1540-3602
DOI:10.1080/00918369.2018.1500779