What do two men kissing and a bucket of maggots have in common? Heterosexual men’s indistinguishable salivary α-amylase responses to photos of two men kissing and disgusting images

ABSTRACT

The current study sought to examine how Utah men’s physiological reactions to viewing same-sex public displays of affection (PDA), measured through salivary alpha-amylase (sAA), differ as a function of sexual prejudice, as assessed using the Attitudes Towards Lesbians and Gay Men Scale (ATLG) and the Modern Homonegativity Scale. In examining physiological responses to same-sex PDA, the present study hoped to assist in explaining current levels of anti-gay hate crimes despite growing positive public opinion for the LGBTQ community. Participants in the current study viewed six different slide shows depicting same-sex PDA, mixed-sex PDA, everyday items, and disgusting images, while providing saliva samples in the lab. A series of paired-samples t-tests was performed and found that sAA responses to images of same-sex kissing (t₍₉₈₎ = 3.124, p = .002) and universally disgusting images (t₍₉₈₎ = 2.128, p = .036) were significantly greater than sAA responses to the slide show depicting everyday items. This result held across the full sample, regardless of individual levels of prejudice. The results of the current study suggest that all individuals, not just highly sexually prejudiced individuals, may experience a physiological response indicative of stress when witnessing a male same-sex couple kissing. The possibility of a socialised disgust response to same-sex PDA is discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Sexual prejudice
• salivary alpha-amylase
• same-sex PDA
• hate crimes
• psychophysiology

Acknowledgements

This study was made possible through the generosity of 127 donors to an online crowdfunding campaign run through www.Experiment.com. A complete list of donors can be found here: http://www.drkarenblair.com/pdasponsors.

Dedication

This research is dedicated to Joseph ‘Joey’ Kellogg: 1986–2014. Joey was one of the crowdfunding donors for this study and a passionate advocate for LGBTQ civil rights.

Find the truth that we are all human, we are all different, and yet the same. Found by Joey Kellogg, October 14, 1928

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Readers may wonder whether using the MHS-G and ATLG separately would result in detectable group differences in alpha amylase based on either modern or old-fashioned homonegativity, however, analyses revealed that the measures operated in a similar fashion within the current data set, regardless of whether the scales were treated as separate scales, or combined into a single factor.

2. The information below is for copyright and attribution purposes. Things: Thomas Quine - https://www.flickr.com/photos/quinet/51111202/in/photolist-rbdzeT-5vXzC-4xwEK2-rbdzjn-spoogD-d9zFey-x36Qe-SewqjY-74UcNX-qvWqSY-fm5UXf-m2GGEf-qA1Dvg-9EV6te-92qSFr-rhFbUi-6PVNSy-awmaXT-3RYmvb-pi5B3G-8GrHd4-aDou27-aSKe8V-q9ai3K-8GrGDD-e1s7sj-6esJvw-oemgK-8tsDTo-9iXtYD-6jeSsz-CY9Bd-8rnGQ7-5B3JhQ-ETYbH-7GdmWm-5cW5v-4ZzfsC-bsi5Nk-gcamEN-8tpCxR-oJX2on-9qxqt9-ynPAp-8ALFAX-7QJYNF-nwcyx-4AbpWg-7G9pti-brupAe Disgusting: Aslak Raanes - https://www.flickr.com/photos/aslakr/5577744/in/photolist-uA51-5v3xv-57X9tZ-8cRjk9-9eiWC-oppcFe-a5wpDa-8esHte-658mXh-8cRjUC-4raVhS-aC19Wf-76DR3D-8cN1rF-65juBx-57MPUL-6zvWe2-a29tTW-ncot4G-ikaBAA-TEuHi1-baWLET-bkduUR-6xN4u3-8cN168-8cN12p-8cN1hx-8cN19P-T5j17Y-8cN1mM-RkDJEJ-8cRjC9-8kGguD-33FfQa-bYJCA1-5vufF6-9saBNh-5xkQZL-5vudX2-N7Ezn7-8kKtw3-bYJUqu-549WhW-rvQ1Tg-bLUQbr-bYJUi9-bLURrp-nMyTFB-TfwSv3-4tzSUr Same-Sex Kissing: - Joe TickNow Same-Sex PDA – Casey Hendrickson “Justin & Nathan” Mixed-Sex PDA – Casey Hendrickson “Hillman Wedding” Mixed-Sex Kissing – Casey Hendrickson – “Laura & Sturgeon”

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the American Institute of Bisexuality; St. Francis Xavier University; Experiment.com [10.18258/1003].

Notes on contributors

Breanna Maureen O’Handley

Breanna M. O’Handley, BSc., (Hon), is the research coordinator for the KLB Research Lab at St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia, Canada. The present work is based on her honours thesis conducted at St. Francis Xavier University. Her current research is examining shared memories of LGBTQ coming out stories between parents and their LGBTQ adult children.

Karen L. Blair

Karen L. Blair, PhD., is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia, Canada, and director of KLB Research. Dr. Blair studies the role that social support for relationships plays in the development, maintenance and dissolution of relationships, LGBTQ Psychology, and the connections between relationships, social prejudices and health. Dr. Blair’s work has received funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Social Science and Humanities Research Council, the American Institute of Bisexuality, the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association ’s Lesbian Health Fund, Patreon, and Experiment.com. http://www.drkarenblair.com.

Rhea Ashley Hoskin

Rhea Ashley Hoskin, MA, PhD., Candidate, is a SSHRC-CGS doctoral candidate at Queen’s University in the Department of Sociology. Rhea’s research applies an intersectional lens to the topics of femme theory, femme identity, gender identity, social determinants of health and feminist theory. http://www.ashleyhoskin.ca.