Relationship status moderates sexual prejudice directed toward lesbian women but not gay men

ABSTRACT

To determine whether relationship status moderates sexual prejudice, we compared heterosexual men and women’s self-reported social distancing toward gay and lesbian targets who varied in relationship status (coupled, single, no information). Relationship status of gay male targets did not affect responses (Study 1): heterosexual men reported increased social distancing toward gay compared to heterosexual male targets, whereas women did not. Similarly, in Study 2, heterosexual men reported increased social distancing toward lesbian compared to heterosexual female targets, but women did not, and men reported decreased social distancing toward single lesbian women. Working from an affordance management approach, Study 3 replicated Studies 1 and 2, testing potential mediators of effects. In particular, heterosexual men reported increased social distancing toward gay male targets, compared to responses from heterosexual women. Moreover, heterosexual women reported increased social distancing toward single, compared to coupled, lesbian targets, mediated through perceptions of undesired sexual interest from the target. This work demonstrates the nuanced nature of sexual prejudice and provides further evidence of the role of perceptions of undesired sexual interest in prejudiced responses toward lesbian and gay individuals.

KEYWORDS:

• Affordance management
• relationship status
• sexual prejudice
• social distance

Acknowledgments

We thank Jessica Ross for help gathering data for Study 3 as part of her Honor’s thesis.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Author contribution

All authors were involved in all parts of the research.

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, upon reasonable request.

Open scholarship

This article has earned the Center for Open Science badges for Open Data and Open Materials through Open Practices Disclosure. The data and materials are openly accessible at https://osf.io/hv9ta and https://osf.io/hv9ta

Notes

1. Four hundred participants were recruited for the study. Only participants who turned in completed questionnaires and correctly answered the manipulation check item are included in the final analyses.

2. Participants completed a pre-screening questionnaire and were deemed eligible for the study if they selected the options “mostly heterosexual” or “exclusively heterosexual” from a 5-point sexuality measure.

3. To streamline study design and analysis, we included only the crucial conditions from Studies 1 and 2. We chose to focus only on gay and lesbian targets and cut the “no-information” condition as participants did not differentiate in responses toward this and the “coupled” condition.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.

Notes on contributors

Corey L. Cook

Corey L. Cook is an experimental social psychologist and Associate Professor of Psychology at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Arizona State University and his Masters and PhD in Social Psychology from University of Florida. His research explores the influence of social motives on cognition and behavior, focusing specifically on threat perception, stereotyping, and prejudice.

Catherine A. Cottrell

Catherine A. Cottrell is currently an Associate Professor of Psychology at New College of Florida. She conducts research on intergroup relations, especially threat-based approaches to understanding prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination. She holds a Ph.D. in Psychology from Arizona State University, an M.A. in Psychology from Wake Forest University, and a B.S. in Psychology and Biology from the College of William & Mary.