Development of a Scale of Prejudice toward Bisexual and Transgender Individuals on the Basis of Ambiguity Intolerance

Abstract

Prejudice toward bisexual and transgender individuals is motivated in part by unique (yet similar) negative stereotypes and cognitive rigidity (Huffaker & Kwon, 2016). The current research aimed to create a scale to measure bisexual and transgender prejudice on the basis of two aspects of cognitive rigidity—ambiguity intolerance and essentialist beliefs. In Study 1, scale items were generated from open-ended responses. Study two quantitively tested these items with exploratory factor analyses. In Study 3, we cross-validated our new scale with existing scales of bisexual and transgender prejudice. In Study 4, we cross-validated our scale with a measure of intolerance of ambiguity and a measure of essentialist beliefs. Future research will benefit by developing prejudice reduction strategies that specifically target those who have higher ambiguity intolerance and essentialist beliefs about bisexual and transgender individuals.

Keywords:

• Bisexuality
• transgender
• prejudice
• ambiguity intolerance
• scale development

Declaration of interest statement

No potential competing interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Amanda A. Arcieri

Dr. Amanda Arcieri completed her B.A. in psychology at Wagner College with departmental honors under the tutelage of her mentor, Dr. Amy Eshleman. She went on to complete her Ph.D. in social psychology at the University of Sydney under the guidance of her supervisor, Dr. Fiona White. Upon completion of her doctoral thesis, Dr. Arcieri returned to the United States where she is currently an adjunct at her Alma Mater. Her research interests include prejudice reduction and the secondary transfer effects of this reduction. When not teaching or conducting research, she enjoys photography, traveling, and spending time with her flock of five cockatiels.

Lacey Rose DeLucia

Lacey Rose DeLucia was a senior at Staten Island Technical High School at the time of her collaboration on this research. Through her school’s Science Engineering Research Program, Lacey was accepted by Dr. Amanda Arcieri and Dr. Amy Eshleman to join their team as a research assistant. Her contributions included background research and data analysis under the guidance and mentorship of Dr. Arcieri. Lacey was captain of the Varsity Soccer team at Staten Island Tech, and now attends Princeton University. In her spare time, Lacey enjoys cooking and baking.