Reducing General and Specific Heterosexism Through Cooperative Contact

Abstract

The primary purpose of the present study was to assess the effectiveness of cooperative contact as a method to reduce homophobia. Thirty-seven college students were administered the Gay and Lesbian Attitude Scale (GLAS) eight weeks prior to the experiment. Two actors were hired to pose as heterosexuals or homosexuals. Two to four subjects and the male and female actors formed small groups to solve a series of nearly impossible logic problems. The groups were instructed to work together to solve these problems and told that the groups scoring in the 85th percentile would earn extra credit in their Introduction to Psychology course. The two actors were trained to take a leadership role in solving the logic problems. For half the groups, the actors identified themselves as heterosexuals and in the remaining groups as homosexuals. Analysis of variance performed on the pre-intervention minus post-intervention GLAS scores showed a nonsignificant reward main effect and a nonsignificant reward by sexual orientation effect. However, GLAS scores decreased 17% when the actors posed as gay and lesbian subjects and less than 2% when they posed as heterosexuals. Furthermore, the “homosexual” actors' likability and contribution to the group scores were rated higher than the other group members. Thus, the primary findings in the present study suggest that specific and general heterosexism can be modified in a cooperative group situation.