IMMEDIATE EFFECTS OF WRITTEN MATERIAL ON ATTITUDES TOWARD HOMOSEXUALITY

This study examined whether attitudes toward homosexuals were affected by educational material containing information about the biological d eterminants of sexual orientation. This study utilized a normed two-al ternative inventory on which participants were asked to rate matched i tems on a 5-point scale. In the first session participants completed o ne version involving interactions with homosexual individuals. One wee k later, participants, randomly assigned to one of three groups, fille d out the matched alternative form after reading a summary that presen ted either a biological or environmental basis for homosexuality or an unrelated article. Analysis confirmed previous research that the 40 m en had more negative attitudes toward homosexuals than the 40 women bu t that different types of explanations for homosexuality had no over-a ll influence on attitudes. More importantly, an item analysis extended our previous understanding of sex differences in that physical proxim ity to the homosexual individual was the strongest factor associated w ith attitude change.