28th Annual Student Research Conference
The Relationship Between Essentialist Beliefs about Homosexuality and Attitude toward Bisexuality
Alyssa G. Billington* and Melissa L. Stockwell
Dr. Sherri A. Palmer, Faculty Mentor
Past research in psychological essentialism indicates that there is a relationship between attitude toward homosexuality and essentialist beliefs about homosexuality, however attitude toward bisexuality has been neglected. In the current study,180 college students were asked to respond to four questionnaires that measured attitudes toward homosexuality and bisexuality, essentialist beliefs about homosexuality, social dominance orientation, and right wing authoritarianism. Our findings support our hypothesis that there is a relationship between etiological beliefs about homosexuality and attitude toward bisexuality. In the future, we would like to expand this study to include more nonheterosexual participants.
Keywords: Essentialism, Attitudes, Homosexuality, Bisexuality, Prejudice, Social Dominance, Authoritarianism
Topic(s):Psychology
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: 10-11
Location: GEO-SUB
Time: 3:30