Do self-presentation concerns moderate the relationship between implicit and explicit homonegativity measures?
This study investigated whether the relation between implicit and explicit homonegativity measures is affected by self-presentation concerns, since previous research in this area has been inconclusive. In Experiment 1, 70 high-school students made evaluative ratings of pictures of homosexual and heterosexual couples. Self-presentation was manipulated by either instructing participants that the study concerned attitudes regarding sexual orientation (socially sensitive) or attitudes regarding age (less sensitive). The age-instruction led to increased homonegativity but not to a stronger correlation with an Implicit Association Test (IAT; Greenwald, McGhee & Schwartz, 1998) with homo/heterosexual couples. Concerns regarding the construct validity of the present implementation of the IAT were alleviated in Experiment 2, where heterosexual (n= 30) but not homosexual (n= 30) participants showed implicit homonegativity. The current findings are problematic for the interpretation of low correspondence between implicit and explicit attitude measures as being primarily an effect of self-presentation concerns.
Rohner
Jean Christophe
JC
Lund University, Sweden. Jean-Christophe.Rohner@psychology.lu.se
Björklund
Fredrik
F
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D001290:Attitude; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D020010:Heterosexuality; D006716:Homosexuality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011287:Prejudice; D012649:Self Concept; D012919:Social Behavior; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires