Attitudes, Subjective Experiences, and Behaviors in Imagined and Actual Encounters Between Gay and Heterosexual People

Abstract

Across four studies, we assessed the relationship between participants' attitudes toward gay men and their experiences during either imagined or actual interpersonal encounters with gay men. In the first three studies, participants imagined interactions with gay men and either responded in an open-ended or a closed-ended fashion. In these imagined interactions, participants reported that they expected to have considerable agreement between their attitudes and their subjective experiences during the intergroup encounter. However, during actual interactions, there were no differences between members of different prejudice levels in their responses to the gay confederate. A comparison of the actual and imagined interactions demonstrated that high prejudice people are particularly unlikely to have subjective experiences that match their negative attitudes concerning actual interpersonal encounters.

Does Concealing a Sexual Minority Identity Prevent Exposure to Prejudice?

“…In fact, sexual minorities anticipated that there would be more discriminations in imagined interactions (Study 1, M = 4.50) compared to what they perceived in actual interactions (Study 2, M = 2.51). This affirms the notion that in egalitarian contexts, actual intergroup interactions with strangers may not be as threatening and discriminatory as one’s imagination (Conley, Evett, & Devine, 2007; Mallett, Wilson, & Gilbert, 2008).…”

“…For example, there is enhanced ecological validity and psychological realism in a study that randomly assigns individuals to conceal or reveal their identity in an actual interaction compared to a study in which people imagine doing so. This sense of realism can produce effects that are stronger than those from more removed, cooler imagined experiences (Conley et al, 2007; Woodzicka & LaFrance, 2001). This experimental realism, in combination with the important psychological motives and concerns at play during intergroup interactions (Richeson & Shelton, 2007), makes for a psychologically potent manipulation and experience for sexual minority and straight participants in Study 2.…”