Helping Behavior as a Subtle Measure of Discrimination Against Lesbians and Gay Men: German Data and a Comparison Across Countries¹

Abstract

To unobtrusively assess attitudes toward lesbians and gay men, the wrong-number technique was used in a field experiment in Germany. The results are compared to studies using the same paradigm in Switzerland, Great Britain, and the United States. This approach gives a realistic picture of intercultural differences in social behavior against lesbians and gay men. Across studies, the results indicated that homosexuals are less likely to receive help than are heterosexuals. The variation of this effect between countries closely corresponded to the ranking of attitudes toward homosexuality assessed in survey studies. Contrary to survey studies, however, women showed only marginally less negative attitudes toward gay persons than men, when actual helping behavior was used as an attitude index.There is a growing body of sociological and psychological literature dealing with the attitudes of heterosexuals toward gay persons or homosexual behavior (

“Do They See Nothing Wrong with This?”: Bullying, Bystander Complicity, and the Role of Homophobic Bias in the Tyler Clementi Case

“…A series of "wrong-number" studies found that gay men and lesbians in distress are significantly less likely to receive help from strangers than straight men and women in distress (Ellis & Fox, 2001;Gabriel & Banse, 2006;Gray, Rüssel, 8f Blockley, 1991;Shaw, Boroughm, & Fink, 1994). In an Australian study.…”

The Social and Economic Imperative of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered Supportive Organizational Policies

“…In this way, aspects of heterosexism in the workplace function in a way similar to racism in the workplace (Brief, Dietz, Cohen, Pugh, & Vaslow, 2000). Cultural norms may also account for cross‐cultural variability in prejudice and discrimination toward LGBT workers that have been demonstrated in experimental studies (e.g., Gabriel & Banse, 2006; Van Hoye & Lievens, 2003) as well as through self‐report methods.…”

Learning From Service: The Effect of Helping on Helpers' Social Dominance Orientation

“…There is no published research testing the effect of helping on a helper's SDO, but there are a few studies that have examined the effect of helping on a helper's level of prejudice (note that there are dozens of studies on the reverse effect of prejudice on helping; e.g., Gabriel & Banse, 2006; Masser & Moffat, 2006; for a recent review, see Saucier, Miller, & Doucet, 2005). In a laboratory experiment, Saucier and Miller (2001) found that participants who copied letters they were told would help an African American organization showed reduced modern racism scores, but this effect was not replicated in their second study.…”